eCommerce: Shipping Providers

In a competitive environment in which speed of delivery is a high-valued feature of online shopping, choosing the right shipping provider is a significant choice for online stores. ECDB's comprehensive store data helps elucidate the question of which providers take the lead in this vast market.

UPS and USPS Are Used by Most U.S. Online Stores

The ECDB data provides comprehensive information on the use of shipping providers in the U.S., which includes those online stores that generate the majority of their revenue in the country.

Among them, 56% of online stores use either UPS or USPS to deliver packages to their customers. FedEx ranks third, with 48% of U.S. online stores reporting that they use this service. Not only are these the three most commonly used carriers, but they hold their positions by a wide margin.

Other shipping providers fall further behind, with self-collection or Click & Collect services in fourth place. Self-collection services offer inherent flexibility, allowing customers to choose where and when to pick up their order, but lack the convenience of home delivery. An existing and functioning hybrid model is also a prerequisite. Therefore, Click & Collect is used by 14% of U.S. online stores.

In fifth place, just behind self-collection, is international shipping provider DHL. 13% of online stores in the U.S. say they use this service.

Note that this ranking only includes stores in our database for which shipping provider usage is available and known.