What Estimated Delivery Date (EDD) Means for Carriers + Customers

Introduction

Have you ever purchased something online without reviewing the estimated delivery dates (EDD)? Maybe sometimes, but in most cases, people buy online only after checking the promised delivery dates.

And why not? It shows them when they can expect their orders, which further helps them on multiple fronts.

Now, if we keep the customers aside, EDD is also quite important for carrier companies, too. Thus, in this article, we’ll show you what EDD means to both carriers and customers. Let’s start with the basics. 

What is an Estimated Date of Delivery, and How Does It Works?

In simple words, estimated or expected delivery dates are particular dates or date ranges that predict when the shoppers are going to have their ordered items.

You’ll also find these expected delivery dates mentioned as estimated delivery dates or promised delivery dates.

E-commerce brands usually feature a zip code prompter on the product pages of their website, where customers enter their pin codes of the destination to know exactly when they'll receive the items.

Apart from that, you can show these expected delivery dates in other places as well. These include:

• The checkout page
• The branded tracking page
• The order confirmation email 
• The shipment notifications
• The “Thank You” page

And so on.

There was a time when EDD used to be just a predicted date based on some fixed rules.

But as the time passes, your customers care about adherence rates; they want the almost accurate date of delivery.

Hence, you need to take care of various aspects in terms of shipment type, carrier performance, etc, to fetch an almost accurate EDD. We’ll talk about this in detail later.

Now you must be wondering  – well, what’s the point of showing an EDD? Put simply, expected delivery dates help both the carriers and the customers. Let’s check them out one by one. 

Why Are Expected Delivery Dates Important to Carriers?

If you’re thinking that only your customers care about and need EDD — wrong! Even for 3PL carriers, too, expected delivery dates mean a lot.

They tell them that they need to (or must) deliver the item to the shopper within that time frame. Apart from that, EDD also helps carriers in other ways, too.  For example: 

1. It helps them plan operational activities in a better way

If logistics providers know when they’ll have to hand over the item to the end customers, they can organize and allocate the resources and staff in a more efficient way. 

For example, say a customer has placed an order on 4th March and wants 2-day delivery. If the carrier is aware that they’ll have to send the item by 6th March, they can adopt a faster delivery process like electronic paperwork and going for air freight, etc. 

Likewise, if the carrier is informed that they need to fulfill a standard shipping service that’ll easily take 5-6 days, then they can keep the process more economical without any hurry. 

2. It eases managing customer queries

After hitting the buy button, your customers care about only one thing — their packages. But most brands make the same mistakes.

They show the EDD on only the product pages and forget to send time-to-time shipment notifications, which further increases the Where Is My Order (WISMO) calls.

Now, if the assigned carrier isn’t aware of when they’ll be able to deliver the item, it leads to friction, and your customer might think of getting scammed. Hence, to solve customer queries in real-time and maintain their peace of mind, your carriers should know the EDD. 

3. It helps them meet SLA 

3PL Carriers usually sign service-level agreements with the retailers, where things like shipping terms & conditions and performance expectations are mentioned.

So, it’s the central component on which the whole delivery process runs, and carriers must abide by it to maintain good terms with the eCommerce retailers. 

However, if the carrier knows the TATs (Turn-Around-Time) outlined in the SLAs that need fulfillment, they can operate the process as per the shipment type and EDD.

In fact, they can efficiently plan the operations and handle all the time-sensitive shipments in a much better way, which further meets all the terms & conditions mentioned in the SLA.

At the same time, promised delivery dates also help them monitor their performance time-to-time like on-time delivery rate.

4. It increases their reputation in the market

The previous point led us here! Obviously, when a carrier meets the EDD, maintains good relationships with the brands or shippers, and provides out-of-the-box delivery services to shoppers, it automatically increases its reputation and credibility in the market. 

If you take FedEx’s reference, it's known for its on-time and reliable delivery. So, if a carrier wants to be reputed in its industry, it needs to maintain the SLA, for which EDD is a must. 

5. It helps them plan the charges accordingly 

Every shipping method has its own different charges. Standard shipping service, for instance, will charge you a bare minimum (or even free), but it has longer EDD.

On the other hand, if you go for expedited shipping or overnight shipping services, you'll have to pay extra; but the EDD would be much closer to the date when the order was placed. 

