Faire aims to solve high shipping costs for small businesses

SAN FRANCISCO – Customers aren’t the only ones who don’t like to pay for shipping; delivery costs are also a line item that retailers have to worry about, as they can significantly affect their bottom line. Shipping has long been one of wholesale’s most persistent friction points – unpredictable, expensive, and often a deciding factor in what retailers choose to buy and how much budget they have.

To help, Faire is expanding its collaboration with UPS to provide independent businesses access to more affordable rates, building on an average 20 percent rate reduction introduced last year. Today, Ship with Faire orders will see an average 18 percent reduction in shipping rates across top carriers, according to the wholesale marketplace. The company points out that, at scale, shipping represents one of the clearest opportunities to improve margins and support more consistent growth for independent businesses.

In 2025, more than 5 million shipments moved through Ship with Faire, nearly 15,000 shipments a day. That collective volume helps create access to lower per-package costs across carriers, making rates typically reserved for larger-scale businesses available to independent retailers.

Those savings are passed back to retailers on Faire, saving businesses tens of millions of dollars annually across Faire’s shipping programs. As adoption continues to accelerate – with Ship with Faire GMV growing over 50 percent year-over-year – that scale compounds, enabling further rate improvements over time.

Why Shipping Plays a Critical Role in Growth

Shipping affordability directly shapes purchasing behavior. According to Faire, retailer research shows that “affordable or free shipping” is the most important factor when evaluating inventory sources, with 71 percent of retailers calling it extremely important. Overall, 58 percent cite affordable shipping as a top-three consideration in where they choose to buy.

This preference is reflected in behavior on Faire: products that qualify for Faire Insider free shipping see a roughly 15 percent higher likelihood of checkout, demonstrating how lower shipping costs directly influence purchasing decisions. Today, roughly half of all orders on Faire use Ship with Faire to access negotiated carrier rates. In total, retailers on Faire spent over $200 million on shipping in 2025, underscoring both the scale of the opportunity and the importance of reducing that cost.