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Shopify Local Delivery: How To Start & Promote a Business

A comprehensive guide for starting a Shopify delivery business utilizing EasyRoutes for efficient route planning.

Your all-in-one local delivery app for Shopify

You might have heard about Shopify products and how you can start using them from anywhere in the world. Shopify has made this so simple that you can run a well-established business without leaving your home. You only need a computer, internet connection, and of course, a Shopify account.

In 2021, 1.75 million merchants sold on Shopify, and 1.59 million active websites used Shopify to power their eCommerce offering. Shopify is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms for businesses that are ready to scale.

If you’re serious about starting an online local delivery business, Shopify is the best place to start.

Table of Contents

  • Sign up for a Shopify store
  • Build your online store
  • Add products to your store
  • Configure your Shopify local delivery settings
  • Install EasyRoutes Local Delivery Route Planner for Shopify
  • What about the Shopify Local Delivery app?
  • Promote your product/service on social media networks
  • With these steps, you’ll be able to start your own Shopify delivery business.

Sign up for a Shopify store

Go to Shopify and click “Get Started” in the top navigation bar. You’ll then be prompted to select your niche, which is sometimes referred to as an industry or category. When you pick a niche, you’re basically choosing what type of products or services your store will sell. For example, if you select “Fashion & Apparel,” you’ll see product categories like Women’s Clothing, Men’s Clothing and Accessories under that umbrella.

Click on “Sign Up Now” and enter your email address and password. Click “Sign Up” when finished.

After signing up, you can choose from three different plans: Basic Shopify, Shopify Lite and Unlimited Shopify. Basic Shopify is free but has limited features; Shopify Lite costs $29 per month but requires a transaction fee if someone buys something through your site; Unlimited Shopify costs $79 per month (or $999 per year) but doesn’t require any transaction fees or setup costs upfront — plus it comes with some extra perks like customer support

Build your online store

Configure your Shopify settings. When you first create an account on Shopify, it’ll ask you some questions about how you want to set up your store. This is important because the settings that you choose will determine how customers shop on your site and what kinds of products they see when browsing around.

To get started setting up your store, click Settings in the top right corner of your page. Then click General and scroll down to Shipping rates. Here, you can set up shipping rates by country or create international shipping zones by region using the drop-down menus.

Add products to your store

Once you have configured all of the basic settings in your account, it’s time to add products! Adding products is easy — just click on “Products” in the left sidebar and then click “Add Product.” You can choose from multiple types of products (like physical items or digital downloads) depending on what type of business you want to run.

The first step in starting your own Shopify delivery business is to find products to sell. You’ll want to start with an item that has a high margin and doesn’t require a lot of overhead in order to keep prices competitive.

If you’re looking for ideas on products you can sell on Shopify, here are some suggestions:

  • Gift baskets – Gift baskets are one way for sellers to make money with their delivery service. They can be customized based on the recipient’s interests and tastes. For example, if they like wine or beer then include some bottles in the basket along with other snacks and sweets they might enjoy while watching TV or reading a book.
  • Flowers – Flowers are another popular choice among sellers who have started their own Shopify delivery businesses because they’re easy to grow and transport without much hassle involved (unlike plants). They also provide an emotional connection between buyers and sellers that can lead to repeat orders over time (not just during holidays).

Configure your Shopify local delivery settings

If you’re going to start a delivery business, you’ll need to configure your Shopify local delivery settings.

This will allow you to set up the rates for your local area, as well as the hours of operation and other settings.

You can find these settings by going to Online Store > Settings > General, and then selecting “Local delivery settings” from the dropdown.

Once you’ve selected this option, you’ll be able to configure your Shopify local delivery settings.

Install EasyRoutes Local Delivery Route Planner for Shopify

EasyRoutes is a Shopify app with all the tools you need to deliver your own orders. It’s a feature-rich local delivery manager and route planner.

With tracking pages, delivery notifications, and proof of delivery, you can plan local delivery routes, manage and dispatch drivers, and keep customers informed.

