Date picker behaviour: auto-select, required dates, signatures

Updated 19 August 2026

Beyond where the picker sits and how it looks, Storefront experience controls how it acts. Set Editing to the location you want, then work through the Date selection behaviour card and the sections below it.

Some settings only apply to some locations. Each one below says where you find it.

Automatically select a date

Auto-select a delivery date pre-fills the earliest available date, so most shoppers never have to open the calendar. They only interact if they want a different day. It is available on every location.

• On Product page, Cart page, and Cart drawer, turning it on reveals Default to a later available date. Enter a number from 0 to 30 to skip that many available days. For example, enter 1 to always pre-select the second available day.
• On Checkout, turning it on reveals Which date should be selected?. Choose Earliest available date, which also offers the Default to a later available date offset, or Earliest date on a preferred shipping profile, which lets you tick the profiles Flare should prefer. Use the second option when you'd rather default shoppers onto your standard service than the fastest one.

Shoppers can still choose a different available date.

Require a date before checkout

Require a date before checkout blocks progression until a date is chosen. You'll find it in Date selection behaviour on Product page, Cart page, and Cart drawer. Checkout buttons stay locked until the date is saved to the cart.

For the checkout picker, the same rule is a Shopify setting instead: Require delivery date before checkout, on Flare's checkout rule in Shopify admin → Settings → Checkout. It is enforced on the server, so Shop app and Shop Pay orders are covered too. See checkout validation.

If you'd rather dates were optional, leave this off. Orders without a date simply arrive untagged, and you can add dates from the order page later.

Hide express payment buttons

Hide express payment buttons until a delivery date is chosen closes the Apple Pay and Shop Pay shortcut, which otherwise skips the cart entirely. You'll find it in Advanced checkout settings, which appears when Editing is set to Checkout. The setting applies to your whole store.

What shoppers choose first

With shipping zones on, the Shipping methods section appears. What customers choose first sets the flow:

• Delivery date first: the shopper picks the day, then sees the shipping options valid for that day.
• Shipping method first: the shopper picks the service, then sees that service's available days.

See date-first vs rate-first for how to choose.

The same section holds Add the date to the shipping option name at checkout, which renames the rate to read like "Standard delivery - Fri 3 Apr".

Signature confirmation

Ask for signature confirmation adds a mandatory checkbox under the calendar. It is in Date selection behaviour on Product page, Cart page, and Cart drawer. Turning it on reveals Signature confirmation text (default "I acknowledge that a signature will be required upon delivery"). Add to cart and checkout stay blocked until the shopper ticks it.

Single shipping option tidy-up

Hide shipping method step when there is only one option skips the radio list when only one profile is valid, which keeps the picker compact. It is in Shipping methods on Product page, Cart page, and Cart drawer.