Note: This article covers delivery-date-designation apps common in Japanese e-commerce, which is specific to merchants shipping within Japan. The information below will not be directly relevant if you are not selling in the Japanese market.
"RuffRuff 予約販売" helps reduce the lost sales opportunities that occur when items are out of stock, before a new product launches, or while waiting for restock.
You can set up pre-orders on your own Shopify store with surprising ease, registering unlimited pre-order products and accepting unlimited pre-orders. You can also prevent pre-order products and regular products from being ordered together, and send restock notifications if the arrival date is undetermined.
It also has many unique features not found in other pre-order apps, such as a "deferred payment" feature that lets you collect payment before the product ships.
Shopify store operators — are you struggling with improving customer satisfaction or reducing cart abandonment? Introducing a delivery date/time designation feature can help solve these challenges and provide a better purchase experience. This article explains in detail the benefits of delivery date/time designation, how to introduce it, and recommended Shopify apps. Please read to the end and use it as a reference for running your store.
The article below introduces settings for shipping-related features, including delivery date/time designation, as well as recommended shipping apps for streamlining shipping operations. Please use it as a reference.
What is delivery date/time designation?
As the name suggests, it refers to the action or feature that lets customers specify the date and time they want their delivery to arrive.
Among Shopify apps, many are literally named "delivery date/time designation," but "preferred delivery date designation," "delivery date and time designation," and "preferred delivery date/time designation" are often treated as synonyms.
9 Shopify delivery date/time designation apps
Here are the recommended Shopify apps for introducing delivery date/time designation.
- Delivery & Order Supporter
- Delivery Date/Time Designation .amp | Delivery Date/Time Designation & Shipping Slip CSV
- Calendar Master ‑ Delivery Date/Time Designation
- Plus Shipping
- Japan Order CSV
- Delivery Manager
- CC Delivery Date/Time Designation
- FBL DELIVERY DATE
- Easy Setup! Delivery Date/Time Designation
Let's introduce each one in detail.
Delivery & Order Supporter
"Delivery & Order Supporter" is a Shopify app provided by NetYear Group Corporation. It can be used starting from free, and one of its features is that you can select a plan step by step to match the features you need. Another feature is that it can display the delivery date/time designation module not only on the cart page but also inside the drawer cart.
It has feature integration with the pre-order app "RuffRuff 予約販売," and by using both apps together, you can hide the delivery date/time designation module when a pre-order product is in the cart, or hide the delivery date/time designation module on a per-variant basis.
The blog article below introduces the features and pricing plans of "Delivery & Order Supporter." Please use it as a reference.
Pricing plans
※ A 14-day free trial is available
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| FREE PLAN | Free |
You can add the following field types to the cart. ・Text box ・Select box ・Checkbox ・Radio button ・Delivery date/time designation |
| LIGHT PLAN | $5/month |
In addition to the Free plan, you can do the following. ・OPENLOGI delivery date/time settings ・Settings for products excluded from delivery date/time designation ・Shipping cutoff time settings ・Specific delivery area settings ・Business holiday settings |
| BASIC PLAN | $9/month |
In addition to the Light plan, you can do the following. ・Order information CSV export |
| PRO PLAN | $18/month |
In addition to the Basic plan, you can do the following. ・Tracking number upload ・Next Engine integration |
Delivery Date/Time Designation .amp | Delivery Date/Time Designation & Shipping Slip CSV
"Delivery Date/Time Designation .amp" is a delivery date/time designation app provided by and.d Co., Ltd.
It can display the delivery date/time designation module not only on the cart page but also on the checkout page (※ Shopify Plus only), and is characterized by a wide range of compatible apps and services, including OPENLOGI, Huckleberry, Next Engine, Logikura, and Plus Shipping.
It has feature integration with the pre-order app "RuffRuff 予約販売," and by using both apps together, you can hide the delivery date/time designation module when a pre-order product is in the cart, or hide the delivery date/time designation module on a per-variant basis.
The blog article below introduces the features, pricing plans, and initial setup method of Delivery Date/Time Designation .amp. Please use it as a reference.
