A Shipping Policy is the document where an ecommerce store informs customers about the conditions around the shipping of goods. Your Shipping Policy should inform your customers (or potential customers) about the following:

While a Shipping Policy isn't required by law, it's definitely recommended by ecommerce best practices for managing customer expectations.

This is because it lets them know two key things that matter to every consumer:

How much they can expect to pay for shipping

How long of a wait they can expect when it comes to receiving their goods.

If it takes too long for a customer to figure out how much you charge for shipping and generally how long an item will take to arrive, the customer will probably buy elsewhere and you'll be losing business.

Providing an easily accessible Shipping Policy that has clear information can help you gain and retain customers.

A Shipping Policy isn't to be confused with a Return and Refund Policy. A Return and Refund Policy lets customers know:

In summary, a Shipping Policy lets customers know details about how to get goods into their homes, while a Return/Refund Policy lets customers know what their options are after goods are delivered in the event that the customer wants to send the goods back.

The main thing most customers will want to know about your policies and procedures is how much you charge for shipping, and how fast items will arrive.

Most ecommerce businesses offer multiple shipping options, from standard ground delivery to expedited or even overnight shipping. These shipping options also come with different price tags.

Include a section in your Shipping Policy that breaks down this information.

Here's how Revzilla breaks down this information. The simple chart is easy to notice and read, while the explanation paragraphs below it provide additional information about what a customer can expect with each shipping method available. For example, a customer can quickly find out that 'Next Day' delivery costs $59.95:

To make sure that a customer is aware of what this shipping option actually means for them, the explanation of 'Next Day' is provided, along with all the other shipping types. This is great for managing customer expectations and being as accurate as possible:

Some shipping rates charged and methods available can get extensive, as this chart from theMichael'sShipping Policy demonstrates. Shipping rates vary drastically depending on how much money you spend and which shipping method you want:

Some information that's typically included in an international shipping information section will be what's considered international (i.e. anything outside of Canada, anything outside of the EU, etc.), how any tariffs or extra fees will be handled, if the return shipping policy is different than with domestic orders, what currency the order must be placed in and what wil happen if a package gets lost while in transit.

Revzilla includes a short clause noting that international orders will ship from specific locations and will likely take an extra 3 to 5 days to be processed: