Delivery, pickup or cash on delivery: what should my store offer?
How to choose between delivery, pickup and cash on delivery for your online store, and what to set up for each in Native AI Suite.
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Delivery, pickup or cash on delivery: what should my store offer?
Offer the options your team can handle on every order. Delivery and pickup are about how the order reaches the customer; cash on delivery is about how the customer pays. A Native AI Suite store can offer all three: delivery with delivery zones, pickup points, and cash on delivery. Most stores don’t pick just one: pickup and delivery often work well together, with cash on delivery as an extra way to pay.
The three options side by side
Delivery | Pickup | Cash on delivery | |
|---|---|---|---|
What it is | You bring the order to the customer | The customer collects it from you | The customer pays when the order arrives |
Good fit for | Stores with their own couriers or a delivery partner | Stores with a shop, café or warehouse customers can visit | Markets where many customers prefer to pay in cash |
What customers like | Convenience | No delivery fee, quick collection | Paying only when they have the order |
What it asks of you | Couriers, routes, delivery fees | Someone to hand over orders during opening hours | Handling cash and recording payments |
Set up before launch | Delivery areas and fees | Pickup address, hours and “order ready” message | Who collects the money and how it’s recorded |
Which combination fits your business?
If your business… | Consider offering |
|---|---|
Has a shop or café and a local customer base | Pickup, plus delivery in the nearest areas |
Sells mainly online and has a courier or delivery partner | Delivery, with cash on delivery if your customers expect it |
Sells heavy or bulky items | Delivery, with pickup for customers who live nearby |
Is just starting and wants to keep it simple | Pickup first, then add delivery once orders grow |
Delivery: draw the zone around your couriers
With Native AI Suite you set the areas you deliver to as delivery zones. A few things to decide:
Where you can deliver on time, every time. Draw your zones around where your couriers can reliably reach, not where you’d like to deliver one day.
What delivery costs the customer. One fee for everyone is simple to explain; different fees for nearer and farther zones are fairer if distances vary a lot.
What happens outside your area. Try an address just outside your zones to see what customers there experience, and decide whether to point them to pickup instead.
Tell customers how long delivery usually takes, and only promise times your team can actually keep.
Pickup: tell people when to come
Pickup is often the easiest option to start with. Make sure customers know:
Where to come. The pickup point’s name and full address, plus a landmark if the entrance is hard to find.
When to come. Your opening hours for pickups, which may differ from your shop hours.
When the order is ready. Decide how customers will find out and who on your team lets them know.
Also decide how long you’ll hold an order that hasn’t been collected, and what happens after that.
Cash on delivery: decide who handles the money
Cash on delivery helps in markets where many people prefer not to pay online. It works smoothly when a few things are agreed in advance:
Who collects the money and when it’s handed over.
How the payment is recorded against the order, so your records match the cash.
Whether couriers carry change, and how much.
What happens if a customer refuses the order at the door.
At checkout, say clearly that the customer pays when the order arrives, so there are no surprises.
Test each option once
Before launch, place one test order for every option you plan to offer. Check what the customer sees at checkout, any fees, and what your team receives. Then walk through the next step yourself: who prepares the order, who delivers it or hands it over, and who confirms that it’s done.