If you want to run a successful online business, having shipping methods in place is essential. These methods appear at checkout, representing the carriers and services used to deliver your products to customers.
If you don’t set up at least one shipping method for each region you sell to, customers in those regions won’t be able to complete their checkout.
Add a New Shipping Method
To add a new shipping method, click New Shipping Method in the top right corner. This will open the shipping method creation form.
This page is divided into seven distinct sections, so let’s take a look at each individually:
Presentation
Here you can set a descriptive name for the shipping method (e.g., UPS Standard, FedEx Next Day), and choose where it should be displayed.
Make sure the Display on setting includes storefront if you want customers to see this shipping method on the checkout.
Tracking URL
Here you can add the tracking URL format for the shipping carrier that’s associated with the payment method, e.g.:
This way, you can simply enter the tracking number when fulfilling an order that’s using the associated shipping method, and the customer will receive the correct tracking link for their order.
Make sure to verify the tracking link format for each shipping carrier you plan on using and test them before going live.
Zones
Not all shipping methods should be available in every region - especially if you serve customers across multiple countries or continents. Zones allow you to define regional availability for each shipping method.
Simply select the appropriate Zone(s) to ensure the method only appears for customers in those regions. This helps you prevent invalid shipping options and tailor your delivery strategy to each market.
Customers will only see shipping methods that apply to their delivery address based on the assigned Zones.
Shipping Categories
Shipping Categories are especially useful when your store includes products with very different delivery needs. For example:
- Assigning a “Digital” category to non-physical products ensures they skip the shipping step during checkout.
- Creating a “Heavy” category for large or heavy items allows you to limit specific shipping methods to those products.
Tax Category
Use this setting to assign a Tax Category to the shipping method. This determines how taxes are applied to shipping charges at checkout.
Different types of products may be subject to different tax rules, and assigning a tax category here ensures that shipping is taxed appropriately based on the contents of the order.
For example:
- In some regions, digital goods may be exempt from shipping tax, while physical goods are not.
- Shipping charges related to tax-exempt products might also need to be excluded from tax calculations entirely.
Assigning the correct tax category helps you stay compliant with local tax regulations and ensures customers are charged accurately.
Calculator
This section determines how the shipping cost will be calculated for this method. Spree offers several calculator types to support different pricing strategies:
- Flat Percent - charges a percentage of the order total as the shipping cost.
- Flat Rate - charges a fixed shipping amount, regardless of order size or value.
- Flexible Rate per package item - charges a base rate plus an additional amount for each item in the package (ideal for variable-size orders).
- Flat Rate per package item - Applies the same fixed fee to every item in the shipment.
- Price Sack - offers tiered pricing based on the total order value (e.g., 5forordersunder50, free over $100).
- Digital Delivery - used for digital products that don’t require physical shipping (typically results in no shipping cost).
Each calculator type may reveal different fields depending on its configuration. Choose the one that best aligns with your fulfillment strategy.
For a more detailed guide on shipping calculators, please refer to another support article.
Estimated Transit Business Days
This optional setting allows you to display an estimated delivery time for the shipping method, visible on both the product detail page (PDP) and during checkout.
While not required, showing delivery estimates can help build trust, reduce cart abandonment, and improve conversions by setting clear expectations about when customers will receive their orders.
Click Create
Once you’ve configured all of the above settings, simply click Create at the bottom of the page to save your new shipping method. It will become immediately available to customers provided the order details match the method’s configuration.
Congratulations, you’ve just created your first shipping method! 
