Shipping confirmation email: Content, templates, and 15 examples

Why are shipping confirmation emails so important? People need to get an immediate result: When they spend money on something, there has to be an order confirmation, a tracking link, or, at least, an expected delivery date. The sooner you send this transactional email, the more positive the customer’s experience will be. In this article, we’ll delve into all the ins and outs of shipping confirmation emails, their content, and their pitfalls and show you real marketing examples to give you inspiration for your own emails.

(Source: Stripo template)

Key takeaways

1. Shipping confirmation emails build trust and improve the customer experience. With a 62.67% open rate compared to 30.22% for regular marketing emails, they keep customers informed, reduce shipping-related support requests, and help encourage repeat purchases.
2. Accurate information and timely automation are essential. Send shipping confirmations when orders are dispatched, not immediately after checkout. Include tracking links, estimated delivery dates, order details, and support contacts. Use dynamic variables to automate personalization and avoid errors.
3. Great design, deliverability, and compliance go hand in hand. Create branded, mobile-friendly, accessible emails that work in dark mode. Prioritize transactional information, follow applicable privacy regulations, and configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to support reliable delivery.

What is a shipping confirmation email?

This type of email newsletter is implemented in any eCommerce business. A shipping confirmation email is essentially a transactional message that is sent to customers after their orders have been packed and dispatched. It serves a “technical” purpose: notifying the recipient that the order is en route, providing delivery details and timing, facilitating package tracking, and listing the specific items included in the shipment.

(Source: Stripo template)

Shipping confirmation vs. order confirmation vs. delivery confirmation

Within the “family” of shipping confirmation emails, there are three distinct formats. While they all concern the shipping process, they are sent at different times and serve distinct purposes. 

Here is the breakdown so you can have a clearer picture:

• order confirmation emails are sent immediately after the customer places an order, serving as a notification that it has been accepted for processing;
• shipping confirmation emails are sent after the order has been dispatched to the recipient, notifying them of the shipment and providing all the necessary package-tracking details;
• delivery confirmation emails are sent after the package has reached its destination, serving as a notification (or reminder) to the customer that their purchase is waiting for them.

To make your shipment processes as clear as possible, it is wise to use all three formats for your business.

Where it sits in the post-purchase email sequence

In the purchasing process, shipping confirmation emails fall into the post-purchase phase, coming after the order confirmation email and before the delivery confirmation email. The primary goal is to reassure the customer that their purchase is on its way and to help them track the package’s current location.

Why shipping confirmation emails matter

As we said earlier, shipping confirmation emails clarify the process of delivering orders to customers. However, this is not the only reason they matter to both the business and the buyer.

Open rates and engagement vs. marketing emails

First, shipping confirmation emails are opened frequently. Statistically, the open rate for these emails reaches a staggering 62.67%. Customers open and value these emails because they provide significant utility, addressing the question “What’s happening with my order?”, which is a common concern after a purchase is made. This becomes even more apparent when compared to the industry average for standard marketing emails: an open rate of 30.41%.

Reducing “Where is my order?” support tickets

High open rates are one thing, but peace of mind is a genuine benefit for your customers and support team. A well-oiled system of shipping confirmation emails, providing full delivery and tracking details, takes the burden of package status inquiries off your support department. The easier it is to track a package, the fewer tickets you’ll receive asking about its whereabouts.

Impact on repeat purchase and customer lifetime value

A great delivery experience makes customers stay and buy from you again even if the price is higher than that of competitors. One positive delivery experience pillar is live tracking and proactive communication, which shipping confirmations and other emails can absolutely fulfill, as they are meant to be useful and provide better delivery service for customers. 

Transactional or marketing? Compliance rules you can’t skip

Shipping confirmation emails are transactional at their core and, as a result, have components that are tied to laws and overall newsletter concepts that you should keep in mind when creating your own emails.

Why transactional emails reach nonsubscribers

Marketing and transactional emails reach recipients’ inboxes in different ways. Marketing emails that reach the recipient without their consent are a violation of privacy laws such as GDPR and CAN-SPAM, so marketers tread carefully and ask for all possible forms of consent to avoid reputational losses.

