Shopify package settings: what they do, and what they don't

By the PACKTRACK team · Updated October 2026

Short answer: Shopify's package settings save the size and weight of the boxes and mailers you ship in. Shopify uses them to work out shipping rates at checkout and to pick a package when you buy a shipping label. They don't count how many boxes you have.

Where to find package settings

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings › Shipping and delivery.
2. In the Packages section, click Add package.
3. Name the package, choose its package type, and add its dimensions and weight.
4. Optional: select Use as default package.
5. Click Add package.

What a package stores

A package has a name, a package type, dimensions and a weight. Shopify's package types include a box ("a corrugated cardboard box") and soft packages such as "a padded envelope, bubble mailer, or plastic (Tyvek or Poly) sleeve", plus envelope, flat rate and carrier packages. You can edit a package's type, size or weight at any time.

The default package

• You can have only one store default package.
• Shopify uses it to work out the shipping rate at checkout when you use weight-based or carrier-calculated rates, for any product that doesn't have its own package.
• With weight-based rates, the package's weight is added to the products' weight to decide which rate to charge.
• When you buy a shipping label and no suggested package is available, Shopify selects your default package for you.

A package for one product

You can assign a package to a product or variant. It overrides the store default package for that variant, but only for single-item orders. When an order has several items, Shopify uses the store default package for rates at checkout.

Packed product size: Shopify's box picker for rates

If you enter a product's packed size (the outer length, width and height after it's packed), Shopify packs the items in each shipment into the smallest of your saved boxes that fits them.

• Only packages with the Box type are picked this way. Envelopes, soft packs, flat rate and carrier packages aren't.
• Enter all three measurements, or none: if you enter only one or two, the packed size isn't saved.

This choice is for shipping rates and labels. Shopify's documentation doesn't describe it changing any stock count.

What package settings don't do

• They don't count your boxes. Shopify's documentation describes a package's name, type, size and weight, and no quantity or stock field.
• They don't take a box off stock when you ship or buy a label. Shopify's documentation doesn't describe that anywhere on its package pages.
• They don't track packaging cost. A package has no cost field in Shopify's documentation.

To count boxes with Shopify's own tools, you need a workaround: see How to track packaging materials in Shopify.

The PACKTRACK way

PACKTRACK is a packaging inventory app for Shopify.

• Your boxes, mailers, envelopes and accessories are tracked as packaging inventory, with on-hand, committed and available stock.
• Set simple rules, or let Peter, the built-in AI assistant, pick the best-fit box from your product dimensions. Packaging is assigned when a paid order comes in.
• Stock is reserved when packaging is assigned and deducted when you fulfill in Shopify.
• Low-stock alerts, and packaging cost per order, average cost and trends.
• $12 a month, billed through Shopify, with a 15-day free trial.

Shopify package settings vs PACKTRACK

Questions store owners ask

All packaging inventory questionsHow to track packaging materials in Shopify

Sources