On average, shipping costs represent 15 to 25% of the total cost of an e-commerce order. For a professional shipping 100 parcels per month, an optimization of just 20% can generate annual savings of €2,000 to €5,000.
The three main levers for reducing your shipping costs in 2025 are: optimizing packaging (up to 40% savings), negotiating professional rates adapted to your volumes, and above all calculating the real cost including the risks of loss and damage.
This guide reveals 7 concrete strategies, tested by thousands of professionals, to turn your shipping costs from a cost center into a competitive advantage.
The Complete Shipping Cost Comparison 2025
Analysis of Rates by Carrier and Shipment Type
Price differences between carriers can reach 300% in some niches. Here is a detailed analysis of actual costs in 2025:
For a 1kg parcel in metropolitan France :
Key finding: Relay points offer average savings of 35% compared with home, with significant differences between carriers.
Points Relais vs Domicile: Where to really save?
Financial benefits of relay points :
- Average savings: 25-50% depending on carrier
- Reduced delivery failures: -80% multiple attempts
- Less disputes due to parcel theft: -60%.
But beware of hidden costs:
- Slightly lower customer satisfaction rate
- Possible impact on conversion rate (-2 to 5% depending on sector)
- More complex returns management
Our recommendation: Offer both options, with a financial incentive for point relais (free shipping on orders over €X for point relais vs. home delivery).
7 Practical Strategies to Reduce Shipping Costs
1. Packaging optimization: savings of up to 40%.
The most immediately profitable strategy :
- Dimensional vs. weight: Since 2024, most carriers charge by volume. Oversized packaging can move your parcel from the 0-1kg to the 1-2kg tariff band.
- Tailor-made packaging: Investing in packaging adapted to your products can reduce your costs by 25 to 40%. Case in point: switching from a standard 20x15x10cm box to 18x12x8cm saves €1.50 per shipment with most carriers.
- Optimized materials: Lightweight packaging (single vs. double corrugated) can reduce weight by 20 to 50g, which means substantial savings on large volumes.
2. Professional Tariff Negotiation
Volume and regularity = bargaining power:
- Minimum threshold: From 50 parcels/month, you can negotiate discounts of 10-15%.
- 100+ parcels/month: Discounts of 15-25% possible
- 500+ parcels/month: Preferential rates and special conditions
Pro tip: Negotiate at the end of the fiscal year (November-December), when carriers are looking to secure their volumes for the following year.
3. Strategic timing of shipments
Avoid seasonal cost overruns:
- Periods to avoid: Black Friday/Cyber Monday (+15-30% fuel surcharge)
- Optimum periods: January-February and September (lowest rates)
- Grouped shipments: Focusing on 2-3 days a week vs. daily can reduce costs by 8-12%.
4. Pooling and grouping
Economies of scale on small volumes:
- Group several orders from the same geographical area
- International consolidation services
- Partnerships with other e-tailers to pool volumes
5. Strategic choice of delivery methods
Prioritize by product margin:
- Low-margin products: prefer economy modes (5-7 days)
- Premium products: Include express delivery costs in the price
- Intelligent mix: 70% economy, 20% standard, 10% express
6. CMS integrations for automation and savings
Automation as a lever for savings :
Integrations with your CMS (Shopify, PrestaShop, WooCommerce) offer savings that are often overlooked:
- Time savings: an average of 10 hours per week saved on manual shipment management
- Error reduction: -85% of address entry errors (source: Shopify customer analysis)
- Automatic optimization: Automatic selection of the cheapest carrier according to predefined criteria
7. Actual cost calculation: Transport + Risk
Strategy neglected by 80% of professionals:
The real cost of a shipment = Cost of transport + Cost of risk (loss/damage)
Financial impact of claims :
- Average loss ratio: 0.5% to 2% depending on business sector
- Average cost of a claim : Product price + forwarding costs + management time
- Impact on customer relations: 5-7x higher cost of acquiring a new customer
Case in point: an e-merchant with an average shopping basket of €150 and a 1% claims rate has a minimum hidden cost of €1.50 per parcel (excluding indirect impact on brand image & reshipment costs + management time). By securing his shipments with appropriate insurance, he transforms this random cost into a predictable investment of between €0.90 and €1.10, depending on value.
The Hidden Cost of Shipping: Why Insurance Changes Everything
The real impact of loss and damage on your costs
The numbers no one calculates:
85% of professionals calculate only the cost of transport, ignoring the cost of risk. However, for every 1,000 parcels shipped :
- 5 to 20 will be lost or damaged, depending on the carrier
- Average cost of managing a dispute: 45 minutes + administrative costs
- Customer retention rate after unresolved claims: 12%.
ROI of Professional Insurance
Calculating real savings :
For an e-merchant shipping 200 parcels/month with an average shopping basket of €120 :
- Without insurance: 2-4 monthly claims = €240/480 loss + management time
- With Claisy insurance: €150/180 monthly premium for full coverage
- Net savings: €60-€330/month, i.e. €720 to €3,960 annually (excluding time saved on customer service).
Beyond savings: Insurance transforms your unpredictable variable costs into controlled fixed costs, facilitating cash flow management, customer service responsiveness and budget projection.
Why carrier insurance is not enough
Basic protection limits :
- Compensation by weight (€23/kg) vs actual value
- Multiple exclusions: high-tech, luxury, fragile products
- Turnaround time: 30-90 days vs. 48-72 hours for specialists
- Insufficient Limits for valuable products
The professional alternative: Solutions like Claisy offer real-value coverage, with no product exclusions, compensation within 48-72 hours, and automatic integration with major CMS systems.
Tools and Platforms: What to Use in 2025?
Shipping Comparators
Independent solutions :
- Upela : Wide range of carriers, clear interface
- Boxtal part of LaPoste , but a wide choice of carriers
- Parcel2Go : Specialized in small volumes and professional users
Solutions integrated with your CMS :
- Sendcloud : Excellent Shopify and WooCommerce integration
- ShippingBo : Complete French solution with returns management
- Packlink : Negotiated rates, good for international business
- nShift : High-volume oriented, advanced features
Choice Criteria Objectives
Choose your solution :
- Monthly volume: Less than 100 parcels = simple comparators / More than 500 = integrated solutions
- Types of products : High-tech/luxury = check insurance coverage
- Main destinations: National vs. international
- Desired level of automation: Manual vs. integrated
- Budget: Free solutions vs. monthly subscriptions
Our recommendation: Test 2-3 solutions over a month with a small volume before making a final choice.
This article was written by e-commerce logistics experts and updated in August 2025. Rates and data are based on a comparative analysis of the main solutions on the French market.