The most common mistakes e-shops make when choosing a carrier

Choosing the right carrier for an e-shop is not just about price. Yet price is precisely what most often becomes the most common — and the most expensive — mistake. A poorly chosen partner will bring you more returns, complaints, and lost customers than any money you might save. In this article, we walk you through the most common mistakes and show you how to avoid them.

✅ TL;DR – The most common mistakes e-shops make when choosing a carrier

1. Choosing based on price alone
2. Ignoring reliability data
3. Neglecting customer experience
4. Weak technical integration
5. Insufficient delivery flexibility
6. No SLA or no measurable performance

❌ 1. Choosing based on price alone

Cheapest does not mean best. A low price often means less care, lower accuracy, and a higher number of issues.

👉 Every failed delivery = additional cost; every failed purchase = a lost customer.

📉 2. Unverified reliability

Very few e-shops actually verify first-attempt delivery success rates, return rates, or average delays. Ask for the data. If the carrier doesn’t have them — run.

🙈 3. Ignoring customer experience

How does the carrier communicate with customers?

• Do they send notifications?
• Does the courier respond to calls?
• Does the customer have parcel tracking?

If the answer is “no”, it won’t work. Customers blame you — not the carrier.

🔧 4. Weak integration = manual hell

Manual tracking uploads, manual label printing, poor integrations with platforms like Shoptet or WooCommerce? All of this costs time and creates errors. A good carrier offers an API, plug-ins, widgets, and tailor-made solutions.

🔁 5. Inflexible delivery model

Customers want evening or weekend delivery — and you only offer delivery between 8 AM and 4 PM? Modern logistics offers delivery on a customer-selected day and time (slot-based delivery), weekend delivery, or repeated delivery attempts.

👉 Without flexibility, you lose to the competition.

📉 6. Missing SLA and zero measurability

Without an SLA (service level agreement), performance is hard to evaluate. Ask:

• What is the guaranteed delivery time?
• What percentage of parcels are delivered outside the selected time slot?
• What reporting is available?

📋 Carrier selection checklist

✅ Has performance data

✅ Supports slot-based delivery

✅ Can be integrated via API or widget

✅ Can deliver in the evenings and on weekends

✅ Offers parcel monitoring and customer communication

✅ Has references from similar e-shops

❓ Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

How do I know I have a bad carrier?
By the number of complaints, returns, lost parcels, and negative reviews. If they are recurring — address it.

How often should I reassess my carrier?
At least once a year. Ideally quarterly, based on conversion and logistics performance.

What if I want to combine multiple carriers?
This is often the ideal solution — for example, DODO offers grocery delivery in time slots while maintaining the strictest hygiene standards and temperature control, parcel delivery within customer-selected day and time windows, and express hot-meal delivery for restaurants.

🚀 Summary

The right carrier is more than just a delivery provider — it is a partner that directly influences your brand and customer loyalty. Put in the effort and choose based on data, flexibility, and customer comfort. It pays off.