Meanwhile, transactional emails can land in recipients’ inboxes even if they are not subscribed to you. The main reason for this is the way that checkout and overall purchase processes usually work. To complete the purchase process and send the receipt with the order information, businesses usually ask for an email address. For example, a customer who unsubscribes from a retailer’s newsletters can still receive a shipping confirmation for an order that they placed.

Transactional emails are in the clear, but with one caveat — namely, the amount of promotional content. 

The 80/20 content rule

This rule is all about the transactional/promotional content ratio inside your email. In other words, to greenlight your shipping confirmation email to nonsubscribers, it must have 80% transactional content (shipping info, tracking, and order details) and 20% marketing content (promotions, recommendations, and more).

However, it’s also vital to remember how you place this content. To keep your email out of harm’s way when it comes to lawsuits, provide all your shipping information right away, and place all your promotional content at the bottom.

CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and what “legitimate interest” covers

Established privacy regulations have their own obligations regarding how shipping emails should work for recipients:

• CAN-SPAM (US) says that purely transactional shipping notifications don’t require marketing opt-in or a commercial unsubscribe mechanism. Mixed-purpose emails must pass the FTC’s primary-purpose test;
• the GDPR (EU) requires businesses to have a lawful basis for processing personal data. Shipping communications are typically covered by contractual necessity under Article 6(1)(b);
• PECR (UK) states that shipping notifications without promotions are service messages.

Additionally, there is a concept called “legitimate interest” that works under GDPR Article 6(1)(f), which has a special set of rules for shipping emails:

• typically, the more appropriate lawful basis for processing customer information is needed to fulfill an order and communicate shipment details;
• the way you handle data may support certain related processing activities, depending on necessity, proportionality, and customers’ reasonable expectations;
• legitimate interests alone cannot override ePrivacy consent requirements, and marketing must separately satisfy the applicable electronic marketing rules.

What to include in a shipping confirmation email

A shipping notification email keeps customers informed about their purchase’s journey. It should include the tracking number, estimated delivery date, and order details. Clear and concise updates enhance the customer experience and build trust, ensuring that your brand stands out in every transaction.

There are a few tips to consider when creating your confirmation email templates. Let’s have a closer look at them.

Subject line

Some brands tend to underestimate the impact of a subject line. It may sound unbelievable, but some companies send their emails without one. It’s not right, and here’s why.

Your customers receive dozens of emails in their inboxes daily or even hourly. Basically, a first line that appears as a preview is your only chance to draw a customer’s attention. Apart from this, clients may view transactional email templates without a subject line as spam.

Luckily for you, subject lines for shipping confirmation emails don’t need to be extra creative: “Your order has been shipped” or “Thank you for the order” would be more than enough to make sure a customer won’t miss an order summary.

Order number and order date

Every purchase is tied to a specific number and order date. You showed the information after checkout, so it’s vital to show it in the shipping confirmation email so that the recipient can be sure that the received email is about their purchase order.

List of ordered items with images and totals

Many customers rely on shipping confirmation emails to check the items that they purchased. At this point, it would be useful if you mentioned the price of the products and added pictures to make them easier for the customer to see. Of course, you should state the total amount, including shipping, taxes, and discounts, if applicable.

(Source: Stripo template)

Additionally, if any items are unavailable at the moment and your website shows them for some reason, take the opportunity to warn the customer about them here.

(Source: Email from Adidas)

You can suggest a replacement for the product or at least mention when the desired item will be in stock again. If there’s any inconvenience caused, offer a special discount or a promo code to encourage customers to make future purchases.

A tracking link or a tracking number

When customers purchase an item, they expect to receive it immediately. And unless you, by any chance, have a teleport machine, the solution includes a tracking link in the email confirmation.

(Source: Email from Snake River Farms)

This tool is also helpful for your customers to plan their schedules according to the order status. But make sure that tracking links provide updated information and that delivery is on time.

However, if you can’t put a tracking link into your shipping confirmation email, you should at least send a tracking number to let customers track the product on the postal services website.

Shipping and billing address

Your customers may order items for their home, job, parents, or friends, and it’s difficult for them to always keep track of the details. Sometimes, people move somewhere and forget to change the delivery address that was previously saved.