Pricing plans
※ A 14-day free trial is available
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| NORMAL | $9.80/month |
Delivery date designation feature Delivery time-slot designation feature Customization of delivery time slots Customization of the earliest selectable preferred delivery date Feature to set products for which a preferred delivery date cannot be specified Setting of days on which a preferred delivery date cannot be specified Free for development stores |
| ADVANCED | $19.80/month |
NORMAL plan Generation of data format for Next Engine integration Condition-based settings for days on which a preferred delivery date cannot be specified Free for development stores |
Calendar Master ‑ Delivery Date/Time Designation
Calendar Master is a Japan-made delivery date/time designation app that allows flexible shipping settings.
It supports flexible customization to match your store's operating schedule, such as configuring holidays and order cutoff times, making preferred delivery dates mandatory, and displaying a doorstep-delivery option. It's designed to accommodate detailed delivery-related requirements.
The delivery date/time selection module can be added easily, with no manual code installation required. Its ease of adoption — up and running right after install — is also appealing.
It also comes with a store calendar feature that can display your store's event information or business holidays anywhere you like. Support is well set up for configuration and operation, so you can install and operate it with peace of mind.
It has feature integration with the pre-order app "RuffRuff 予約販売," and by using both apps together, you can hide the delivery date/time designation module when a pre-order product is in the cart, or hide the delivery date/time designation module on a per-variant basis.
The blog article below introduces the features and pricing plans of Calendar Master. Please use it as a reference.
Pricing plans
※ A 14-day free trial is available
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| － | $9.80/month |
Delivery date/time designation: displays the date/time designation UI and configures selectable dates, etc. Store calendar: displays business days and event information |
Plus Shipping
"Plus Shipping" is a free-to-use shipping-slip issuance and delivery-order app, and lets you introduce the delivery date/time designation feature at no cost as well. From issuing shipping slips, to settling shipping fees in the admin, to managing delivery status, everything can be handled with a single app, and by applying through the app, you can ship products at special rates cheaper than standard rates, without needing individual negotiations with carriers.
It has feature integration with the pre-order app "RuffRuff 予約販売," and by using both apps together, you can hide the delivery date/time designation module when a pre-order product is in the cart.
The blog article below explains the features, setup method, and usage of Plus Shipping in detail. Please use it as a reference.
Pricing plan
Free
Japan Order CSV
Source: Japan Order CSV｜Shopify App Store
Japan Order CSV is a Shopify app that greatly streamlines shipping operations for businesses shipping within Japan.
It flexibly supports the formats of domestic carriers, including detailed export settings for each carrier — Yamato Transport's "B2 Cloud" (Neko Pos compatible), Sagawa Express's "e-Hiden" series (Pro/II/III), Japan Post's "Yu-Pack" and "Click Post," and Eco-Hai.
It also accurately maps cash-on-delivery fees and time-slot designations to each carrier's format, and supports customization such as tag-based export control and suppression of early shipment. It also supports delivery date/time designation settings on Shopify.
It has feature integration with the Japan-focused pre-order app "RuffRuff 予約販売," and can be configured to prevent setting a preferred delivery date when a RuffRuff 予約販売 pre-order product is in the cart.
The blog article below introduces Japan Order CSV's features, pricing plans, and setup method in detail. Please use it as a reference.
Pricing plans
| Plan name | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Limited Plan | Free |
・Export order data CSV in standard format ・Can be configured to not re-export orders that have already been exported once ・Can be configured to skip export for orders tagged with a shipping-hold tag ・Can configure delivery date/time designation in the store ・Can export each line item property as its own column ・Up to 100 records per export, unlimited number of exports ・Can export a column containing barcode values |
| Complete Plan | $29.99/month |
・All features of the Limited plan ・Can export CSVs for Yamato Transport, Sagawa Express, Japan Post, and more ・Supports automatic reflection of cash-on-delivery fee settings into the CSV ・Supports automatic reflection of delivery date/time designation data into the CSV ・Supports attaching shipping data via email ・Up to 2,500 records per export, unlimited number of exports |
Delivery Manager
"Delivery Manager" is an app that implements delivery date/time designation (preferred delivery date/time designation) on your Shopify store.
It can be used starting from free, and supports creating shipping slips for Japan's three major carriers — Yamato Transport, Sagawa Express, and Japan Post.
