Blackout period requirements

Blackout periods allow retailers to temporarily disable product availability for a specific interval of time, for example, when the deli is closed.

Column	Data Type	Description	Example
blackout_times	JSON	The periods when a product is unavailable.	See Example.

JSON data

Field Definitions	Required	Type	Description	Example
weekday	Yes	string	The day the blackout is in effect. Possible values: monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday saturday sunday	monday
start_hour	Yes	timestamp	The blackout start time. Timestamps are inclusive.1	19:00:00:00+0000
end_hour	Yes	timestamp	The blackout end time. Timestamps are inclusive.1	24:00:00:00+0000+0000
start_date	Yes	date (no timestamp)	The date the blackout period begins, in the format MM/DD/YYYY.	02/01/2019
end_date	No	date (no timestamp)	The date the blackout rule ends, in the format MM/DD/YYYY.	02/28/2019
message	Yes	string	The message displayed when a customer attempts to purchase the item during the blackout period.	Our fresh Rotisserie Chickens are available starting at 10 am.

Footnotes

1. Time zone must be in local time (not UTC). The period must be within store hours. For example, if a store's operating hours are 7AM - 5PM, the blackout period could be 7AM - 10AM, but not 12AM - 10AM. ↩ ↩²

Before you send your files, consider using a JSON validator.

Example

note

When you include a JSON object in a CSV file, you must use double quotes.

In this example, a deli item is unavailable for purchase between 6 AM to 10 AM, and 9 PM to midnight.

"[
  {
    ""weekday"":""Monday"",
    ""start_hour"":""6:00:00:00+0000"",
    ""end_hour"":""10:00:00:00+0000"",
    ""start_date"":""02/01/2019"",
    ""end_date"":""05/31/2019"",
    ""message"":""Our deli is closed during these hours. This item is not available for delivery at this time.""
  },
  {
    ""weekday"":""Monday"",
    ""start_hour"":""21:00:00:00+0000"",
    ""end_hour"":""24:00:00:00+0000"",
    ""start_date"":""02/01/2019"",
    ""end_date"":""05/31/2019"",
    ""message"":""Our deli is closed during these hours. This item is not available for delivery at this time.""
  },
]"