That’s why you should put the delivery address in the shipping confirmation email.

A customer should be able to check it quickly after opening their inbox.

Estimated delivery date and time window

A shipping confirmation email should contain an estimated delivery date. But the best thing you can provide your customers with is the estimated arrival time.

(Source: Stripo template)

If your online store handles its own deliveries using route optimization software, you can specify the time range when the order might be delivered. And get ready for the most appreciative feedback from excited customers!

Payment summary

Another wise addition is an overall payment summary. Your recipient must have a clear picture of what they are paying for. Include the total price of items in the shipment, all discounts applied (if any), taxes, shipping price, and overall total order price to dispel all possible questions about how your shipping pricing works.

(Source: Stripo template)

Returns and exchanges information

Sometimes, shipping and selling goods in general is a bit of a gamble. A product might arrive damaged, prove unsuitable, or even go missing in transit. Naturally, the customer will want the item to be refunded or returned.

In addition to having the relevant links on your website, you should include all necessary information regarding returns and exchanges in your shipping confirmation email. The easier it is to access information about the return or exchange process, the less frustration the customer will feel about the situation.

Support contact and FAQ links

A phone number is a must for your shipping confirmation email. Although many people prefer text communication, a phone call is the fastest way to reach out. You are also interested in being in touch with your clients in case they urgently need to change a shipping method, billing address, or other relevant details.

(Source: Stripo template)

It would be great if your support resources were available 24/7 (especially if you work with international customers in different time zones). Otherwise, you should at least let your clients know when the support team processes their requests.

It would also be wise to add FAQ links that can answer questions about your shipping processes, various policies, returns, and other details that can make your shipping as clear as possible.

Out-of-stock items and replacement offers

Bad days can happen to all of us. You can accept the order, but when the time comes to pack and ship it, you find out that you are out of stock. So it’s time to apologize and find ways to rectify the situation.

If an order has out-of-stock items, your shipping confirmation email must clearly show them. Besides this, you can add approximate restock dates so that your recipient can plan a future purchase for the goods that they need. Or you can go even further and offer replacement items that are similar to the ones that your customer ordered.

How to set up and automate the email

Shipping confirmation emails are triggered automatically, as no business has enough resources to send them manually. Here, we’ll discuss the nuances of setting up shipping confirmation emails as an automated workflow.

What triggers the send: fulfillment, not order placement

First of all, it’s vital to know how shipping confirmation emails are triggered. Some marketers may think that this type of email must be triggered once the order is placed, but this is a bit too early. A shipment confirmation email is sent after the order has been processed and handed over to the delivery service.

The whole sequence should look like this:

1. The order is placed, and it triggers the order confirmation email.
2. You work on the order, pack it, create the necessary labels, and hand it over to your shipping department, which sends it to the customer. This now triggers your shipping confirmation email.
3. Once the order arrives at the destination and your shipping department sees it, it’s time to trigger the delivery confirmation email.

It’s all about the fulfillment of different stages. Keep in mind that creating a shipping label is not ideally a reason to send a shipping confirmation email, as no shipping is happening at the time. However, you can send a separate notification about this label to make your shipping even more transparent.

Dynamic variables for auto-filling order data

These dynamic variables, called merge tags, are your go-to solution for quickly filling in customer-related information in your shipping confirmation email. These tags work wonders if you pair them with a single reusable template so that they can pull relevant data from the eCommerce platform, order management system, or email service provider that you use. Simply put, you automate a mundane task that’s hard to do manually to save time and avoid possible mistakes.

These tags can look like this:

• {{customer_name}} to personalize a greeting using the customer’s name;
• {{order_number}} to pull out the exact order number for your email;
• {{tracking_number}} to obtain a tracking number once the order is on its way to the customer.

Keep in mind that the examples above are for explanatory purposes only. These tags vary from ESP to ESP and from management system to management system, and they can look different and much more complicated. The only thing that unites them is how they work and save your precious time by filling in a lot of crucial information that is easy to mess up manually.

