Anchor dates are an optional add-on to Selling Plans that set a day on which billing interval calculations should be made and schedule specific product ship dates.
The most common use-case for anchor dates is when a store wants to release subscription boxes on a specific day. As an example, say a store releases seasonal subscription drop: ‘Autumn’ product on October 1st, etc. These dates are always fixed regardless of when the previous subscription product was delivered.
In your Selling Plans, you will see an option to add an Anchor:
You can select your anchor day to be a specific Week Day (ex. Monday), Month Day (ex. 15th), or Year Day (ex. July 30th).
If you select a Week Day or Month Day option, you will also be presented with the option to add an optional Cutoff Day and determine subscription behavior Pre-Anchor:
Cutoff day is how many days in advance of the delivery anchor the order would need to be placed in order to qualify for the next delivery cycle. Pre-Anchor Behavior is the possible fulfillment of the first order when placed within the cutoff. ASAP means orders placed inside a cutoff can be fulfilled or delivered by the next anchor. NEXT means orders placed inside a cutoff can be fulfilled or delivered at the following anchor.