Residential vs. commercial addresses
Carriers charge more to deliver to a home than to a business. So before ASM asks for a rate, it has to decide whether the shopper's address is residential or commercial. This article explains how it decides, and why the same cart can cost different amounts to different addresses.
Before you begin
Why it matters
- UPS and FedEx add a residential surcharge to home deliveries.
- FedEx uses a different service for homes: FedEx Home Delivery instead of FedEx Ground.
- Freight carriers price a residential delivery as an extra service.
If ASM gets the type wrong, the shopper pays too much (business priced as a home) or you absorb the surcharge (home priced as a business).
How ASM decides
Two settings in Settings → Shipping control it. See Global shipping settings explained.
Auto-detect address type — on or off, with UPS or FedEx.
When it's on, ASM asks the carrier you picked whether each US address is residential or commercial, then prices every method that way.
Treat shipments as — Residential or Commercial.
ASM uses this type when:
- auto-detect is off,
- the carrier can't tell what kind of address it is,
- the address is outside the US, or
- the carrier you picked for auto-detect isn't connected or isn't working.
Auto-detect needs a working carrier connection
Auto-detect uses your own UPS or FedEx connection.
- UPS picked, UPS not connected: ASM can't check addresses, so every address uses Treat shipments as. ASM shows the Connect your UPS account banner, because your store uses UPS for address checks. See Connect UPS.
- FedEx picked, FedEx keys refused or expired: the same thing happens. The FedEx tile shows Check API keys. See Connect FedEx and "FedEx Error" on every method.
If you only have one of UPS or FedEx connected, pick that one for auto-detect.
Which fallback to choose
- Mostly consumers? Choose Residential. Shoppers whose address can't be checked pay the home rate, so you're never short.
- Mostly businesses? Choose Commercial. Business buyers see the lower rate.
Why the estimator can show a different price
The Shipping Estimator uses the address type you pick in it. Checkout uses auto-detect. So a quote to the same ZIP code can differ if you picked a different type than the carrier detects. See Why the estimator and checkout can differ.
Veeqo decides for itself
Veeqo classifies the address itself, from the street. When there's no street, Veeqo treats the address as residential, which costs more. That's why Veeqo quotes in the estimator can be a little higher than at checkout. See Connect Veeqo.