Delivery zones for affiliate products
Per-product delivery configuration for catalog items, why it matters for creator promotion, and how to set zones that match real shipping economics.
Delivery decides whether a creator's pitch holds up
A creator promoting your product tells their audience: "This ships to your area." If a buyer taps through and sees "Delivery not available," they bounce, the creator loses trust, and you lose a sale.
Per-product delivery zones for affiliate listings exist so creators know exactly where you ship and can pitch accordingly. This guide walks through configuring them.
Why affiliate products need their own zones
Your shop's default delivery zones apply to your basic shop products. But your affiliate-listed catalog items may have very different shipping economics:
- A bulky item might be local-only even though your shop delivers nationally.
- A light, high-margin item might be affordable to ship nationally via bus park.
- A delicate item might be pickup-only to avoid courier damage.
Per-product zones let each catalog product have its own delivery configuration that fits its specific reality.
What zones do for creators
Creators care about zones because:
- They can tell their audience accurately. "Ships nationwide" or "Kampala only" — clarity wins.
- They can target their content to the right geographies. A creator with a Mbarara audience won't push your Kampala-only product hard.
- They avoid frustrated buyers (and the bad reviews that follow).
A well-configured zone profile makes your product easier to promote.
The zone structure
Each affiliate product can have multiple zones. Each zone has:
- A name ("Kampala," "Wakiso + Mukono," "Nationwide bus park").
- The areas it covers (pick from district / town dropdown).
- The delivery fee in UGX.
- An optional free-delivery threshold ("free over 200,000 UGX").
- A delivery time estimate ("1-2 days," "3-5 days").
Buyers at checkout see only the zone that matches their address. They get one fee, one estimate. Clean.
Setting up zones for a product
From the affiliate product editor
Seller Hub → Catalog → tap the product → Edit → Delivery options.
You'll see two main choices:
- Use shop default zones — the product inherits your shop's default delivery setup.
- Override with product-specific zones — set zones unique to this product.
For affiliate products, "override" is often the right move because catalog products tend to have different economics from your shop defaults.
Adding zones
Tap + Add zone. For each zone:
- Name it ("Kampala," "National bus park").
- Pick the areas covered (multi-select from dropdown).
- Set the fee.
- Optionally set a free-delivery threshold.
- Set the delivery time estimate.
- Tap Save.
A sample affiliate-product zone setup
For a 100k UGX kitenge dress:
| Zone | Areas | Fee | Free over | ETA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Kampala | Kololo, Nakasero, Old Kampala | 5,000 | — | 1 day |
| Greater Kampala | Bukoto, Ntinda, Naalya, Kira | 8,000 | 120,000 | 1-2 days |
| Wakiso | Wakiso, Entebbe | 15,000 | 200,000 | 2-3 days |
| National bus park | Anywhere reachable by bus | 12,000 | 250,000 | 3-5 days |
Creators promoting this can tell their audience: "Free delivery in Bukoto/Ntinda for orders over 120k. National bus park delivery available for 12k."
Zone strategies by product type
Lightweight, high-margin items
Set nationwide delivery. The wider reach lifts creator pickup (they can promote nationally).
Examples: jewelry, small accessories, beauty products.
Bulky or fragile items
Local-only with pickup option. Honest about the limits.
Examples: furniture, glassware, large electronics.
Mid-weight, mid-margin items
Local + greater-area + bus park, with rising fees as distance increases. Free-delivery thresholds at progressively higher order values.
Examples: clothing, food items, small home goods.
Premium items
Often free delivery to anywhere (cost absorbed into the price). Premium products are price-insensitive on the delivery component.
Examples: luxury electronics, designer wear.
What buyers see at checkout
When a buyer at a specific address (say, Bukoto) checks out:
- They see only the zone matching their address — Bukoto zone.
- They see the fee.
- They see the delivery time estimate.
- They see the free-delivery threshold (if they're close to it, some buyers add another item).
Other zones are hidden — they only see what applies to them.
What creators see in the catalog
When a creator is browsing the catalog deciding whether to promote your product, they can see all your zones at a glance:
- Total geographic coverage (how widely you ship).
- Fee ranges.
- Free-delivery thresholds.
This is on the product's "Creator preview" page, which is meant for creators only.
Overriding the shop default
When you check the "Override with product-specific zones" box, your shop's default zones stop applying to THIS product. The product uses only the zones you set on it.
If you uncheck the box later, the product reverts to shop defaults. The product-specific zones you set are saved as a draft so you can re-enable them if needed.
Common pitfalls
Setting zones too aggressively wide
Don't include zones you can't actually serve. If you say "Nationwide bus park" but really only ship to towns with daily bus connections, buyers from harder-to-reach areas will be frustrated.
Be honest about coverage.
Underpricing delivery to look attractive
If a Bukoto delivery actually costs you 8,000 UGX in rider fees but you charge buyers 5,000 to look cheap, you lose 3,000 on every delivery. Multiply by 50 sales and you've burned 150,000 UGX of margin.
Match fees to actual costs.
Not updating zones when shipping economics change
If fuel prices spiked or your rider raised rates, update your zones within a week. Outdated zone fees compound losses.
Treating every product the same
A 5,000 UGX item shouldn't have the same delivery setup as a 500,000 UGX item. Match zones to product economics.
Tracking delivery performance
Insights → Affiliate analytics → Delivery breakdown shows:
- Which zones are generating the most sales.
- Average delivery time vs your estimates.
- Delivery-related complaint rate.
If a zone has consistently slower actual deliveries than your estimate, raise the estimate (under-promise / over-deliver) to prevent buyer disappointment.
Free delivery as a sales tool
A free-delivery threshold is one of the strongest upsell tools. Examples:
- "Free delivery over 100k" — pushes buyers to add items to cross the threshold.
- "Free delivery on orders 200k+" — pushes premium bundling.
Set thresholds at 1.5-2× your typical order value. Too low and you're giving away delivery on every order; too high and no one qualifies.
Common questions
Can I have different zones for different variants (size, color)?
No — variants share zones. The same shipping config applies to all sizes / colors of the same product.
What if a buyer's address is exactly on a zone boundary?
The system picks the zone whose listed areas include the buyer's specific district or town. If a buyer is between districts, they get the cheaper zone's fee.
Can I charge by weight or distance dynamically?
Not yet. Today, zones are flat-fee per geographic area. Dynamic pricing isn't supported.
What if I want to offer pickup?
Pickup is a separate delivery mode at the shop level. You can also configure pickup on a per-affiliate-product basis. Open the product → Delivery → toggle "Allow pickup" → set the pickup location(s).
Buyers see "Pickup" as an option at checkout alongside delivery zones.
Do my own self-listed catalog products use the same zone settings?
No. Self-listed and affiliate-listed catalog products each have their own delivery configs. You can set them similarly or differently.
What happens when I change zone settings — does it trigger admin review?
No. Delivery zone changes don't go through admin review. They update immediately and affect new orders going forward.
(Only price and commission changes need admin review for affiliate products.)
Can a buyer outside my zones contact me to arrange off-zone delivery?
Buyers can message you on WhatsApp. If you want to offer a custom delivery, you can — but you'd need to update the zone or arrange off-platform. Most sellers just add a temporary zone for the buyer's area.
What's next
- Submitting products — the broader product setup flow.
- Price changes — the only product changes that need admin review.