Setting the Cutoff Countdown

Delivery Promise for WooCommerce can show an Amazon-style countdown message on product pages when same-day dispatch is still available.

Example:

Order within 9 hrs 41 mins for dispatch today
Estimated delivery: July 3 – July 5

The countdown helps customers understand how much time they have left to place an order if they want it dispatched today.

What is the cutoff countdown? #

The cutoff countdown is a product page message that appears before your same-day dispatch cutoff time.

For example, if your cutoff time is 14:00 and the customer views the product page at 10:30, the plugin can show:

Order within 3 hrs 30 mins for dispatch today

After the cutoff time passes, the countdown is hidden or replaced with an alternative message, depending on your settings.

When the countdown appears #

The countdown only appears when same-day dispatch is actually possible.

The plugin checks:

• the current store time
• your cutoff time
• your working days
• your holiday and non-working dates
• the product stock status
• product-level lead time
• delivery rules
• whether same-day dispatch is allowed for the product

This helps avoid showing misleading urgency messages.

Where to enable the countdown #

To enable the product page countdown:

1. Go to WooCommerce → Delivery Promise.
2. Open the Messages tab.
3. Find the Product Page Countdown section.
4. Enable the cutoff countdown.
5. Set your countdown message.
6. Set your expired cutoff message if needed.
7. Save your changes.

Setting the cutoff time #

The countdown uses the cutoff time configured in your delivery settings.

To set the cutoff time:

1. Go to WooCommerce → Delivery Promise.
2. Open the General tab.
3. Find the Cutoff and Working Days section.
4. Enter your same-day dispatch cutoff time.
5. Save your changes.

Example:

Cutoff time: 14:00

This means orders placed before 14:00 may still be eligible for same-day dispatch.

Orders placed after 14:00 will usually start from the next working day.

Countdown message template #

You can customize the countdown message shown to customers.

Default message:

Order within {countdown} for dispatch today

Available placeholders may include:

{countdown}
{cutoff_time}
{dispatch_date}
{dispatch_range}
{delivery_date}
{delivery_range}

Example message:

Order within {countdown} for dispatch today

Customer sees:

Order within 2 hrs 15 mins for dispatch today

Expired cutoff message #

You can also set a message for when the cutoff time has already passed.

Example:

Order now for dispatch on {dispatch_date}

Customer sees:

Order now for dispatch on July 3

If you prefer not to show a message after the cutoff, you can hide the countdown instead.

Countdown and working days #

The countdown only appears on working days.

Example setup:

Working days: Monday–Friday
Cutoff time: 14:00

If a customer views a product on Wednesday at 11:00, the countdown can appear.

If a customer views a product on Sunday, the countdown will not appear because Sunday is not a working day.

Countdown and holidays #

The countdown does not appear on dates added as holidays or non-working dates.

Example:

Holiday: 2026-12-25 — Christmas Day

If a customer views a product on Christmas Day, the plugin will not show:

Order within 4 hrs 20 mins for dispatch today

because the store is not dispatching orders that day.

Countdown and product lead times #

The countdown only appears when the product can be dispatched today.

If a product has a custom lead time greater than 0 days, the countdown will not show.

Example:

Product lead time: 5–10 working days

In this case, same-day dispatch is not possible, so the countdown is hidden.

This is useful for:

• handmade products
• made-to-order products
• preorder products
• backorder products
• bulky or freight items
• products that require special preparation

Countdown and stock status #

The countdown usually appears only for products that are in stock and eligible for same-day dispatch.

The countdown may be hidden if the product is:

• out of stock
• on backorder
• not purchasable
• using a delivery rule that requires extra processing time

This prevents customers from seeing a same-day dispatch message for products that cannot ship today.

Countdown and delivery rules #

Delivery rules can affect whether the countdown appears.

For example, a rule may set:

Processing time: 2–3 working days

If that rule applies to the product, the countdown will not appear because same-day dispatch is not available.

A same-day dispatch rule usually needs:

Minimum processing days: 0

If the minimum processing time is greater than 0, the countdown should not appear.

Recommended setup #

For stores that dispatch in-stock products on the same day, a good setup is:

Working days: Monday–Friday
Cutoff time: 14:00
Processing time: 0–1 working days
Countdown message: Order within {countdown} for dispatch today
Expired message: Order now for dispatch on {dispatch_date}

This allows the plugin to show urgency before the cutoff while still using realistic delivery dates after the cutoff.

Example: Before cutoff #

Settings:

Working days: Monday–Friday
Cutoff time: 14:00
Processing time: 0–1 days
Current time: Monday 10:00
Product: In stock

The product page can show:

Order within 4 hrs for dispatch today
Estimated delivery: July 3 – July 5

Example: After cutoff #

Settings:

Working days: Monday–Friday
Cutoff time: 14:00
Processing time: 0–1 days
Current time: Monday 16:00
Product: In stock

The product page may show:

Order now for dispatch on July 2
Estimated delivery: July 4 – July 6

Or the countdown may be hidden, depending on your settings.

Example: Non-working day #

Settings:

Working days: Monday–Friday
Current day: Sunday

The countdown will not appear because Sunday is not a working day.

The product page can still show the normal delivery estimate.

Testing the countdown #

Use the Delivery Promise Tester to check why the countdown appears or does not appear.

1. Go to WooCommerce → Delivery Promise.
2. Open the Tester tab.
3. Select a product.
4. Set the test date and time.
5. Choose a shipping method and destination if needed.
6. Run the test.

The tester can help confirm whether the countdown is affected by:

• cutoff time
• working days
• holidays
• stock status
• product lead time
• delivery rules

Troubleshooting #

The countdown is not showing #

Check:

• Product page display is enabled.
• Product page countdown is enabled.
• The current time is before the cutoff.
• Today is a working day.
• Today is not added as a holiday.
• The product is in stock.
• The product does not have a lead time greater than 0 days.
• No matching delivery rule adds extra processing time.

The countdown disappeared #

This usually happens when the cutoff time has passed.

If you want to show a message after the cutoff, configure the expired cutoff message.

The countdown shows on the wrong day #

Check your WordPress timezone.

Go to:

Settings → General → Timezone

Delivery Promise uses your store timezone when calculating cutoff times.

The countdown shows for a product that should not dispatch today #

Check whether the product has:

• custom lead time settings
• backorder settings
• matching delivery rules
• stock status set correctly

Also check whether same-day countdown is allowed for that product.

The countdown time looks incorrect #

Check:

• WordPress timezone
• cutoff time
• current server time
• caching settings
• whether frontend countdown JavaScript is enabled

If you use page caching, make sure dynamic countdown output is not being cached incorrectly.

Best practices #

Use the countdown only when same-day dispatch is realistic.

Avoid using urgency messages for products that need extra preparation time. It is better to hide the countdown than to promise dispatch today when your store cannot meet that promise.

A good countdown message should be clear, short, and honest:

Order within {countdown} for dispatch today

Pair the countdown with the delivery estimate for the best customer experience:

Order within 2 hrs 15 mins for dispatch today
Estimated delivery: July 3 – July 5