Your customers want to see estimated delivery dates at checkout. Without them, you’re likely losing sales.
No matter what holiday is coming up, chances are customers will shop around your store for a present and want to see accurate delivery dates. Even if you sell pet supplies or machine tools, they all want the same information.
Don’t get you customer in hot water or ruin a special moment by delivering a present too late. Here’s how you can offer your customers date & time guaranteed delivery options in time for any holiday.
Why Customers Want to See Accurate Delivery Dates
So what’s the #1 reason to allow your eCommerce customers to choose a delivery date and time? Shoppers are increasingly coming to expect these options.
A few reasons include:
Convenience
Perhaps your customer wants their child’s birthday cake to arrive the morning of the big 5th birthday puppy party. Because tasty treats, meat, and other perishable items run the risk of melting or spoiling on the doorstep, it’s important that your customers can be there to accept any items that risk deterioration.
Special occasions
Flowers and cupcakes are not as special the day after your gift recipient’s birthday. Be a part of your customer’s special occasion by allowing them to give that perfect gift at the most ideal moment.
Security
It’s no fun to order a big ticket item only to have the neighborhood thief make off with it instead. After all, not everybody has the skills to install a glitter bomb to teach would-be thieves a valuable lesson in this social contract.
Best of all, allowing customers to choose a delivery date and time increases conversion rates. If your customer has to choose between a retailer with a 2-day delivery window and a retailer who can promise to get the giant cthulhu plush to their beloved before a holiday, anniversary or birthday, then that decision is a no-brainer.
How to Configure Delivery Dates with ShipperHQ
ShipperHQ can help you fulfill orders on-time, every time using our Delivery Date & Time functionality. To use these functions with ShipperHQ, your carrier needs to support selecting a delivery date and time. UPS, FedEx, In-Store pickup and some custom rates carriers fit this bill.
Set Lead Times
Lead Times are used to define how many days are required to prepare an order for shipment. This can be less than a day, such as packing a t-shirt in a padded envelope. Or it can be weeks, such as the time needed to build a custom piece of furniture.
Set Cut Off Times
Cut off times work in conjunction with lead times. The most frequently seen example of a cutoff time is the same-day shipping cut off date. For example, you may tell customers on your site to “Order by 2pm for your package to ship today.”
Set Blackout Production Days & Dates
Blackout Production Days and Dates are used to define when this origin is not processing orders. Say you’re a custom cake baker whose star baker works Monday-Thursday. If it takes your baker 1 business day to produce your trademark amazing cakes, and an order is placed on a Friday, you know it won’t be ready until Monday.
Set Blackout Dispatch Days & Dates
Blackout Dispatch Days and Dates are used to define when this origin does not ship orders out. This will most commonly be set to weekends and holidays. In some warehouses, you might only dispatch on certain days of the week.
Read more about how date & time-based delivery options at “Make Time Slot Delivery a Hit with Your Customers.”
Allowing your customers to choose delivery date and time can increase conversions and create loyal customers. To get started with date & time-based delivery options, start a 15-day trial of ShipperHQ today!
