What agreements do you make regarding delivery times and cut-off dates?

The agreements regarding delivery times determine what you can promise on your product page. Two things are set in stone, and you can tailor the rest to your own product lineup: the deadline for submitting orders, and what happens on weekends.

The cutoff is at 11:59 p.m.

Orders submitted before midnight will be processed the next business day. This gives you a more flexible deadline than you’re used to when you ship the orders yourself, where the cutoff is usually determined by when you can get to the pickup location.

Weekend orders are processed on Sunday

Orders received over the weekend aren't held until Monday morning. They're processed on Sunday so they can be delivered on Monday. For your customer, that means: an order placed on Friday evening will be delivered on Monday, instead of Tuesday.

Add it to your product page

A delivery time that’s accurate and clearly stated on your site reduces customer inquiries and lowers your cart abandonment rate in the final step. Specify the time by which your customer must place an order, not just the number of days.

Don't promise it will be your best day

Set goals based on what’s always achievable, not on what’s possible on a quiet Tuesday. A promise you consistently keep is more valuable than a more ambitious one that you occasionally fail to keep.

Arrange for special items separately

Items that require special handling or are not typically in stock have their own lead time within the order-to-shipment process. Identify these in advance so you can highlight them differently on your site compared to the rest.

What Changes Around the Holidays

Around the holidays, carriers’ schedules change. Determine in advance which days will be different and adjust your communications accordingly, rather than having to explain afterward why a package arrived late.

Make a note of it right from the start

Delivery times, cut-off times, and what happens on the weekend are all part of the agreements you make at the beginning. That way, you’ll know what you can promise before you post it on your site.

Include it in your agreement

Agreements regarding cut-off times, weekend processing, and delivery times should be included in the terms you establish together, not in an email that you might not be able to find later. The agreement specifies which items are included as standard. Be sure to explicitly include any deviating agreements you have.

How Your Customer Will Notice It

For your customer, only one thing matters: when the package will arrive. A 11:59 p.m. cutoff and processing of weekend orders on Sunday means, in practice, that orders placed on Friday evening will be delivered on Monday. That’s a promise you can make on your product page—and one you can keep every week.