Amazon Launches Custom Holidays and Delivery Date Reporting for FBM Sellers
Amazon added a Custom Holiday calendar for FBM sellers, letting them mark dates like July 4‑6 without removing listings. New FBM order report columns “Handling Time (days)” and “Transit Time (days)” show the exact values Amazon uses for delivery estimates.
Amazon has introduced new capabilities for Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) sellers that let them schedule business closures without pulling listings from search and that reveal the exact handling and transit times used to calculate delivery promises. The changes go live in Seller Central this month and are aimed at preserving ranking momentum during holidays while giving sellers the data needed to fine‑tune their shipping performance.
Key Points
Custom holiday calendar — Sellers can add individual dates or date ranges as non‑operational days directly in the FBM settings, eliminating the need to switch to vacation mode.
Listings stay searchable — Products remain indexed and appear in search results while a holiday is active; Amazon simply shows later delivery windows that reflect the closure.
Order report expansion — New columns titled “Handling Time (days)” and “Transit Time (days)” appear in the FBM order report, providing order‑by‑order visibility into the numbers Amazon uses for delivery estimates.
SKU‑level handling time view — A dedicated dashboard tab lists the handling time Amazon has assigned to each SKU, and sellers can export the full table as a CSV file.
Automatic delivery‑date adjustment — When a holiday is scheduled, Amazon automatically adds the defined handling time to the transit window, so the estimated delivery date shown to the buyer accounts for the pause.
Impact on Buy Box eligibility — Because delivery speed is a factor in Buy Box algorithms, having accurate handling‑time data lets sellers align their promises with actual performance and avoid late‑shipment penalties.
How the New FBM Tools Work
Set up a custom holiday — In Seller Central, navigate to Settings → Fulfilled by Merchant → Custom Holidays, select “Add Holiday,” choose July 4 through July 6, and save; Amazon will now treat those three days as non‑shipping days for all FBM orders.
Amazon recalculates delivery windows — For any order placed on July 3, the system adds the three‑day holiday to the standard handling‑time and transit‑time values, so the customer sees an estimated delivery date of July 10 instead of July 7.
Analysis & Recommendations
Why This Matters
Keeping listings searchable during closures preserves organic ranking and sales velocity, while the handling‑time data lets sellers align promises with actual prep times, reducing late‑shipment penalties and improving Buy Box eligibility.
Key Takeaways
Custom Holiday feature lets sellers add individual dates or ranges (e.g., July 4‑6) without activating vacation mode.
Listings remain indexed during holidays; Amazon adjusts delivery windows to include the non‑operational days.
FBM order reports now include “Handling Time (days)” and “Transit Time (days)” columns for each order.
SKU‑level Handling Time Dashboard displays per‑SKU handling times and can be exported as CSV.
Recommended Actions
→In Seller Central go to Settings → Fulfilled by Merchant → Custom Holidays and add upcoming closure dates.
→Run the FBM Orders report and review the new Handling Time and Transit Time columns for discrepancies.
→Open the Handling Time Dashboard under Shipping Preferences, export the CSV, and update any SKU handling times that differ from your prep cycle.
Generate the enhanced order report — Run the “FBM Orders” report, and the output includes the new “Handling Time (days)” and “Transit Time (days)” columns; for order #123‑4567890‑1234567, the report shows 2 days handling and 3 days transit, matching the values used in the buyer‑facing estimate.
Review SKU handling times — Open the “Handling Time Dashboard” under Shipping Preferences, locate SKU B07XYZ1234, and see that Amazon has assigned a 1‑day handling time; export the list to compare against internal prep times.
Adjust handling times where needed — If the exported data shows SKU B07XYZ1234 actually requires 2 days to prepare, update the handling time in the dashboard; subsequent orders will now display a delivery window that includes the extra day, reducing the risk of late‑shipment defects.
Monitor Buy Box performance — After updating handling times, check the “Buy Box Eligibility” report; a reduction in late‑shipment rates often translates into a higher percentage of orders winning the Buy Box.
Retire vacation mode — Disable the legacy vacation‑mode toggle once holidays are scheduled, because listings will remain visible and ranking signals will continue to accrue during the closure period.
Set a baseline for future analysis — Download the first enhanced order report after the rollout, store it as “Baseline May 2024,” and use it as a reference point when evaluating the impact of later handling‑time adjustments.
Context Section
Before: An FBM seller who needed a week off in December activated vacation mode, which removed every product from Amazon’s search index; after returning, the seller spent two weeks rebuilding organic ranking and advertising spend.
After: The same seller now adds the December 24‑31 dates as a custom holiday; listings stay indexed, customers see a delivery estimate of early January, and the seller’s search ranking continues to accrue clicks and sales during the break.
Before: Delivery‑date calculations were a black box; a seller could only see the final estimated window on the product page and had no way to verify whether Amazon’s handling time matched internal processes.
After: With the new order‑report columns, the seller can match each order’s handling and transit values to internal prep logs, identify discrepancies, and correct handling‑time settings before they cause late‑shipment metrics.
Before: Large catalogs required manual guesswork; a seller with 5,000 SKUs assumed a default 1‑day handling time for all items, resulting in over‑promising on complex products and frequent late‑shipment penalties.
After: The SKU‑level dashboard reveals that 1,200 items actually need 3 days to prepare; the seller updates those SKUs, aligns promises with reality, and sees a 15 % drop in late‑shipment defect rates within one month.
Seller Impact
Taking advantage of the new features can protect ranking, improve Buy Box chances, and reduce penalty risk.
Schedule holidays in advance — Add the dates for the upcoming Thanksgiving break to the Custom Holiday calendar now, so listings stay live and customers see realistic delivery dates instead of missing products.
Download the first enhanced order report — Export the report for the current month, note the handling and transit values for each order, and compare them to your internal processing times to spot mismatches.
Audit SKU handling times — Pull the handling‑time CSV, filter for SKUs with a handling time that differs from your standard prep cycle, and update the dashboard entries to reflect true preparation durations.
Adjust Buy Box strategy — After correcting handling times, monitor the “Buy Box Eligibility” metrics weekly; if late‑shipment rates fall, consider tightening delivery promises to become more competitive on price‑sensitive listings.
Phase out vacation mode — Deactivate the legacy vacation toggle once holidays are entered, allowing Amazon’s algorithm to continue gathering sales velocity and review data while you are away.
Set performance benchmarks — Save the baseline report as a reference point, then run quarterly comparisons to measure how handling‑time adjustments have impacted on‑time shipment percentages and conversion rates.
Communicate with customers — Use the updated delivery estimates in your order‑confirmation emails to set clear expectations, reducing post‑purchase inquiries and potential negative feedback during holiday periods.
Source: sellercentral.amazon.com
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