Parcel shipping—not only in a WooCommerce store—is one of the most important factors that affects customer satisfaction and loyalty. If you offer customers popular delivery methods, a reasonable shipping price, and a convenient checkout selection, more customers will complete their purchase and come back again. However, the shipping method you choose for your store also impacts the workload of order fulfillment.
In today’s article, we’ll look at WooCommerce shipping options, guide you through choosing the right delivery method for your store, and compare the carriers available in the Czech market that can be implemented in WooCommerce.
WooCommerce shipping and its options
In general, we can distinguish the following WooCommerce shipping options:
- Local pickup
- Delivery to a pickup point or parcel locker
- Home delivery (delivery to the customer’s address)
34% of customers in 2024 chose delivery to a parcel locker. 24.6% had their parcel delivered to their home.
(data.apek.cz)
For delivery to a pickup point, locker, or address, you can choose delivery via private carriers or the postal service. A separate category is shipping aggregators, which offer delivery through multiple carriers within a single service.
Each of these options has its pros and cons that you should consider when choosing shipping for your store. What are they?
Local pickup in WooCommerce
Local pickup is the simplest and cheapest shipping option for an online store. Customers can come and pick up their goods from your brick-and-mortar shop, warehouse, or another location you specify. This way, you save on packaging and shipping costs, and you can also build personal relationships with customers and offer additional products or services.
Local pickup also has its downsides. Not every customer has the time or ability to pick up goods in person, so it’s a good idea to offer other shipping options as well. You also need to ensure staffing, sufficient capacity, and location availability to avoid unnecessary waiting times or complications.
Toret Custom pickup points and shipping
Create your own pickup points and shipping methods
Create unlimited custom pickup locations, inform customers about them at checkout (incl. address, opening hours, payment options, etc.), and let them select a suitable pickup point from a map.
The most popular WooCommerce shipping option – private carriers
Private carriers are a fast and convenient shipping option for an online store. Customers can have goods delivered to their address or to a pickup point or parcel locker. Typical carrier services also include shipment tracking, cash on delivery, and return shipping for returns.
This option also has its downsides. It’s a more expensive delivery method that you or the customer must pay for. During peak seasons (typically Christmas or Black Friday), you should expect higher prices and longer delivery times.
To avoid entering every shipment manually into the carrier’s system, you can use an integration plugin. Such a plugin can add the following features to your store:
a map widget for selecting the delivery location at checkout
- the ability to tailor shipping settings to your store and the carrier – carrier shipping methods, scaling shipping cost per product or by order parameters, offering shipping by product and customer country, restricting availability, surcharges, etc.
sending and managing shipments directly in the store admin – sending order details to the carrier, printing labels, scheduling pickups, or tracking shipments without switching to the carrier’s system
Shipping plugins not only speed up order management, but also ensure that customers always see up-to-date shipping methods at checkout and can easily choose the option that suits them best. Let’s take a closer look at the specifics of each carrier.
DPD
DPD is a large shipping company specializing in parcel services. In the Czech Republic, DPD has more than 3,500 pickup points; it is part of the international DPDGroup, which enables it to deliver parcels to 30 European countries. Parcels can be dropped off at branches or collected via pickup.
DPD delivers to addresses, pickup points, and parcel lockers. It also offers delivery to business addresses, express delivery, morning or afternoon delivery windows, and tire shipping.
Their sweet spot is lighter parcels up to 31.5 kg, usually delivered within 72 hours (express delivery within 24 hours). For frequent shippers, DPD offers benefits and better pricing conditions.
Toret DPD
Save time by connecting WooCommerce with DPD
The plugin lets you send shipments to DPD in a few clicks—or fully automatically—print labels, schedule pickups, and track shipments directly from your store’s admin.
FOFR
FOFR, a Czech carrier, can handle bulky and heavy shipments within the Czech Republic and to a number of European countries (Slovakia, Montenegro, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain).
