Delivery Promise
A delivery promise is the estimated delivery date shown to a shopper on the product page or at checkout.
Why it matters for ecommerce brands
A clear, accurate delivery promise raises checkout conversion, while missed promises create support tickets and hurt repeat purchase. The promise combines your order cutoff, warehouse processing time, and carrier transit time by zone, so each part must come from real data. For example, if showing an arrival date lifts conversion from 2.5% to 2.7% on 100,000 monthly sessions, that is 200 more orders, but missing 10% of promised dates can add dozens of tickets a month. Base promises on your measured on-time rate, not the carrier's best case.
Origin
Explicit delivery promises became a retail norm after Amazon launched Prime in 2005 with unlimited two-day shipping, then shortened the standard Prime promise to one day in 2019.
Common questions
- How accurate should my delivery date promise be?
- Aim to hit the promised date on the large majority of orders, measured with your actual processing and carrier transit data. Showing a date range or adding a buffer is better than missing a single date.
- How is an estimated delivery date calculated?
- Start from the order time, apply your cutoff and processing time to get the ship date, then add carrier transit days for the destination and skip non-delivery days. Good tools use your historical carrier performance rather than published standards.
- Should I show a delivery date or a date range?
- Show a single date when your on-time rate is high and stable, and a range when carrier performance varies, such as during peak season. A range you hit builds more trust than an exact date you miss.