8 Most Shipping Notifications to Improve Customer Experience

Imagine your customer waiting for a package, only to miss delivery due to no shipping notifications or outdated shipping updates. This leads to a decline in the post-purchase experience and increases WISMO (“Where is my order?”) inquiries.

This article introduces 8 types of shipping notifications and their impact on your business. Also, tools like ParcelPanel help automate these updates with branded, customizable emails to keep your customers informed.

What are shipping notifications?

Shipping notifications, also called shipment notifications or delivery notifications, are automated messages sent by eCommerce merchants, third-party fulfillment, or shipping carriers. They are meant to keep customers informed about the shipping status of their order throughout the delivery process.

These shipment notifications keep customers informed with delivery details like tracking numbers, shipping status, and delivery address. They help reduce post-purchase support requests and build customer loyalty.

Many brands send shipping notifications through multiple channels like email, SMS, and push notifications to keep customers informed with detailed information. It’s important to consider the timing when you send notifications.

For example, sending text messages or SMS notifications late at night can hurt the customer experience. Using a trusted email domain to send notifications improves deliverability and builds trust.

A good shipping notification comes down to three main elements:

• Trigger – When it gets sent to the recipient
• Channel – How it’s sent (Email, SMS, and push notifications).
• Message – What it says, often including order details, tracking information, estimated delivery date, and customer support information.

Types of Shipping Notification

You can use various types of shipping notifications to keep your shoppers informed about their order status. Here are the 8 most important types of shipping notifications.

#📦Order Confirmation

Sends an order confirmation as part of the shipping notification process. It lets the customer know their order was placed successfully.

Trigger: Auto-send right after the customer completes payment.

What to include:

• A clear order confirmation with the order number, order details, total amount, and shipping address
• Estimated delivery date and shipping method
• Customer support team contact info
• A payment receipt or invoice, if needed for records

#🚀Info Received

Just letting your customers know their order info has been received and processing has begun at the warehouse.

Trigger: Auto-send once the order reaches the warehouse and begins processing

What to include:

• A clear, engaging subject line (e.g., “Your order is about to ship”)
• Customer name for personalization
• Shipment details: item list, shipping carrier name, and tracking numbers

#🚚In Transit

Let the customer know their package has left the shipping carrier’s facility and is on its way to the delivery address.

Trigger: Auto-send a notification when the package leaves the shipping carrier’s hub. Let the customer know it’s on the way to their address.

What to include:

• The tracking number and carrier information
• A list of items in the shipment, including variations (size, color)
• Estimated delivery date and A real-time tracking link

💡Pro Tip :

Embed a tracking module in the email (e.g., a “Track Your Order” button), and link it to your branded tracking page. This way, your customers can view delivery updates without leaving your store or having to visit the carrier’s website.

#📦📍Ready for Pickup

Send delivery notifications to let your customer know their package is ready for pickup at the pickup point.

Trigger: Auto-send when carrier status updates to “Ready for Pickup” at the designated location.

What to include:

• Tracking number for pickup verification
• Pickup address and business hours
• Clear instructions on what the customer needs to bring (e.g., ID, package barcode)

#🚚👤Out for Delivery

Notify the customer that their package is on its way for final delivery.

Trigger: Auto-send when the package is out for final delivery to the customer.

What to include:

• Estimated delivery time
• A reminder to ensure your customer is available to receive the package, or that the doorbell is functional
• Tracking link for live updates

💡Pro Tip:

Add your brand story, product tips, or an unboxing guide to keep customers interested and excited about their next step with your brand.

#📦🏠 Delivered

Send delivery notifications during the final stages of shipping. Let your customer know their package has safely reached its destination.

Trigger: Automatically sent when the order is marked as “Delivered” by the shipping carrier.

What to include:

• Thank the customer for their order and invite them to shop with you again.
• Delivery confirmation details, like the tracking number, delivery time, and delivery date.

💡Pro Tip:

• Ask customers to leave a review and share photos of their purchase to build trust and increase store credibility.
• Add social sharing buttons to increase customer engagement and build customer relationships through shared purchase experiences and rewards.
• Suggest related products or current promotions to encourage repeat purchases and increase customer engagement. Suggest related products or promotions to boost sales conversions and repeat purchases.

#📦❗Exception

Let your customer know there’s a delay or issue with their shipment, such as bad weather, a wrong address problem, or a delivery delay.

Trigger: Auto-send this “Delivery Exception” shipping notification right away when the shipping system flags an exception.

