Product-level lead times let you set custom processing times for individual products or variations.
Use this when specific products need more or less time before dispatch than your default store settings.
What is product-level lead time?
Product-level lead time controls the processing time before dispatch for a specific product.
It does not replace the delivery time after dispatch.
For example:
Default store processing time: 0–1 days
Product lead time: 5–10 days
Transit time: 2–3 days
The product will use the 5–10 day processing time before adding the transit time.
When to use product-level lead times
Use product-level lead times for:
- handmade products
- made-to-order products
- preorder products
- backorder products
- bulky or freight items
- products that need preparation
- products that ship from a slower warehouse
- products that require customization
Where to configure product-level lead time
To configure a product lead time:
- Go to Products in your WordPress admin.
- Edit the product.
- Find the Delivery Promise product data section.
- Choose Custom product lead time.
- Enter the minimum and maximum processing days.
- Save or update the product.
Lead time mode
Each product can use one of these modes:
Use global rules and defaults
The product uses your default Delivery Promise settings and matching delivery rules.
Use this for most normal products.
Custom product lead time
The product uses its own processing time before dispatch.
Use this for products that need special preparation.
Hide delivery promise for this product
The product will not show a delivery promise on the product page.
Use this when delivery timing is not predictable.
Processing minimum and maximum days
When using custom product lead time, enter the processing range.
Example:
Minimum processing days: 5
Maximum processing days: 10
The product may show an estimate such as:
Made to order. Estimated delivery: July 10 – July 15
The exact dates depend on working days, holidays, cutoff time, and the selected shipping method.
Product-level lead time and transit time
Product lead time controls only the processing time before dispatch.
Transit time still comes from:
- default delivery settings
- shipping method rules
- delivery rules
Example:
Product lead time: 5–10 days
Express shipping transit: 1–2 days
The plugin calculates:
Processing: 5–10 days
Transit: 1–2 days
Same-day countdown and product lead time
The same-day countdown usually appears only when the product can dispatch today.
If a product has a custom lead time greater than 0 days, the countdown will not appear.
Example:
Product lead time: 5–10 days
The product will not show:
Order within 3 hrs 20 mins for dispatch today
because same-day dispatch is not realistic.
Custom product message
You can set a custom product page delivery message.
Example:
Made to order. Estimated delivery: {delivery_range}
Useful placeholders include:
{dispatch_date}
{dispatch_range}
{delivery_date}
{delivery_range}
{shipping_method}
{cutoff_time}
{countdown}
Backorder lead time
If a product is available on backorder, you can use a separate backorder lead time.
Example:
Backorder processing time: 14–21 days
Backorder message: Available on backorder. Estimated delivery: {delivery_range}
This helps avoid showing normal delivery estimates for products that are not currently available.
Variation-level lead times
If your product has variations, you may be able to configure lead time per variation.
Example:
Small size: 0–1 processing days
Custom size: 7–14 processing days
Variation-level settings override parent product settings when a matching variation is selected.
Use this when different variations have different fulfillment times.
Cart behavior with multiple products
When the cart contains multiple products with different lead times, Delivery Promise uses the slowest applicable processing time for the cart and checkout estimate.
Example:
Product A processing: 0–1 days
Product B processing: 5–7 days
The cart estimate uses:
Processing: 5–7 days
This prevents the checkout from promising a delivery date that cannot be met because of the slower product.
Example: Handmade product
Use this setup for handmade products:
Lead time mode: Custom product lead time
Processing time: 5–10 working days
Custom message: Handmade item. Estimated delivery: {delivery_range}
Example: Bulky product
Use this setup for large products:
Lead time mode: Custom product lead time
Processing time: 2–4 working days
Custom message: Freight delivery estimate: {delivery_range}
Example: Hide delivery promise
Use this when the delivery date is unpredictable:
Lead time mode: Hide delivery promise for this product
This can be useful for:
- special-order products
- products waiting on supplier confirmation
- products with manual delivery arrangements
Testing product lead times
After saving a product lead time:
- Open WooCommerce → Delivery Promise.
- Open the Tester tab.
- Select the product.
- Run the preview.
- Confirm that the product-level lead time is applied.
You can also open the product page and check the customer-facing delivery message.
Troubleshooting
Product lead time is not applied
Check:
- the product was updated after changing settings
- lead time mode is set to custom
- min/max processing days are saved
- variation settings are not overriding the parent product
- another product in the cart has a longer lead time
Countdown is not showing
This is expected if the product lead time is greater than 0 days.
Same-day countdown usually requires minimum processing days to be 0.
Cart estimate is later than expected
The cart may contain another product with a longer lead time.
Delivery Promise uses the slowest applicable product lead time for the cart and checkout estimate.
Product page message is not custom
Check:
- custom message is enabled
- the custom message field is not empty
- product lead time mode is set correctly
- the product page display location is enabled