# A/B test: show a delivery date instead of a delivery range

> If the shipping step says “Arrives Thursday 12th” rather than “2 to 3 working days”, then orders will rise, because a specific date is understood at a glance and a range has to be worked out.

- Source: https://bixlow.com/en/ideas/delivery-date-instead-of-lead-time
- Language: en
- Updated: 2026-11-02
- Publisher: Bixlow

## Why it can work

“2 to 3 working days” means doing sums. Does today count? Is Saturday a working day? Will it arrive before Friday's birthday? Lots of people skip the sum and keep the doubt, which is the worst thing to carry into the payment step.

“Arrives Thursday 12th” answers all of that at once. If the order is a gift or something needed for a specific day, it is exactly the information that decides.


## How to set it up

Check your platform first. Many of them restrict what can be changed inside the checkout, and Shopify is the strictest: there you may only be able to run this test in the cart or on what shoppers see before paying. On WooCommerce or PrestaShop the checkout is just another page of your site and can be tested like any other.

In Bixlow you describe the change to the agent, it builds it on your site and launches it as an A/B test once you approve it. A/B tests are on the paid plans, starting with Standard.

1. Work out the date from your real cut-off time: if orders before 2 pm ship today, the date changes at 2 pm.
2. Account for weekends and public holidays. A date you miss is worse than a range.
3. In the variant, each shipping option names the day: “Standard: arrives Thursday 12th”, “Express: arrives tomorrow, Wednesday 11th”.
4. If your checkout can't be changed, put the same date in the cart, just above the checkout button.


## What to measure

|  | Metric |
| --- | --- |
| Primary metric | Orders per visitor |
| Metric that must not get worse | “Where is my order?” enquiries about delays |
| Where it is measured | On the order confirmation page |


> **When I would not test it.** If your carrier is unreliable or you work with made-to-order stock, don't promise a day. Promising Thursday and delivering Monday creates more complaints than the usual range, and no test fixes that.


## FAQ

### What if the date is wrong?

Build in some margin. Better to say Thursday and arrive Wednesday than the other way round. If you miss often, go back to the range.

### Does it work for international shipping?

Limit the date to destinations where delivery times are stable, usually your home market, and keep the range for the rest.

### Should I add a countdown to the cut-off time too?

It might help, but it is another change. Test the date on its own first; if it wins, the countdown can be the next test.

## Further reading

- [Next idea: order summary expanded on mobile](https://bixlow.com/en/ideas/expanded-order-summary-on-mobile)
- [What a CRO hypothesis is](https://bixlow.com/en/glossary/cro-hypothesis)
- [A/B testing without a developer](https://bixlow.com/en/platform/ab-testing)