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Set delivery times and time slots

Set the delivery times customers can choose at each location: whole windows or shorter slots, the same every day or different each day.

Delivery slots are the delivery times customers choose from after they pick a delivery date. You can offer time windows such as 9 AM to 12 PM, or let the app split each window into shorter slots, for example every 30 minutes. Each location has its own slots, and they can be the same every day or different for each day.

Before you start

Add delivery slots

  1. In the app, go to Locations and open the location.

  2. In the Local delivery card, click Show settings. If the button is greyed out, click Enable instead, and the settings open.

  3. In the Delivery slots card, choose Same everyday of the week or Different each day of the week.

  4. Choose the From and Until times of the first slot. Times go up in 30-minute steps.

  5. Click + Add slot for each extra slot, and set its times. To remove a slot, click the bin next to it. A location always keeps at least one slot.

  6. Click Save.

With Different each day of the week, click a day's tab (Sun to Sat) and set that day's slots. Opening a day that has no slots adds a 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM slot that you can change. Repeat for every day you deliver: a day you never open has no slots. If you deliver only on specific days or dates, the tabs show just those weekdays.

Repeat for each location that offers delivery.

If two slots have the same From and Until times, the card shows Duplicate delivery slots detected, and you can't save until you change or remove one.

Split a window into shorter slots

Use Delivery slot duration when you want customers to choose from many short slots instead of a few long windows.

  1. In the Delivery slots card, open Delivery slot duration and choose a length from Every 5 minutes to Every 60 minutes.

  2. Set your windows in the From and Until rows below it.

  3. Click Save.

Each window is cut into back-to-back slots of that length. For example, a 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM window with Every 60 minutes gives three slots: 9 to 10, 10 to 11 and 11 to 12. A part of a window that's shorter than the slot length is dropped, so 9:00 to 11:30 with Every 60 minutes gives two slots. A window that's shorter than the slot length on its own stays as one slot.

Custom, the default, offers each window exactly as you entered it, as one slot.

What customers see

After customers choose a delivery date in the cart widget, a Time list shows that day's slots, for example 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM. A slot stays on the list while there's still time to prepare the order before the slot ends. For example, at 10:00 AM a 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM slot can still be chosen with no preparation time, but not with 2 hours of preparation time.

If Preselect first available time is checked in Settings → Local delivery → Checkout experience, the first slot is chosen automatically. Otherwise customers see Select a time and choose one. Customers must choose a time before they can check out, unless you uncheck Delivery date is required there.

To show times on a 24-hour clock, change Time format in Settings → Standards and formats.

Things to know

  • Each slot must end after it starts, on the same day. A slot that ends at or before its start time, such as 10:00 PM to 1:00 AM, is ignored. The latest time you can choose is 11:30 PM.

  • Limit orders per slot. To cap how many delivery orders each slot takes, use the Delivery order limits card on the location. An Order limit column then appears next to the slots. If you split windows into shorter slots, each slot gets its window's limit. See Limit how many orders you accept per day or time slot.

  • Times follow the location's time zone. Set it in the Timezone card on the location page.

  • Preparation time applies. Today's slots that end before the order can be ready are removed. See Set a preparation time for local delivery orders.

  • Subscriptions use the same slots. When a customer changes the date of a subscription delivery in the Appstle Subscriptions customer portal, the portal offers the same slots.

FAQs

Why do customers see "Please add at least one delivery slot for this location"?

None of the location's slots ends after it starts, for example because every slot runs past midnight. Fix the times in the Delivery slots card and click Save. You can change this message in Settings → Text and translations, in the Delivery Widget group.

Why don't customers see any times for a day?

Check that Enable delivery time picker is checked and that the day has slots. With Different each day of the week, open that day's tab and add its slots: a day without slots gets no time list. Days whose slots have all ended or filled up are greyed out in the calendar instead.

Can I close for lunch?

Yes. Add one slot before lunch and one after, for example 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

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