However, carriers need to know the EDD and shipping method so they can charge accordingly to each of their customers, be it a brand or an individual shipper.

Hence, the estimated delivery date is definitely a crucial part needed for shipment budget planning.

What Does Expected Delivery Dates Mean to Customers?

Like carriers, customers also benefit from promised delivery dates. When you or your assigned carriers fulfill the orders within the promised timeframe, customers feel you’ve kept your commitments towards them, and they are your utmost priority. Not only that, EDD helps customers in other ways, too. Let’s check them out:

1. Speeds up the decision-making process

Imagine you’ve planned a trip and scheduled the flight on 5th July. Before that, you’ll do some shopping for the trip.

So, obviously, you’ll select those items that will reach you before 5th July. Now, how will you understand that? 

Exactly here, estimated delivery dates take center stage. When the shopper gets to know that they’ll receive the items before their deadline, they will hit the buy button without giving a second thought.

Hence, showing EDD is a magic wand that helps customers in their purchasing decisions and brings in sales.

You can also think of it as an important aspect that makes the difference between a buyer hitting the buy button and the one who is just scrolling through your products.

2. Helps customers plan their day

According to Numerator Psychographics, around 68% of online shoppers say that the reason behind buying online is their busy schedule.

This means your customers might be busy professionals who need to know when they’ll receive the packages, and accordingly, they’ll reschedule their meetings or appointments. 

Promised delivery dates help in this case, too.  As it shows the most accurate expected date of delivery beforehand, it helps your busy customers plan their routines so they can receive the parcels on time. 

3. Eliminates hectic customer service inquiries

Shoppers hate reaching out to customer service agents for obvious things and wait for hours for their answers. In fact, around 81% of shoppers want to solve their queries in real time on their own. 

Now, if you show them the date when they’re going to receive the items, they won’t have to go through any hassles that might hamper your brand reputation and their shopping experience. 

So, you’ll always be on the safer side if you show them the estimated delivery dates on the website and in the shipment notifications. 

4. Maintains their peace of mind 

When customers purchase something online, they only care about their packages. They keep questioning – when it will arrive, whether the brand is legit or not, and so on. In such a situation, they need surety. 

Now, if you provide them with the expected date of delivery, it reduces their anxiety and maintains their piece of mind. If you see the other side of the coin, it also increases their loyalty towards your brand. 

How Will You Calculate the Expected Delivery Dates That Will Have a Higher Adherence Rate?

As we discussed and showed, estimated delivery dates matter both to the carriers and the customers. However, there’s a huge difference between providing EDD and providing an accurate EDD.

The latter has a higher adherence rate, which further meets your customers’ expectations and makes them retainers.

If you’re not aware, the adherence rate is mainly a metric that shows how often the promised delivery date matches the actual delivery date.

And the higher the adherence rate, the better. Now, the question is, how will you calculate an EDD with a higher adherence rate? 

You have two options: manually and automatically. If you go for the manual process (which is a bit hectic!), you need to consider thousands of factors, such as: 

• Shipment type
• Delivery destination
• Carrier performance
• Regulatory restrictions
• Customs clearance
• Weather condition

So, it’s a better option if you go for the automated one. There are a lot of EDD solutions in the market. ClickPost is one of them.

It considers SLA and uses its data science model to fetch the most accurate estimated delivery dates that have more than 90% higher adherence rate.

Plus, you can also tell it to show customized EDD. Now, if you’re a Shopify merchant, you’ll benefit from its dedicated Shopify EDD solution. 

Final Take!

Even a few years ago, expected delivery dates were optional! But now, it has become one of the most important things that can win shoppers’ trust, skyrocket sales, increase customer retention rate, and whatnot. In fact, for carriers, too, it has become unignorable. So, if you still think EDD is a “good-to-have” option, think again! 

FAQs 

1) How do expected delivery dates, delivery dates, and shipping dates differ from each other?

Expected delivery dates, delivery dates, and shipping dates — these three sound similar. But, in reality, they are completely different. EDD shows when your customers will receive the orders.

Delivery dates are the dates when your customers have already received their orders, whereas shipping dates are when the orders leave their distribution hubs to reach the end customer. 

2) What is the customer-requested delivery date? 

When a customer changes their delivery dates and customizes them as per their availability, it’s called customer-requested delivery dates or scheduled delivery. Giant brand Amazon offers this service to stay at the forefront of their customers’ minds.