Building and exporting the template in Stripo

Creating shipping confirmation emails from scratch can take some time, especially if you don’t have any experience coding or designing proper email templates. Using a tool that provides a user-friendly design process without technical knowledge and offers ways to export the created template to any ESP for you to send the email can be helpful. 

Stripo provides you with every tool you’ll need to design a shipping confirmation email that will suit your style and business vibe. On top of this, it will take you less than 7 minutes to create one. Check out our tutorial to see how easy it is.

 

Common problems and how to fix them

Shipping confirmation emails are a thing of their own, and they’re tied to specific pitfalls that you can stumble upon any day. We’ve gathered the most common ones and will help you overcome them with a few tips.

The email was sent before tracking existed

If your automation workflow has flaws or your internal systems encounter errors, your shipping confirmation emails may be triggered at the wrong time and sent without tracking links. This can frustrate the recipient and burden your support team with a flood of additional inquiries regarding the shipment’s status. 

The best way to avoid this is to follow these tips:

• check your automation workflow thoroughly and make sure it triggers only when a valid tracking number has been assigned;
• use a two-stage notification workflow when you inform customers that their order is being prepared or has been shipped, and then, in a separate follow-up email, provide tracking details as soon as they’re available.

How to resend a shipping confirmation

Sometimes, your shipping confirmation may end up in the spam folder, or your recipient may delete the previous one by accident. As a result, they can request another shipping confirmation email, and that’s where manual work comes in. Since it’s a specific request and the previous email was already triggered, you’ll need to send a separate email manually. 

Take the following steps to make everything right:

1. Locate the customer’s order and identify its current status (shipped, in delivery, or delivered) through your management system.
2. Confirm the recipient’s email address through your ESP.
3. Create a separate email manually with all the details from this specific order (items, total price, delivery status, and so on).
4. Send it manually to this customer.

This may all sound like a hassle, but it will definitely do the job and leave your customer satisfied.

Tracking shows “label created” and nothing else

Your customer encounters this problem and may be worried about the fate of their ordered goods. Clicking on the tracking link in your shipping confirmation email may show messages that the label has been created or that your shipping company has received information about the parcel, but nothing more.

If we cut to the chase, this is nobody’s fault. This usually means that the carrier hasn’t scanned the package yet; it doesn’t necessarily mean that the shipment is lost or delayed. The package may still be awaiting pickup, moving between facilities without an initial scan, or experiencing a delay in tracking updates. The best way to avoid this is to send shipping confirmations after the carrier’s first acceptance scan rather than immediately after label creation.

Split shipments and multiple tracking numbers

Multiple shipments in one order are common, as different goods can be stored in separate warehouses and have varying availability but must be shipped to one address. As a result, each shipment has its own tracking number. 

The best way to avoid confusing your recipient with all the crucial information is as follows:

• send separate notifications for each shipment by triggering a shipping confirmation email whenever a new package is dispatched, specifying which items are included;
• include item-level information for each shipment by showing product names, images, and quantities associated with each shipment so customers know exactly what to expect;
• provide a centralized tracking page (if possible) and include a link that lets customers monitor the status of all shipments associated with their order.

Communicating delays and disruptions

Delays and shipping disruptions are inevitable, no matter how you set up your processes, as unexpected problems tend to arise. The only thing to do is learn from these experiences and communicate clearly with your customers about them. The best way to show that you care is to send proactive notifications to customers when a shipment is delayed rather than waiting for them to check the tracking page or contact support.

Besides this, include updated delivery dates and keep customers informed at every stage of this disruption. Last but not least, if the delay is severe, it would be wise to offer more substantial apologies in the form of a replacement, refund, or alternative delivery arrangement. 

Design and rendering

As with every email, shipping confirmations must look flawless in the recipient’s inbox. However, several issues can cause headaches in terms of rendering when you create your emails, and you need to be prepared.

Rendering order tables correctly on mobile

Shipping confirmation emails usually include tables with ordered items, their quantities, and their prices, but these tables can break when the email is opened on a mobile screen. The best way to avoid this is to make tables responsive so they can adapt to the screen size accordingly.

This tip will work even better if you design your tables with a simplified structure by avoiding too many columns and prioritizing the most essential ones, such as product image names and pricing information.