Plans
※ A 7-day free trial is available
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | $0/month |
Some features permanently free CSV export field settings 10 CSV exports per day 10 tracking number reflections |
| Paid Plan | $9.90/month |
All features available! Feature list ・Export CSV in Yamato, Sagawa, and Japan Post shipping-slip formats ・Export condition rule settings ・Delivery date/time designation ・Store business day (holiday) settings ・Bulk tracking-number notification ・LINE notification of tracking numbers |
CC Delivery Date/Time Designation
"CC Delivery Date/Time Designation" is a delivery date/time designation app provided by Capital Castle. Its feature is that it's available at a lower cost compared to other delivery date/time designation apps.
Pricing plans
※ A 14-day free trial is available
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Normal plan | $2.99/month |
Date-designation-selectable period Cutoff time (order deadline setting) Per-product show/hide setting Non-selectable dates, business holidays Mandatory date/time designation Options for shipping methods such as in-store pickup and local delivery Cutoff time for same-day pickup Integration with Plus Shipping |
| Pro plan | $4.99/month |
Customized date and time notation and format specification for integrated systems Settings for Next Engine |
FBL DELIVERY DATE
This is a delivery date/time designation app provided by Fullbalance Co., Ltd. You can introduce delivery date/time designation inexpensively, at $4.80 a month. It also supports the three major carriers: Yamato Transport, Sagawa Express, and Japan Post.
Pricing plans
※ A 14-day free trial is available
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Basic plan | $4.80/month | － |
Easy Setup! Delivery Date/Time Designation
"Easy Setup! Delivery Date/Time Designation" is a delivery date/time designation app provided by Monocle Co., Ltd.
It has a feature that makes delivery date/time selection mandatory, preventing checkout from proceeding without a selection.
Pricing plans
※ A 14-day free trial is available
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Basic plan | $9.80/month | － |
Benefits of introducing delivery date/time designation on Shopify
The benefits of introducing delivery date/time designation on your Shopify store are as follows.
- Improved purchase experience (improved customer satisfaction)
- Improved cart abandonment rate
- Reduced return risk
- Control over shipment volume
Let's explain each in detail.
Improved purchase experience (improved customer satisfaction)
When customers can specify their delivery date/time, they're freed from the anxiety of not knowing when their package will arrive, and no longer need to go through the hassle of requesting redelivery if they're not home.
Improved cart abandonment rate
According to a report by baymard.com, in a 2022 survey on the causes of cart abandonment, 22% cited "shipping is too slow" as the reason.
An e-commerce store with a strength in delivery speed can set up delivery date/time designation and clearly show the earliest possible delivery date for an order placed right now, helping improve its cart abandonment rate.
Reduced return risk
Letting customers specify their preferred delivery date/time increases the likelihood that they'll actually be able to receive the product. There are various reasons customers may fail to receive a product, such as an extended absence, but setting up delivery date/time designation can reduce the rate of returns caused by exceeding the carrier's storage period.
Control over shipment volume
E-commerce stores tend to see much more volatile order volume than physical stores. For an e-commerce store handling its own fulfillment, if it receives more orders than usual (or more than expected), the staff it has secured may not be able to keep up.
Even in such cases, if delivery date/time designation is set up, orders whose specified delivery date is further out can be deprioritized, allowing shipping work to proceed smoothly.
Drawbacks of introducing delivery date/time designation on Shopify
The drawbacks of introducing delivery date/time designation on your Shopify store are as follows.
Let's explain each in detail.
Regular schedule maintenance
For an e-commerce store with weekend/holiday closures or fixed closing days, you need to reflect days on which shipping work isn't possible in the delivery date/time designation app. If you miss a setting, customers may end up able to select a date/time when delivery isn't actually possible, resulting in an inability to deliver on the customer's chosen preferred date/time (which in the worst case can lead to complaints).
Cost is incurred
Some delivery date/time designation apps can be used starting from free, but they may have limited features or a capped number of orders. Removing those limits may incur a paid cost ranging from $2.99 up to as much as $29.
Customer support costs may increase
Introducing delivery date/time designation may increase the workload of responding to customers.
For example, the following cases can occur:
- Inquiries from customers requesting a change to the delivery date
- Complaints when a delivery doesn't arrive on the selected schedule
- Needing to contact the customer as soon as you learn delivery cannot happen on schedule due to being out of stock or a delayed shipment
and so on
Points for choosing a delivery date/time designation app on Shopify
Here are the points to consider when choosing a Shopify delivery date/time designation app.
- Does it support Japanese carriers?
- Does it have features suited to shipping work?
- Can you make fine-grained adjustments?