They specialize in pallet and oversized shipments (up to 6 m and 1,800 kg), dangerous goods, and tanker transport. You can also connect the FOFR carrier system to WooCommerce using a plugin.
GLS
The international carrier GLS can deliver parcels within the Czech Republic, to Slovakia, and to 24 other European countries. You can choose between delivery to an address, to a GLS ParcelShop pickup point, or to a parcel locker. Within the Czech Republic and Slovakia, GLS delivers within 24 hours; in most European countries within 48 hours.
You can drop off parcels at GLS ParcelShops or schedule a courier pickup. For domestic shipping, GLS carries parcels up to 40 kg (20 kg for parcel locker delivery); international parcels must fit within 31.5 kg.
Toret GLS
A fast carrier in the Czech Republic and abroad
Connect your store with GLS and ship standard parcels within the Czech Republic for next-day delivery. Full shipment management in a few clicks directly from the admin, GLS ThinkGreen support, and other useful features included.
One by Allegro
The originally Czech carrier WE|DO has become One by Allegro, but it still delivers. To addresses, to parcel lockers, and to pickup points in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and across Europe.
Shipments are priced by size or weight—the higher value is decisive. For home delivery, the maximum allowed weight is 50 kg and the longest side length is 2 m. Note that size and weight limits are lower for pickup points and parcel lockers.
You can also connect this carrier to your WooCommerce store and print labels and send parcel data to the system with a single click using the One by Allegro plugin.
PPL
If you want to ship parcels from the Czech Republic, you can also use PPL. It delivers to addresses and to PPL Parcelshop pickup points, as well as Parcelboxes, in 20 European countries. Parcels delivered via PPL should have a maximum weight of 31.5 kg and a maximum value of 5,000 CZK. You can hand the parcel over via Parcelshops and Parcelboxes, or schedule a driver pickup.
Toret PPL
You can offer a well-known Czech carrier in your store, too
Ship parcels with the popular carrier PPL directly from your admin. Automatic shipment creation, pickup scheduling, label printing, and order status updates will speed up and simplify your workflow.
TOPTRANS
TOPTRANS is an all-rounder that can deliver large parcels as well as multi-pallet shipments across the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Oversized and non-standard shipments up to 6 meters and 6 tons are delivered within 24 hours without any issues. Drivers are equipped with the technology needed to load and unload shipments.
TOPTRANS also offers additional packaging (stretch-wrapping) at the pickup point and automatically insures shipments up to a value of 1,000,000 CZK. If you need to ship large items, TOPTRANS is the right choice for you. Thanks to the integration plugin, you can send shipments with TOPTRANS directly from your store’s admin.
Zásilkovna
The popular carrier Zásilkovna focuses primarily on working with online stores. It is best known for delivery to pickup points and parcel lockers, of which it has more than 180,000. It’s also very popular with customers because 98% of parcels are delivered the next day. With Zásilkovna, you can ship within the Czech Republic, to Slovakia, and to 31 other countries. Abroad, Zásilkovna is known under the name Packeta.
The maximum parcel size for shipping with Zásilkovna is: max weight 15 kg; maximum length of one side 120 cm; maximum sum of all three sides 150 cm.
Toret Zásilkovna
The most popular carrier among customers and online stores
Ship parcels to pickup points and to addresses via Zásilkovna. Thanks to the plugin integration, you can offer pickup-point selection from a map, fine-tune shipping in great detail, and manage shipments directly from your store’s admin.
Postal service – a traditional carrier
Although there are plenty of jokes about the postal service, it is still a traditional and customer-popular delivery method worth keeping in mind.
Czech Post
Czech Post is a traditional delivery option for online stores. Customers can have goods delivered to the address they specify (Balík Do ruky service) or pick them up at a Balíkovna pickup point. The advantage of the postal service is its wide network of branches across the Czech Republic, including rural areas. Czech Post is also very flexible in terms of shipment parameters—you can ship everything from letter mail, express and valuable shipments, to standard parcels and oversized items.