Another issue that should be mentioned is that mobile-friendly design is about tweaking all aspects of your email design: fonts, gaps between content, element sizes, their positions, and much more.

Dark mode: What breaks in order summaries and how to fix it

Another factor that can mess up your shipping confirmation email is opening it in dark mode. Some email clients automatically invert background and text colors, while others only partially change them. This can make essential order information difficult to read or create inconsistencies in the email design.

To make sure your email adapts to dark mode without issues, it would be wise to take the following steps:

• use high-contrast colors for fonts and design elements, including CTA buttons, as they will still be visible once the background changes to dark mode;
• use sufficiently contrasting border colors for tables, content blocks, and other elements, and adjust colors for dark mode;
• create and add product images with white backgrounds, as they are suitable and visible in both light and dark modes;
• adapt your logos for dark mode by increasing their contrast and removing the transparent background that can blend in with the dark background.

The tips above may sound easy, but adapting your email for dark mode is tricky. We advise you to test each design change and see how your email looks in dark mode until it is easily readable. Besides this, with our new custom dark mode feature, you can not only see how your email will look in dark mode during editing but also tweak email elements specifically for dark mode.

Accessibility basics for transactional emails

So you’ve adapted your shipping confirmation email for mobile screens and dark mode. Now it’s time for another stage of tweaking, and this time, it’s accessibility. Your good-looking email won’t do a thing if your audience with visual impairments can’t read it.

Here are the main things you need to make sure are flawless:

• achieve a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text by following WCAG AA guidelines;
• add meaningful alt text to informative images and use empty alt attributes (alt="") for purely decorative images to make screen readers read your email properly out loud with all the imagery;
• use descriptive links and buttons such as “Track order #” or “View delivery status” so that the person with a visual impairment can understand what awaits them behind these links once a screen reader reads them;
• use readable font sizes and comfortably sized tracking buttons, ideally at least 44 × 44 pixels.

These are the main things you need to tweak, and it can take some time. To implement fixes easily, use our Accessibility Checker in Stripo. It simply scans your created template, highlights accessibility imperfections, and shows exactly what you need to do to fix them.

Email accessibility is much more than just contrast colors and the right font sizes. We recommend that you read our extensive guide on email and web accessibility, as it helps you see emails the way that people with visual impairments see them and understand how to adapt your newsletters for this significant portion of your recipients.

Aligning copy and design with your brand

Shipping confirmation may seem strict in terms of design opportunities. However, these emails should be consistent with your brand’s visual identity and tone of voice while keeping essential delivery information clear and easy to find. 

As a result, you should try to avoid things that can make your shipping emails feel disconnected from your brand:

• generic and oversimplified designs may look disconnected from your website and other marketing emails, so it’s wise to use your brand’s logo, colors, typography, and recognizable design elements to maintain consistency;
• unnatural or overly formal copy may not reflect your brand’s personality, so don’t forget to adapt the subject lines, greetings, and body copy to your tone of voice while keeping the message straightforward;
• different designs across shipping updates is a big no-no since this clearly creates an unrelated look and may confuse your recipient to the point that they think that this update comes from another brand, so use a unified design system for all transactional emails;
• poor localization with inappropriate language, date formats, currencies, or address conventions can confuse international customers, so adapt content to each market while maintaining your brand identity.

Deliverability of transactional emails

All your work can be in vain if your shipping confirmation email lands in the client’s spam folder. So it’s time to talk about why this happens and what you can do to ensure that your shipment updates land straight in the recipient’s inbox.

Why shipping confirmations land in spam

Email clients such as Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo evaluate transactional messages (which our shipping confirmations are) using many of the same authentication, sender reputation, and content signals as marketing emails. 

As a result, your email may land in spam if it has the following imperfections, which are marked as a red flag to these authentication algorithms:

• missing or incorrect email authentication;
• poor overall sender reputation;
• misleading subject lines;
• suspicious tracking links; 
• too much promotional content; 
• sudden sending-volume spikes; 
• broken email formatting;
• sending duplicate notifications.

These are the issues that you should fix or avoid if you want your shipping email to be delivered to the recipient’s inbox.

