Improve conversion with trusted delivery dates

Promise lets you show accurate pre-checkout delivery dates to provide clear and reliable delivery expectations.

By displaying an accurate delivery date on product details pages and at checkout, you can boost conversion rates, reduce cart abandonment, and build trust throughout the customer journey.

Best Practice

When configuring promise, it’s important to consider the following:

• Map service levels to each of your carrier service levels and keep naming consistent (for example: "Standard", "Next Day")

• Use realistic warehouse handling times and regularly review and update times based on fulfillment data

• Configure delivery cut-off times per warehouse to reflect your latest possible order processing time to ensure your promise configuration doesn’t overcommit on late-day purchases. Additionally, adjust cut-off times seasonally if needed (for example: during peak periods).

• Use special days (for example: inventory, strikes, or weather events) and holiday observance (for example: Christmas Day) settings for each warehouse as failing to exclude non-working days leads to inaccurate promise dates

• Set the calibration for the delivery methods to fine-tune promise windows and ensure they reflect operational processes. Update calibrations as your carrier performance or SLAs evolve.

• Use the SLA minimum and maximum values to ensure there’s always a fallback delivery range.

• Use consistent naming for delivery methods to make it easier to filter to segment promise performance by region, warehouse, or sales channel.

• Preview and test changes to your promise configuration before publishing and avoid disruptions by validating changes before they go live

• Maintain and keep your promise configuration up-to-date, including warehouses, service levels, and delivery methods and publish changes promptly to reflect the latest fulfilment capabilities.

Use Cases

Explore practical ways to integrate delivery promises into key touchpoints to increase customer satisfaction and reduce support inquiries.

Standard Domestic Shipping

Use case: Offer standard shipping across your home market to show a conservative 3-5 day range that accounts for warehouse handling and courier variability.

Promise configuration:

• Service level

  • "Standard Domestic" mapped to relevant carrier service level (for example: DHL Standard)

• Warehouse settings

  • Define accurate time zone (for example: Europe/Berlin)

  • Enable setting to observe holidays

  • Add any known closure days via special days (for example: Black Friday)

• Delivery method settings

  • Assign correct service level

  • Calibration = Balanced

  • Warehouse handling time = 24 hours

  • Line-haul handling time = 24 hours

  • SLA min = 3 days, SLA max = 5 days

  • Cut-off time = 16:00

  • Days of operation - Monday-Friday

• Expected result in Promise API

  • Delivery by 3-5 day range depending on order time and day

Goal: Set clear delivery expectations that reduce support calls and allow for minor delays without disappointing customers.

Same-Day Dispatch for Orders Before 2pm

Use case: Provide fast delivery to customers who order before 2pm from a specific warehouse. This would be a premium offering for select locations.

Promise configuration:

• Service level

  • "Same-Day Dispatch" mapped to relevant carrier service level

• Warehouse settings

  • Define accurate time zone (for example: Europe/Berlin)

  • Enable setting to observe holidays

  • Add any known closure days via special days (for example: Black Friday)

• Delivery method settings

  • Assign correct service level

  • Calibration = Aggressive

  • Warehouse handling time = 2 hours (so orders ship the same day if placed before the cut-off)

  • Line-haul handling time = 4 hours (to reflect the carrier pickup window)

  • SLA min = 1 day, SLA max = 1 day (for next day delivery after same day dispatch)

  • Cut-off time = 14:00

  • Destination countries = relevant countries

• Expected result in Promise API

  • Orders placed before 14:00, promise date will show next day delivery

  • Orders placed after 14:00, promise date will show delivery one day later

Goal: Encourage purchases by advertising same-day dispatch if the order is placed early enough.

Express International Shipping

Use case: Offer an express international delivery option from multiple warehouses across Europe, depending on stock location and customer destination.

Promise configuration:

• Service level

  • "Express International" mapped to relevant carrier service level

• Warehouse settings

  • Set up multiple warehouse locations with accurate country, region, and zip code

  • Define accurate time zone (for example: Europe/Berlin)

  • Enable setting to observe holidays

  • Add any known closure days via special days (for example: Black Friday)

• Delivery method settings

  • Create relevant delivery methods (for example: Express_Int_DE, Express_Int_UK)

  • Assign correct service level

  • Calibration = Aggressive

  • Warehouse handling time = 6 hours

  • Line-haul handling time = 12 hours

  • SLA min = 2 days, SLA max = 4 days

  • Destination countries = relevant countries

• Expected result in Promise API

  • Promise date adapts based on warehouse logic and destination country

Goal: Maximize conversion for international shoppers by offering realistic delivery times for premium shipping.

No Weekend Dispatch

Use case: For warehouses that do not operate on weekends to ensure Promise respects this and doesn’t create unrealistic expectations for Friday orders.on.

Promise configuration:

• Service level

  • "No Weekend" mapped to relevant carrier service level

• Warehouse settings

  • Define accurate time zone (for example: Europe/Berlin)

  • Enable setting to observe holidays

  • Add any known closure days via special days (for example: Black Friday)

• Delivery method settings

  • Set days of operation to exclude Saturday and Sunday

  • Assign correct service level

  • Calibration = Balanced

  • Warehouse handling time = 8 hours

  • Line-haul handling time = 24 hours

  • SLA min = 2-3 days, SLA max = 2-3 days

• Expected result in Promise API

  • Orders placed Friday at 15:00, promise date will show Monday or Tuesday delivery

  • Orders placed Friday at 17:00, promise date will assume it ships Monday and delivery Tuesday or Wednesday

Goal: Avoid overpromising and improve accuracy for late-week orders.

Peak Season Buffering

Use case: Expand delivery windows during peak periods to account for higher volumes and slower couriers, without changing your core delivery method setup.

Promise configuration:

• Service level

  • "Peak Season" mapped to relevant carrier service level

• Warehouse settings

  • Define accurate time zone (for example: Europe/Berlin)

  • Enable setting to observe holidays

  • Add any known closure days via special days for high-volume periods (for example: Black Friday, Christmas)

• Delivery method settings

  • Assign correct service level

  • Calibration = Conservative

  • Warehouse handling time = extend slightly +8 hours

  • Line-haul handling time = add +1 hours

• Expected result in Promise API

  • Orders placed during peak period, promise date will show wider date ranges (for example: 5-7 days instead of the usual 3-5 days)

Goal: Protect the customer experience by extending promises seasonally without harming conversion.

Urban vs. Rural Delivery Promise Adjustment

Use case: Tailor promise accuracy by delivery location to cater for shipments across the country, with urban areas receiving faster delivery than remote regions.

Promise configuration:

• Service level

  • "Standard Urban/Rural" mapped to relevant carrier service level

• Warehouse settings

  • Shared setup for all regions

  • Enable setting to observe holidays

  • Add any known closure days via special days (for example: Black Friday)

• Delivery method settings

  • Create two delivery methods:

    • Standard_Urban (for example: SLA 2-3 days)

    • Standard_Rural (for example: SLA 4-6 days)

  • Assign correct service level

  • Set destination countries and zip code rules to route orders to the correct method

• Expected result in Promise API

  • Orders placed from city, promise date will show date range 2-3 days

  • Orders placed from remote village, promise date will show date range 4-6 days

Goal: Reduce missed expectations and build regional trust.

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Check out the parcelLab guides

For further information on using promise, see our user guide documentation:

• Map your service levels to equivalent carrier service levels

• Configure the warehouses that you ship from

• Set up delivery methods used for shipping from your warehouses

• Publish your promise configuration