A first-time shopper trust gap
In about 1 in 6 stores we audit, first-time visitors convert at less than three quarters of the returning-customer rate.
PDQ store audits
Show shoppers a real delivery date, not a shipping speed
A delivery promise is a specific arrival date ("Get it by Friday, June 12") shown on the product page and in checkout, instead of a shipping speed ("3-5 business days"). Accurate dates remove the biggest unknown a first-time buyer faces. Winning delivery-promise tests lift checkout conversion by +3.3% (median across 16 experiments).
Delivered in 3 business days.
What does a vague delivery promise cost?
Based on PDQ audits of 600+ Shopify stores, each benchmarked against its own industry.
The shopper has to do the math
Returning customers already know your delivery is reliable. First-timers are deciding at checkout whether to believe you, and a shipping-speed range asks them to calculate the arrival date and take the risk.
The promise closes the unknown
A delivery promise names the day the package arrives. It only works when it comes from real fulfillment and carrier data for that destination, not a padded sitewide guess.
How does PDQ build a delivery promise shoppers trust?
PDQ turns delivery timing into a specific, destination-aware promise, then tests the wording, placement, and urgency around it. The goal is a clearer promise that the operation can keep.
01
Show a real date, not a shipping speed
“Get it by Friday” converts; “3-5 business days” calculates. PDQ shows estimated delivery dates on the product page and in checkout, computed from your actual fulfillment and carrier performance, so the date is a promise you keep, not a guess you pad.
02
Promise by zone, not sitewide
A single sitewide estimate is too slow for nearby customers and too optimistic for far ones. Zone-based delivery promises show each shopper the date for their location, so nobody sees a promise built for someone else's zip code.
03
Create urgency with cutoff timers
“Order in the next 2 hours to get it by Friday” turns the delivery promise into a deadline. Cutoff timers tied to your real dispatch schedule give shoppers an honest reason to finish checkout today.
04
Let shoppers pick their delivery date
Some purchases don't need to arrive fast; they need to arrive on the right day. A delivery date picker lets shoppers choose, which converts the buyer that speed alone can't. Available for Shopify Plus.
05
Test the promise like everything else
Where the date shows, how it's phrased, and whether a timer runs alongside it are each A/B tests, not settings. PDQ has run hundreds of delivery-promise tests and keeps the variants that measurably lift conversion.
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What do winning delivery-promise tests deliver?
Frozen July 13, 2026. Checkout conversion only; median across winning experiments.
Winning +3.3%
Winning delivery-promise tests lift checkout conversion by +3.3% (median across 16 experiments).
Delivery promise questions
What is a delivery promise in ecommerce?
A delivery promise is a specific arrival date shown to the shopper before they buy: "Get it by Friday, June 12" on the product page or in checkout, rather than a shipping speed like "3-5 business days." It converts better because it answers the question shoppers actually have (when will I get it?) instead of handing them a range to decode.
Do estimated delivery dates increase conversion?
When they're accurate and tested, yes. Winning delivery-promise tests lift checkout conversion by +3.3% (median across 16 experiments). The qualifier matters: promises that are vague, padded, or wrong don't produce this effect, which is why the date needs to come from real fulfillment and carrier data and the implementation needs to be tested, not assumed.
How do I show estimated delivery dates on my Shopify store?
Natively, Shopify shows shipping speeds, not arrival dates. Showing a real date per shopper requires computing it from your fulfillment times and carrier performance for the shopper's destination. PDQ does this on the product page and in checkout, per delivery zone, with no code changes to your store.
What makes a delivery promise accurate?
Two inputs: how long your warehouse actually takes to ship an order, and how long the carrier actually takes to that destination. A promise built on both, per zone, holds up. A promise built on a sitewide average breaks for exactly the customers it was padded or trimmed for, and a broken promise costs more trust than no promise at all.
Related checkout problems
Shipping Personalization
One-size-fits-all shipping loses money at both ends — tailor it by segment, zone, and cart
Checkout Abandonment
Stop losing 7 in 10 shoppers at the finish line
Checkout Issues Report
Not sure where you're leaking? Start with the 12 most common checkout issues, from 600+ store audits.
