Overview

Amazon has introduced a new default shipping option that lets sellers on its European marketplaces declare same‑day handling for all orders. The change is based on internal analysis showing that most EU sellers already ship faster than the handling times they report, typically by about 30 %. Updating the default can surface earlier delivery estimates on product pages, which may boost conversion without any operational overhaul.

Key Points

• Default handling time shortened — Sellers can now set “same‑day” as the account‑wide handling setting, replacing the longer default that previously masked their true shipping speed.
• Delivery dates move forward — When same‑day handling is active, Amazon’s delivery estimator shows an earlier arrival window, often shaving one or two days off the promised delivery date.
• Per‑ASIN overrides stay available — Items that need extra prep work, such as custom bundles or items requiring quality checks, can keep a longer handling time through individual SKU settings.
• Capacity safeguard built in — Sellers may define a maximum number of orders they can fulfill within the same‑day window; if the daily volume exceeds that limit, Amazon automatically adds an extra handling day for the overflow orders.
• Cut‑off time is configurable — The system uses a default 2:00 p.m. local cut‑off for same‑day shipments, but sellers can move the cut‑off earlier or later to match their internal processing schedule.

How Same‑Day Handling Works

1. Set a daily cut‑off — In Shipping Settings, the seller chooses a cut‑off hour (default 2:00 p.m. local). Orders received before this time are required to leave the fulfillment center the same calendar day; orders after the cut‑off are rolled to the next business day. Example: A seller in Germany selects a 1:30 p.m. cut‑off; a purchase at 12:45 p.m. must be shipped that day, while a purchase at 2:10 p.m. is processed the following day.
2. Amazon updates the delivery estimate — Once same‑day handling is active, the platform recalculates the “estimated delivery” field shown to shoppers, typically moving the range forward by one day.