How are handling and transit ranges represented for a product offer?

Definition: A product offer represents its total delivery estimate with deliveryTime, a ShippingDeliveryTime object nested in shippingDetails. Inside it, handlingTime and transitTime are QuantitativeValue ranges with minValue, maxValue, and a day unit.

Key facts

• Google's merchant listing documentation defines deliveryTime as the total delay from order receipt until the goods reach the final customer.
• handlingTime covers the typical delay until the goods leave the warehouse. transitTime covers the typical delay from dispatch until arrival with the customer.
• Google says a shipping-time QuantitativeValue needs a minimum and maximum number of days, both expressed as non-negative whole numbers.
• Google's accepted day values for unitCode are DAY and d.
• Schema.org describes ShippingDeliveryTime as information about delivery times and lists handlingTime and transitTime among its properties.
• Schema.org defines minValue as the lower value of a characteristic and maxValue as its upper value.

What does each range measure?

Google's merchant listing documentation uses deliveryTime for the total delay between receiving the order and the goods reaching the final customer. The nested handlingTime property measures the typical delay between receiving the order and the goods leaving the warehouse. The nested transitTime property measures the typical delay between sending the order for delivery and the goods reaching the final customer.

The two ranges therefore describe successive parts of the delivery estimate. Handling is the preparation interval. Transit is the carrier or delivery interval. deliveryTime belongs under OfferShippingDetails, alongside the shipping destination and shipping rate fields described by the same documentation.

How is a range encoded?

Google specifies QuantitativeValue for shipping times and requires minValue, maxValue, and unitCode. The minimum and maximum are non-negative whole numbers. The documented day unit is DAY or d.

"deliveryTime": {
  "@type": "ShippingDeliveryTime",
  "handlingTime": {
    "@type": "QuantitativeValue",
    "minValue": 0,
    "maxValue": 1,
    "unitCode": "DAY"
  },
  "transitTime": {
    "@type": "QuantitativeValue",
    "minValue": 1,
    "maxValue": 5,
    "unitCode": "DAY"
  }
}

The example follows Google's merchant listing example. Its handling range runs from zero to one day, while its transit range runs from one to five days. The values are ranges rather than a single promised duration.

What does Schema.org add?

Schema.org's ShippingDeliveryTime definition describes the type as information about delivery times for shipping. For handlingTime, it describes the delay from order receipt until the goods leave the warehouse or are prepared for on-site pickup. In this context, it lists minValue, maxValue, and unitCode, with d for day, and says the convention counts business days when a unit code is used.

For transitTime, Schema.org describes the delay from dispatch until the goods reach the final customer and points to QuantitativeValue with minValue, maxValue, and unitCode. Its QuantitativeValue definition describes a point value or interval, defines minValue as the lower value and maxValue as the upper value, and describes unitCode as a coded unit or URL. Google’s merchant listing documentation sets the product-offer validation rule for these ranges: the values are whole numbers of days and unitCode is DAY or d.

How should a product page check the markup?

The deliveryTime object should contain one handlingTime range and one transitTime range. Each range should use QuantitativeValue, include both bounds, and identify days with the documented unit. A zero lower bound is allowed by Google's non-negative whole-number rule, as shown in its example.

Related terms

• OfferShippingDetails structured data
• How can shippingDetails restrict delivery to regions or postal codes?

FAQ

Can you give one value instead of a range?

Google's shipping-time guidance requires both minValue and maxValue for QuantitativeValue. Set the two bounds to the same whole-number day value when the documented estimate has no spread.

Does handling time include carrier travel?

No. Handling ends when the goods leave the warehouse, while transit starts when the order has been sent for delivery and ends when the goods reach the final customer.

Should you use DAY or d?

Google documents both values for unitCode. Schema.org's ShippingDeliveryTime description uses d for day in this context.

Sources

1. Google Search Central, "Merchant listing structured data", 8 September 2026
2. Schema.org, "ShippingDeliveryTime", 16 September 2026
3. Schema.org, "QuantitativeValue", 16 September 2026

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