Setting up automated delivery dates

Automated delivery dates predict specific dates based on your shipping performance, such as Estimated delivery Mon, Jun 30. The predictions use your fulfillment history to calculate when orders will arrive.

Before you set up automated delivery dates, make sure to review Getting started with fulfillment time and delivery dates.

Eligibility for automated delivery dates

Review the following requirements for using automated delivery dates.

Store requirements

To display automatic delivery dates to your customers, your store must:

• Be on the Basic plan or higher.
• Use the latest version of related Shopify features, such as shipping settings.
• Never have violated the Shopify Acceptable Use Policy.
• Fulfilled at least one domestic order.
• Have an active fulfillment location within an eligible country.

Regional requirements

Automated delivery dates are available for the United States and select countries in Europe. Refer to the following table for availability:

Order requirements

Each order must also meet the following criteria to display a delivery date:

• The customer is located within an eligible country.
• The delivery date prediction is within 5 days for US orders, or 4 days for European orders.
• The products in the order are in stock and can be fulfilled immediately from an eligible country.
• The products in the order aren't any of the following:
  • Digital products.
  • App-provided pre-orders.
  • Subscriptions.
  • Try-before-you-buy.
• The order's origin and destination are within the same region:
  • Delivery dates are displayed for an order from the United States to the United States.
  • Delivery dates are displayed for an order from within Europe to a destination in Europe. For example, from Austria to Finland.
  • Delivery dates are not displayed for orders between the United States and any location in Europe. For example, from the United States to France.

Considerations for setting up automated delivery dates

Before activating automated delivery dates in your store, review the following considerations:

• Before you activate automated delivery dates, it's recommended that you remove transit times from your custom rate names and add them to the rate description instead.
• If a delivery prediction for an order is greater than 5 days for US orders, or 4 days for European orders, then manual delivery dates are displayed by default.
• If a customer reports a damaged, incorrect, or late product, then it's your responsibility to resolve the issue directly with the customer.

Automated delivery dates and Shop Promise

Automated delivery dates are different from Shop Promise. Shop Promise has the following features and requirements, which don't apply to automated delivery dates:

• Shop Promise offers a limited guarantee for eligible orders.
• To use Shop Promise, you must meet Shop Promise delivery standards and activate Shop Pay.

You can use both Shop Promise and automated delivery dates at the same time. If both features are activated, then Shop Promise badges are displayed for eligible orders. If an order is ineligible, or if Shop Promise is paused or deactivated, then automated delivery dates are displayed.

Set up automated delivery dates

You can activate automated delivery dates to display predicted delivery dates at checkout based on your shipping performance. To learn more about fulfillment time options, refer to Getting started with fulfillment time and delivery dates.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery > Estimated delivery dates.
2. Click Estimated delivery dates, and then select Automated.
3. From the Fulfillment time drop-down menu, select one of the fulfillment time options.
4. Optional: If you select Custom, then enter a custom fulfillment time and select the unit, such as business days or weeks.
5. Click Save.

Turn off automated delivery dates

If you no longer want to display automated delivery dates, then you can turn them off or switch to manual delivery dates.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery > Estimated delivery dates.
2. Click Estimated delivery dates, and then choose one of the following options:

• Select Off to remove delivery dates from your orders entirely. Only transit times or custom shipping rate descriptions are displayed.
• Select Manual to display delivery dates based on your selected fulfillment time and transit time. Delivery dates are displayed as a date range, such as Wednesday, October 27 – Thursday, October 28.

3. Click Save.

Customize order confirmation emails to include automated delivery dates

Automated delivery dates are displayed in order confirmation emails for eligible deliveries.

However, if you've previously customized your order confirmation email, then delivery dates aren't automatically included in your emails. To include automated delivery dates in your email notifications, you need to manually customize the email template.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Notifications.

2. Click Order confirmation.

3. Click Edit code.

4. In the email body, find the line that contains {{ shipping_method.title }}.

5. Replace the line that contains {{ shipping_method.title }} with the following code:

{% if delivery_promise_branded_shipping_line %}
  {{ delivery_promise_branded_shipping_line %}
{% else %}
  {{ shipping_method.title }}
{% endif %}

6. Click Save.