However, the postal service also has its disadvantages. It is a slower delivery option that may take several days. In addition, parcels can be damaged or lost, which can lead to complaints and financial losses.
Toret Czech Post
Direct integration with the Czech Post API
Ship parcels to addresses and to Balíkovna automatically or in just a few clicks directly from your store. Creating shipments, printing labels, and tracking parcels is now a matter of moments.
Slovak Post
Slovak Post offers a great option to leverage its extensive branch network for delivery to a pickup point. If you want to manage shipments directly from the WooCommerce interface, you can use the Balík na SK poštu plugin. Customers can have a parcel delivered to the Slovak Post branch of their choice.
Shipping aggregators
In addition to the companies mentioned above, you may also come across so-called shipping aggregators. These usually don’t provide shipping themselves, but broker it through a number of contracted carriers. Such aggregators include, for example, Balíkobot or GO balík.
The advantages of such aggregators can include easier fulfillment, access to a wider range of carriers, or better shipping prices.
Toret GO balík
Shipping with the best available offer
With the GO balík plugin, you can ship with multiple carriers even without your own contract, at good prices. The plugin lets you use the Best Price service, which finds the most cost-effective shipping method for each parcel.
How to choose shipping for WooCommerce?
When choosing WooCommerce shipping, you should consider several factors, such as:
- Type of items you ship
- Price, speed, and reliability of shipping
- Customer preferences
There is no single clear answer as to which shipping option is best for online stores. It depends on your goals, capabilities, and needs, including your customers’ needs and preferences. Some stores are better suited to local pickup, others to couriers, and others benefit from postal services.
Up to 96% of Czech customers said that shipping options influence their decision to purchase from an online store
(DHL.com)
It’s important to offer customers multiple shipping options so they can choose what suits them best. It’s also better not to rely on just one carrier. In case of service outages or other unexpected events, we recommend offering delivery via at least two different carriers.
Individual services differ in terms and conditions for shippers. Some carriers may be more cost-effective if you ship more parcels, but may not be suitable for occasional shipping. Also review restrictions related to parcel size and weight. You may need a carrier that can deliver oversized goods or provides return pickup for customer returns.
Carrier comparison table
The table below compares carrier services available for shipping from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. These carriers can be integrated directly into WooCommerce using plugins.
| Service | Delivery to address | Delivery to locker | Delivery to pickup point | Max parcel weight | Max allowed parcel dimensions | Pallet shipping | Oversized shipments | Cash on delivery | Parcel returns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DPD | + | + | + | 31.5 kg | side 175 cm girth 300 cm | + | + | ||
| FOFR | + | – | – | 1,800 kg | max length 6 m | + | + | + | |
| GLS | + | + | + | 40 kg | 60 x 80 x 200 cm girth 300 cm | + | + | ||
| One by Allegro | + | + | + | 50 kg | side 200 cm | + | + | ||
| PPL | + | + | + | 31.5 kg | 100 x 50 x 50 cm | + | + | ||
| TOPTRANS | + | – | + | 6 t | 6 m | + | + | + | + |
| Zásilkovna | + | + | + | 15 kg | side 120 cm sum of 3 sides 150 cm | + | + | ||
| Czech Post | + | + | + | 2025 kg | side 240 cm | + | + | ||
| Slovak Post | + | 30 kg | side 200 cm sum of 3 sides 300 cm | + |
You can find out shipping prices directly from the courier service providers. Shipping rates for online stores are usually different than for standard consumer shipments. In most cases, carriers offer online stores customized pricing—based on the quantity and types of parcels you ship.
Don’t underestimate shipping selection for your WooCommerce store
Shipping is one of the key factors for your store’s success. That’s why it’s important to choose the most suitable option for your products and customers and to offer multiple alternatives. WooCommerce shipping plugins make it easier to manage shipments and configure delivery methods. Have you already considered all WooCommerce shipping options? Choose from our WooCommerce shipping plugins.
(updated April 30, 2025)