What to include:

• A brief explanation of what went wrong and what’s being done to resolve it.

💡Pro Tip:

• How quickly you respond to exceptions affects your brand’s image. Make sure you receive shipment exception email notifications first, so you can act before your customer even knows there’s a problem.
• In delivery exception emails, let customers know they can get store credit or a discount. It’s a simple way to turn a bad experience into a better one.

#📦❓ Failed Delivery Attempt

Let your customer know their package couldn’t be delivered and needs a new delivery arrangement.

Trigger: Auto-send “Failed Delivery Attempt” shipment notification as soon as the first delivery attempt fails.

What to include:

• Let your customer know their package delivery attempt has failed
• Suggest they reach out to the shipping carrier to reschedule
• Give a heads-up that after 3 failed attempts, the package might be returned to the sender

Why Shipping Notifications Matter for Your Business?

Most consumers want to stay in the loop during the delivery process. Nearly 52% of customers quit a brand after a bad experience, while 49% make impulse purchases after a personalized customer experience.

So, timely shipment notifications have a much bigger impact on your business than you might think. They help boost customer satisfaction, build brand loyalty, and increase sales.

#Provide Customers Full Visibility

Proactive shipment notifications give your customers clear visibility. They cover every step from the order placed to the delivery. This helps ease customer anxiety, cuts down on those “Where is my order?” (WISMO) support inquiries, and lowers your store’s overall operational costs.

#Improve Brand Image

Timely shipment notifications improve the post-purchase experience for your customers. You can add branded visuals, storytelling, and eco-friendly content to make these notifications more engaging and strengthen your brand image.

Plus, when customers have a great experience, they’re more likely to recommend your brand to others, helping your brand expand its influence.

#Boost Sales and Repeat Purchases

Sending delivery notifications is a great way to boost sales. You can add promotions, product recommendations, and discount coupons to your shipment notifications.

This encourages the next purchase and keeps your customers moving along their customer journey. While they’re waiting for their package, they’ll keep coming back to your store and help drive more traffic.

How Does Parcel Panel Streamline Your Shipping Notifications?

A big challenge for eCommerce merchants is sending timely shipment notifications without redirecting to carrier sites.

To solve this, ParcelPanel helps you to automatically send 7 key shipping notifications. And you can fully customize branded email templates with tracking info to keep customers engaged.

#Auto-Send 7 Shipping Notifications with Multilingual Support

ParcelPanel supports automatic shipment notifications for the following statuses:

• Info Received
• In Transit
• Ready for Pickup
• Out for Delivery
• Delivered
• Exception
• Failed Delivery Attempt

These shipment notifications keep both customers and merchants updated with real-time package status. Exception notifications help merchants spot issues early before customers get upset.

ParcelPanel supports multilingual emails that match the languages in your Shopify admin. It also auto-sends shipment notifications in your customers’ preferred language to improve communication.

#Branded Shipping Notifications with Custom Email Template

With ParcelPanel, you can fully customize your shipment notifications to fit your brand’s style. Add your logo and use your brand colors in emails. Also, link to social media like Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), etc., to strengthen your brand.

You can also turn on the Product Recommendation feature, powered by AI or based on a collection you choose. Adding a Discount Upsell block lets you show personalized offers in shipment notifications. It turns routine updates into sales opportunities.

Final Words

Shipping notifications are an important part of the post-purchase experience. ParcelPanel helps eCommerce merchants by automatically sending branded shipping notifications. It provides real-time shipping updates at key delivery stages.

Start using ParcelPanel today to boost sales and delight customers with every shipment.

Shipping Notifications FAQs

Are Shipping Notifications Worth It?

Yes. They keep customers informed, reduce support requests, and boost customer satisfaction, loyalty, and more repeat sales.

What types of shipping notifications does Shopify support?

When enabled, Shopify helps merchants auto-send key shipping notifications, including Order Confirmation, Shipping Confirmation, Local Pickup, Local Delivery, Shipping Update, Out for Delivery, and Delivered.

What are delivery notifications?

Delivery notifications let customers know where their package is via email or SMS. They include Estimated Time of Arrival(ETA), delivery location, and tracking number. Online businesses use them to keep customers informed and ready for delivery.

How to inform the customer about the delivery status?

You can send real-time shipping updates through email or SMS notifications. Use clear, simple notification wording and personalize each message with the customer’s name and order info. If there’s a delay, apologize and share a new delivery estimate.