Partial COD for Shopify
The highest-leverage middle ground on a COD-heavy store: the shopper pays a small amount online now and the rest on delivery. You keep the sale you'd otherwise block — at a return rate well below full COD, because a buyer who's paid an advance opens the door.
Keep the sale, cut the return.
A small advance online, the rest in cash
The shopper pays a token amount now — a flat figure or a percentage, tiered by cart value if you like — and the balance on delivery. Set the advance to whatever your margins and your customers accept.
Offers & partial COD →It cuts RTO without killing the sale
Blocking a risky COD loses the order. Partial COD keeps it: a shopper who's already paid ₹100 is far more likely to accept the parcel. RTO on partial-COD orders runs well below full COD.
RTO playbook →Trigger it only where it's needed
Offer partial COD by its own order-value and cart-item range — independent of full COD — so it appears exactly where it should. Outside the range, the order stays prepaid-only.
COD rules →Its own fee, usually lower
Charge a separate (typically lower) COD convenience fee on partial orders, flat or tiered by cart value — since an advance is already paid online. Left off, partial orders use the same fee as full COD.
Partial COD on Shopify — FAQ.
What is partial COD?
Partial COD is a middle path between full Cash on Delivery and prepaid: the shopper pays a small advance online at checkout and the remaining balance in cash on delivery. It keeps the comfort of paying most of the order in cash, while the online advance commits the buyer enough to accept the parcel — which is what cuts returns.
How does partial COD reduce RTO?
A return-to-origin happens when a COD shopper refuses or isn't reachable. A shopper who has already paid an advance online has skin in the game, so refusals drop sharply. Partial COD lets you keep a risky order as a sale instead of blocking it, at a materially lower return rate than full COD.
Can I control when partial COD is offered?
Yes. In IndiSell, partial COD has its own availability range — a minimum/maximum order value and cart-item count, independent of full COD — plus its own convenience fee (flat or tiered). So you can, for example, offer full COD up to ₹2,000 and partial COD from ₹2,000–8,000.
Does partial COD need a payment gateway?
Yes — the advance is a real online payment, so partial COD needs a connected gateway (Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree, Easebuzz and others). IndiSell is gateway-agnostic, so you use whichever you already run, and funds settle directly to you.
Ready to fix the leak between add-to-cart and paid?
See it live on your own store — a private preview link runs the real checkout for you before a single shopper sees it.