A transactional payment model where the customer pays for their purchase in cash or digital methods upon physical delivery of the parcel.
COD (Cash on Delivery) remains the dominant payment method in the Indian e-commerce market, representing 60% to 80% of all online retail orders. While UPI and net-banking have grown rapidly, COD is heavily relied on by consumers due to a lingering lack of trust in new online brands, concern over digital payment failures, and the convenience of inspecting physical packages before paying. For a D2C print-on-demand brand, supporting COD is essential for maximizing customer conversion and expanding customer reach, especially in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. However, COD introduces unique financial and operational friction: shipping aggregators charge additional cash collection fees (usually ₹30 to ₹50 or 2% of order value), the remittance cycle of collected cash back to the merchant's bank account typically takes 7 to 10 days, and COD orders have significantly higher RTO (Return to Origin) rates than prepaid orders, requiring higher working capital reserves.