📅 October 10, 2025 • 5 min read

5 Ways to Improve Customer Experience with Production Times

Transparency is the foundation of trust in ecommerce. When customers know exactly when their custom product will be ready, anxiety decreases and satisfaction increases. Here's how displaying production times can transform your store's customer experience.

1. Set Clear Expectations from the Start

The number one reason for negative reviews in custom manufacturing? Surprise delays. When customers see "5-7 business days" right on the product page, they make informed decisions. No surprises means fewer angry emails.

Real Impact: Stores that display production times see 35% fewer "where is my order?" tickets.

2. Calculate Actual Completion Dates

"5 business days" is better than nothing, but "Ready by October 17, 2025" is even better. Customers can plan around specific dates. They know exactly when to expect their order.

Pro Tip: Use business day calculations that skip weekends. This prevents the Monday disappointment when customers expect delivery on Saturday.

3. Display at Every Touchpoint

Production times should appear:

Product Page - Right where customers make buying decisions
Cart Page - Reminder before checkout
Checkout Page - Final confirmation of expectations
Order Confirmation Email - Reference for later

4. Group Items by Production Time

When a customer orders items with different production times (5 days vs 10 days), they need to know:

Which items ship when
That items might ship separately
Why there are multiple shipments

Solution: Group checkout items by production time and clearly explain separate shipping. This prevents confused "I only got half my order" calls.

5. Make It Visually Prominent

Plain text gets ignored. Production times need to stand out:

Use contrasting colors (orange/gold on white backgrounds)
Add icons (⏰ or 📅) for visual scanning
Include subtle animations to draw attention
Add tooltips with disclaimers and contact info

The Results

Stores using these strategies report:

✅ 40% reduction in "where is my order?" support tickets
✅ 25% decrease in returns due to timeline expectations
✅ Higher review scores from customers who feel informed
✅ Increased conversion from transparency building trust

Getting Started

Production & Shipping Pro makes all of this easy with:

Automatic business day calculations
Bulk sync to BigCommerce custom fields
5 professional styling templates
Checkout grouping by production time
No coding required

🚀 Ready to improve your customer experience?
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