- How much does it cost?
Let's explain each in detail.
Does it support Japanese carriers?
First, check whether it supports the carriers your company or your 3PL (third-party logistics provider) does business with — such as Yamato Transport, Sagawa Express, Japan Post, or Seino Transportation.
Does it have features suited to shipping work?
Check whether it has features suited to your shipping workflow and the tools you use for shipping work. If you handle shipping work in the Shopify admin, check whether it has document/slip features; if you use an OMS tool such as Next Engine, check whether it can integrate with it.
Can you make fine-grained adjustments?
Check whether it allows design adjustments matching your brand colors, and whether you can hide delivery date/time designation by product or by tag — whatever fine-grained adjustments are non-negotiable for your e-commerce store.
How much does it cost?
As mentioned above, delivery date/time designation ranges from free apps to paid ones costing up to $19.8 a month.
Consider, side by side, "how far do you want to go with delivery date/time designation for your e-commerce store" and "how much budget can you allocate for that."
List of delivery date/time designation app pricing plans
| App name | Plan name | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery & Order Supporter | Free | Free |
| LIGHT | $5 | |
| BASIC | $9 | |
| PRO | $18 | |
| Delivery Date/Time Designation .amp | NORMAL | $9.80 |
| ADVANCED | $19.80 | |
| Calendar Master ‑ Delivery Date/Time Designation | - | $9.80 |
| Plus Shipping | - | Free |
| Japan Order CSV | Limited | Free |
| Complete | $29.99 | |
| Delivery Manager | Free | Free |
| Paid | $9.90 | |
| CC Delivery Date/Time Designation | Normal | $2.99 |
| Pro | $4.99 | |
| FBL DELIVERY DATE | Basic | $4.80 |
| Easy Setup! Delivery Date/Time Designation | Basic | $9.80 |
Frequently asked questions
Can I hide delivery date/time designation on a per-product basis?
Some apps allow this and some don't.
For example, Delivery & Order Supporter and Calendar Master have a feature that lets you hide it, but Delivery Manager does not.
Can I hide delivery date/time designation on a per-variant basis?
As of January 2025, some delivery date/time designation apps have a feature to hide it per product, but no delivery date/time designation app has a feature to hide it per variant across the board.
If you want to hide delivery date/time designation on a per-variant basis, you can solve this by using RuffRuff 予約販売 alongside it.
Is there a Shopify app that can extend delivery date/time designation apps?
By using "RuffRuff 予約販売," a Shopify app that makes it easy to enable pre-orders on a Shopify store, you can extend the functionality of delivery date/time designation apps.
Using a delivery date/time designation app together with RuffRuff 予約販売 enables the following:
- You can hide the delivery date/time designation module when products with different shipment timing (regular products and pre-order products) are bundled together
- You can hide the delivery date/time designation module on a per-variant basis (for example, hiding the delivery date/time designation module only for the S size)
- You can hide the delivery date/time designation module based on a product's status (for example, hiding the delivery date/time designation module when out of stock)
Which delivery date/time designation apps can integrate with RuffRuff 予約販売?
"RuffRuff 予約販売" can integrate with the following delivery date/time designation apps:
- Delivery & Order Supporter
- Delivery Date/Time Designation .amp
- Calendar Master
- Plus Shipping
- Japan Order CSV
- Delivery Manager
You can actually try out the integration feature on the demo product below. Please use it as a reference.
In closing
This article explained in detail the benefits and drawbacks of delivery date/time designation apps on Shopify, how to choose one, and recommended apps. While the delivery date/time designation feature greatly contributes to improved customer satisfaction, cart-abandonment countermeasures, and streamlined shipping operations, introducing it can also involve cost and maintenance effort. For this reason, it's important to choose an app that matches your operating style and customer needs.
Also, delivery date/time designation apps aren't limited to standalone use — integrating them with other apps such as "RuffRuff 予約販売" enables even more flexible operation. This allows for fine-grained settings based on pre-order products and stock status, leading to an improved customer experience.
For your Shopify store's operations, the delivery date/time designation feature is one important factor for boosting competitiveness. Use this article as a reference to introduce the app best suited to your store, and aim for improved customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Lastly, the blog article below introduces recommended apps by category beyond delivery date/time designation apps — including "customer acquisition," "sales growth," and "blog article enhancement." Please use it as a reference.
