Why Customers Abandon Carts Without Delivery Dates — and How to Fix It on Shopify

Cart abandonment is one of the biggest pain points in e-commerce — and most brands are focused on the wrong fixes.

They optimise page speed. Tweak their checkout buttons. Add express payment options.

But there’s one key friction point most overlook:
Unclear delivery timelines.

“When will my order arrive?”
“Will it be here in time for my event / gift / delivery window?”

If customers don’t have a clear answer, many won’t complete the purchase.
In fact, according to Baymard Institute, 22% of abandoned checkouts happen because delivery was too slow or not transparent.

And if you're in food, gifting, furniture or any time-sensitive category — the impact is even greater.

🧩 Why Delivery Date Selection Reduces Cart Abandonment

Here’s what we’ve learned from analyzing 60,000+ Shopify delivery orders across Flare merchants:

• Customers want certainty, not just speed.
  A vague “3–5 business days” window creates doubt. A specific delivery date builds trust.

• Shoppers want control.
  Over 40% of selected delivery dates are 7+ days out — especially in furniture, food and gifting. Many customers don’t want delivery as soon as possible — they want it when it suits them.

• Giving customers delivery choice improves conversion.
  Brands using Flare often see +10–30% lift in conversion after adding delivery date selection to checkout.

❌ What Happens Without a Delivery Date Picker

• Cart abandonment increases (especially for gifting or scheduled delivery needs)

• Support tickets spike: “When will this arrive?”

• Refunds and complaints grow when timing doesn’t meet expectations

• Customers hesitate to buy again

✅ What You Can Do

1. Add a delivery date picker to your cart or checkout page
   Tools like Flare let you show accurate delivery dates — even based on product type, zip code, and shipping method.

2. Set clear cut-offs and lead times
   Ensure delivery windows are realistic and matched to your operations.

3. Let customers choose their preferred date
   Whether that’s ASAP or 2 weeks out, control builds trust.

🔧 Flare makes this easy for Shopify & Shopify Plus

With Flare, you can:

• Show live delivery dates at cart, product, or checkout

• Support rules by product, zip code, shipping method, lead time, and more

• Avoid delivery mistakes and reduce support tickets

• Increase conversion by giving customers confidence and control

💬 Final Thought

If you’re seeing unexplained drop-off at checkout, unclear delivery dates could be the culprit.

Fixing that friction isn’t just good UX — it’s good business.

→ Learn more about Flare’s Shopify delivery date picker