Simply choose which orders must be delivered, and EasyRoutes will take care of the rest. You can create optimized local delivery routes with itemized inventories in seconds.

It’s never been easier or faster to plan a route.

After you’ve reviewed your local delivery routes, send them to your drivers, who can use our mobile driver app for iOS and Android to navigate their stops, attach proof of delivery, and mark orders as delivered, all while keeping your Shopify Orders up to date.

EasyRoutes works in unison with Shopify and your orders. That means your orders will be ready to be added to local delivery routes as soon as you open our app. There’s no need to muck around with spreadsheet export/import any longer!

Streamline every aspect of your delivery process and keep your customers informed about the status of their orders. Unlike Circuit, Routific, and other route planners, EasyRoutes is the only all-in-one route planning and local delivery management app that is fully integrated with Shopify.

With your new local delivery superpowers, you can save time and delight your customers!

What about the Shopify Local Delivery app?

Shopify Local Delivery provides a barebones route planner and driver app. We built EasyRoutes to help you where Shopify Local Delivery cannot (e.g. add custom stops, fix bad addresses, deliver pickup orders) all using the same app! You can use EasyRoutes to plan routes for multiple drivers automatically and share tracking links with proof of delivery photos to your customer.

For anything more than basic features, we recommend using EasyRoutes over Shopify Local Delivery.

Promote your product/service on social media networks

Facebook Business Page

A Facebook Business Page is a free way to create a presence on Facebook. It’s the first step in building your social media presence, and it helps you market your business on Facebook. You can use a Facebook Business Page to share dynamic content with your community, connect with them, and get their feedback.

It gives you an opportunity to build up anticipation for a new product or service before it even launches. You can post sneak peeks of upcoming products, gather feedback from customers and followers, build hype around new store launches, and more!

It helps you build a community around your brand. A community of followers will help spread the word about your store and products through word of mouth marketing (WOMM). When people like what they see on your page and read about what you’re doing, they’ll be more inclined to check out your store. The more likes you get on any given post, the more likely people will be to visit that post and engage with it in some way (comments/shares/likes). This makes every single post worth sharing because it’s contributing towards building

Instagram

Instagram is the world’s largest photo-sharing social network and has over 800 million active monthly users, making it an excellent place to market your business. The platform allows users to post pictures or short videos with text, as well as add filters and effects before sharing them online with their friends or followers.

Instagram is also one of the fastest growing social media platforms for businesses, as it gives them an opportunity to reach new audiences who may not have heard about their brand before. It’s important for any brand to have an Instagram presence because it allows them to reach out to potential customers who have already shown interest in their products and services by following another brand’s account.

With these steps, you’ll be able to start your own Shopify delivery business.

Starting your own delivery business is no easy feat. You need the right mindset, the right strategy, and the right work ethic to succeed. It’s not impossible, however. If you’re prepared to work hard and follow advice from those who have done it before, you can start a delivery business of your own using Shopify.

Best of all, Shopify makes it easy to install third-party apps on the Shopify App Store to make managing your business even easier. The next step? Take all that information above, and get started with your Shopify delivery business today!

About Roundtrip

Roundtrip's mission is to equip every business with the software tools they need to deliver products to their customers in a delightful way. Thousands of Shopify merchants worldwide choose EasyRoutes to power their local deliveries across dozens of product categories, from meal kits and groceries to coffee, cupcakes, kibble, and so much more. Our easy-to-use route planning and delivery optimization app is certified Built for Shopify, a two-time Shopify staff pick, and the top rated local delivery app on the Shopify App Store.

"Firstly, the fuel savings are remarkable. With intelligent route optimization, our drivers take streamlined paths, cutting down fuel usage and vehicle wear. The time-saving aspect is a game-changer. What used to be a tedious task is now a breeze. Creating and managing routes takes mere minutes, freeing up invaluable time for our core business. Additionally, the real-time monitoring feature is a winner. It instills accountability and transparency, and knowing the status of each delivery has significantly boosted our customer satisfaction."
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