Delivery options available on Rakuten
Standard shipping
Deliver your packages directly to your customers. Several options are available for standard delivery:
- Non-tracked shipping (not recommended): no tracking or signature required; suitable only for low-value shipments of small size and weight.
- Tracking option: no signature required; allows you and your customers to track the package’s delivery.
- Recommended shipping method: with tracking and signature required, ideal for high-value shipments
Important: The recommended shipping method is required for all orders totaling €200 or more.
Prepaid shipping
It’s quick and easy: just print out the shipping label provided by Rakuten, attach it to the package, and drop it off at your local post office.
Rakuten covers your shipping costs through its partners via three shipping methods: So Colissimo, Chronopost, and Mondial Relay.
Express delivery
This delivery method allows a package to be transported from one location to another in record time. Express delivery is very useful for shipping packages containing valuable or important items.
For this type of product, customers prefer faster delivery and are more likely to choose online retailers that offer this option.
Pickup at a pickup location
This shipping method allows you to offer your customers delivery to one of the thousands of pickup locations in the Mondial Relay or Chronopost Shop2Shop network.
Click and Collect
Join France’s leading omnichannel platform and give your customers the option to pick up their packages in your stores just two hours after placing an order.
By enabling click-and-collect on Rakuten, you can attract new customers, generate additional sales, and reduce your logistics costs.
Which delivery methods should you choose on Rakuten?
To ensure you satisfy as many customers as possible on Rakuten, offer multiple shipping options. Every customer has their own preferences, and it’s important that your sales strategy takes this into account.
Ideally, offer at least one standard shipping option, one express shipping option, and one in-person pickup option (pickup point, locker, or click-and-collect).
Frequently Asked Questions about shipping methods
Free shipping has several advantages:
- More frequent shopping trips and larger average basket sizes;
- Reducing shopping cart abandonment;
- Greater customer loyalty.
However, offering free shipping comes with certain risks that should be taken into account:
- Lower profit margin on your sales;
- Encourages product returns, which can result in additional costs and logistical operations;
- The ratchet effect: Your customers get used to free shipping, so switching back to paid returns can frustrate them.
To strike the right balance, you can choose to offer free shipping only on certain occasions (sales, Black Friday, etc.), or only for orders above a certain amount. It’s up to you to find the right balance.
In the event of a delivery delay, here are the key points:
- Identify the cause of the delay: depending on whether the cause is external (weather conditions, vehicle breakdown) or internal (incorrectly labeled package, error in your logistics system), you can resolve the issue more or less quickly.
- Notify your customers as soon as possible;
- Be transparent but reassuring: answer your customers’ questions directly, while assuring them that they will receive their package.
- Offer compensation: a gift card, a free additional item with their delivery, a partial refund…
Analyze the cause of the delay to prevent it from happening again in the future.
Handling deliveries on your own can be costly and time-consuming. By outsourcing your logistics to a single provider, you minimize the number of intermediaries, reduce your costs, and save time.
Need personalized support?
Our goal? Make your journey on Rakuten as smooth as possible, to help you use your time for what you do best: selling.