We’ve previously looked at the shipping availability options that you can use within Neto (see here).
However, setting shipping availability may not be the correct choice for every shipping option you offer. You may simply want to set a customer’s expectation of the shipping method’s ETA.
Providing ETAs to customers helps manage their expectations. While a customer should rely on tracking information provided by the carrier once their order has been dispatched, you can provide them your own ETA while they are still shopping on your store.
There are a number of settings on shipping options that allow you to make some adjustments that affect the ETA presented. These can be found at the bottom of the shipping option’s Edit page under the Shipping option Delivery Options tab.
More information on accessing the ETA and delivery date options can be found here.
Estimate Arrival in the Shopping Cart
With Neto, your webstore will generally display the ETA in the shipping summary section of the shopping cart. This location may be affected by the theme or other design customisations you have.
Preferred Delivery Date at the Checkout
If you use the Date Required field on the checkout (see Checkout Settings), you can also adjust the dates that can be selected from the calendar. In the image below you can see that Saturday and Sunday, as well as the Easter and ANZAC Day public holidays, are greyed out.
Settings Affecting ETA and Preferred Delivery Date
Information on accessing the ETA and delivery date options can be found here.
- Delivery Cut Off Time
- Allows you to set a time after which the ETA will adjust to the next available day after today. Good for cut-off times on carrier pickup as well as “closing time” for in-store pickups.
- Available Delivery Days
- Allows you to set which days of the week deliveries are made. For example, your carrier may not deliver on the weekend or you may not offer in-store services on the weekend. The ETA will be adjusted to reflect the next available delivery day.
- Shipping Carrier Can Pick Up On
- Allows you to set which days your carrier picks up your outgoing deliveries e.g. your carrier may not pick up on the weekend. The ETA will be adjusted to reflect the next available delivery day.
- Delivery Only Available On
- Allows you to define the specific dates that delivery can occur. This can be handy if you dispatch less than once a week for this shipping method. For example, you have a 3PL that you send all consignments with in bulk every two weeks to save on shipping costs. Or you may only send your international shipping at the end of the month.
- Delivery Not Available On
- Allows you to set any special dates during the year when delivery is not available even though the date would otherwise meet the availability requirements. For example, public holidays.
- Another way this can be handy is if you take a break over the Christmas/New Year period. You can set dates you will be away. This will allow customers to continue placing orders but set the expectation of receiving their packages.
- Shipping Carrier Can Travel On
- Allows you to set days the carrier travels. For example, the carrier may not move regional shipments on weekends.
- Shipping Carrier Not Travel On
- Allows you to set special days the carrier does not travel. For example, they may move shipments on public holidays.
For the Delivery Cut-Off Time, you will need to type the hour and minutes into the respective fields but can select AM or PM from the dropdown.
You can indicate the Available Delivery Days, days a Shipping Carrier Can Pick Up On, and days a Shipping Carrier Can Pick Up On with a tick.
With Delivery Only Available On, Delivery Not Available On, and Shipping Carrier Not Travel On, you will need to choose a Date Group from the dropdown.
Date Groups
Delivery Only Available On, Delivery Not Available On, and Shipping Carrier Not Travel On work a little differently as they allow you to specify certain dates rather than days of the week. For example, public holidays will affect the order ETA even though they may fall on a day of the week that is usually unaffected. These dates were collected as Date Groups.
You can select the desired date group from the dropdown. If you haven’t created any Date Groups, or you need a new one, then you will need to create one by clicking the Edit dates button.
The Edit Date Group window shows the Name of the group as well as any Existing Dates that have been added to the group. You can edit or delete existing dates from this window.
Add A New Date
Below the existing date, there is a section where you can add a new date. You can choose the date from the Calendar popup or type in the field.
You can also provide a Name to help identify the date.
Once you’re done you can save the changes using one of the buttons on the bottom right.
NOTE: You can only add one date at a time. If you are entering multiple dates you will need to save between each.
Let us know in the comments if you found this tip helpful, or if there are any other parts of the Commerce Cloud you’d like to see a future tip on!
