For: Merchants setting up Shopify customer notifications or dealing with customers who miss important shipping changes.
What you can do after reading: Create an event table, write reusable templates, and decide which messages to send, combine, or turn off.
A shipping notification should not fire for every carrier scan. Send one when the new information changes what the customer understands or needs to do.
Shopify lists Shipping confirmation, Shipping update, Out for delivery, and Delivered among its customer notification events. Some messages can be disabled during a specific action. Out-for-delivery and delivered messages depend on tracking events from the carrier or fulfillment app, so timing and accuracy vary by source.[1]
Set event priorities
Always explain shipping confirmation, out for delivery, delivered, and exceptions that require action. A customer needs the tracking link when the parcel leaves the merchant's process. Delivery-day messages may affect receiving arrangements. Delivered messages need a route for customers who cannot find the parcel. Address problems and failed delivery need a clear action.
Combine similar international scans when they do not change the customer's decision. Arrival at one processing center, departure from another, and a carrier handoff can remain under one "in transit" stage, with the raw events available in the detailed history.
Use a four-part message
- Subject: State the result, such as "Your order has shipped" or "Your delivery needs information." Avoid a vague subject like "Order update."
- Opening: Explain what happened in one or two sentences. Do not start with a promotion or brand story.
- Main action: Keep one primary button. In most cases it opens the order status page. If the customer must contact the carrier or correct information, promote that action instead.
- Expectation: Say when another update may appear and when the customer should contact the store.
Four templates
Shipping confirmation
Subject: Your order has shipped
Your order has been handed to the shipping provider. New tracking events may take some time to appear. Use the page below for the latest status.
Out for delivery
Subject: Your parcel is out for delivery today
The parcel has entered the last-mile delivery process. Make sure the address can receive it and watch for carrier messages.
Delivered
Subject: Your order is marked as delivered
If you cannot find it, check the entrance, front desk, mailbox, or collection point. Contact us if it is still missing.
Action required
Subject: Your delivery needs information
The carrier could not complete delivery. Review the latest tracking note and confirm the address and phone number.
Decide whether to send
| Status change | Changes the customer's decision? | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Another internal processing center | No | Do not send separately |
| Out for delivery | Yes | Send promptly |
| Several in-transit scans | Usually not | Combine them |
| Address problem or failed delivery | Yes | Send with an action |
Watch the outcome
Track delivery and open rates, visits to the tracking page, WISMO conversations, repeat questions after an exception, and complaints about parcels marked delivered. Open rate is not the goal. The customer should understand the status and know what to do.
BestTrack can connect shipping events to notifications and a branded tracking page. Treat its default templates as a starting point, then adjust them for your routes, policies, and voice.
Rewrite one notification today
Pick the event that causes the most questions, such as failed delivery. Rewrite the current template using result, explanation, main action, and expectation. Send a test order to a teammate. Check the subject, the first mobile screen, and the destination of the button. Publish this one message first and track the next group of similar tickets.
References
BestTrack focuses on Shopify order tracking, shipping notifications, and post-purchase support.