Separating transactional and promotional sending

The main way you can achieve high deliverability of your shipping confirmation emails is to separate your shipping newsletters from regular promotional emails. Shipping emails are full of vital information that recipients want to see right away. However, when transactional and promotional emails share the same sending infrastructure, poor engagement, spam complaints, or deliverability issues from regular emails can tank the performance of your shipping email notifications.

So the wisest solution is to create a separate sending domain for your shipping emails to manage reputation independently. On top of this, your shipping emails must have different unsubscribe settings, as customers who unsubscribe from your regular emails should still receive essential shipping updates. 

Authentication: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI

Besides creating a separate workflow for your shipping confirmation emails, you must undergo email authentication so that your shipping confirmations are proven to be legitimate for email clients.

There are four protocols, each with its own security goal:

1. SPF (Sender Policy Framework) identifies which mail servers are authorized to send emails for a domain and helps ensure that your shipping confirmation email comes from the authorized sending infrastructure. 
2. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) protocol adds a cryptographic signature that receiving servers can verify, and it shows that the signed email content hasn’t been modified in transit. 
3. DMARC (Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) verifies that SPF or DKIM authentication aligns with how failures should be handled, helping prevent attackers from impersonating the retailer’s domain.
4. BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) allows eligible brands to display verified brand logos in supported email clients, helping customers recognize legitimate shipping notifications.

These four protocols are the main pillars that establish the legitimacy of your shipping confirmations for email clients. Neglecting even one of them may lead to deliverability issues that are much more severe than just landing in the spam folder. 

Making a legitimate confirmation look legitimate

Last but not least, authentication is the technical side of making your shipping emails legitimate and ensuring that they land in the recipient’s inbox. It is also about the email content, which must look legitimate to your recipient. Shipping confirmation emails are frequently used in phishing attacks because customers expect to receive tracking updates and are likely to click delivery-related links without thinking twice.

To dispel suspicious vibes from your shipping confirmations, you should do this:

• use a consistent sender name that clearly identifies your business;
• avoid URL shorteners, unexplained redirects, and unfamiliar tracking domains; 
• use clear subject lines and avoid alarming phrases such as “URGENT: Delivery failed!”;
• include all order and shipping details at all times, as these help customers recognize the message as relevant to their purchase;
• never ask customers to share passwords, verification codes, or payment card details directly by email, but if action is required, direct them to their account through a secure, recognizable website;
• avoid attaching executable files or unnecessary documents to shipping confirmations; customers should be able to track orders through secure links without downloading files.

15 shipping confirmation email template examples

We have collected a few great examples of effective and attention-grabbing templates and order confirmation emails from real brands. They are ready to use; you simply need to choose the perfect one and customize it for your brand.

1. Your order has shipped!

Use your email to show right away that the customer’s order is already on its way. A single, concise phrase and an option to track the order, like Tushy did, are all it takes. No clutter — just a clear indication that the product is en route to its owner.

(Source: Email from Tushy)

2. Your order is on the way, but first, special offers

The first thing that catches the eye in this shipping confirmation message is the word “sale.” Down the page, you can look through your order and see the pictures, quantity, and price, with the link to check out now (which is essentially a call-to-action [CTA] button).

Finally, a bright red field draws your attention and invites you to check out other special offers. Will you be able to resist visiting the website and making the next purchase?

3. Nothing more than you need

Sometimes, confirmation emails may contain too much, and a customer can easily miss important details. This email is nothing like that.

However, it’s clear that they care about the customers and are always ready to give a helping hand. This shipping confirmation template mentions a few ways to contact the company to find a solution to whatever problem arises. It’s really reassuring.

(Source: Email from Huel)

4. More convenient ways to track orders

If you have more ways for customers to track their orders, don’t hesitate to show them all in your shipping confirmation email. Links to websites and offers to download your app with additional benefits on top of the tracking are a good way to show your care for customers’ comfort. Just list all the benefits of your apps, and provide an easy way to download them.

(Source: Email from Hims)

5. A bit of personalization is always a neat touch

To make your emails more personal, you can always refer to your customers by name. It’s a first and small step for email personalization. Still, once you follow this route, you can go even further, such as providing personalized recommendations and special offers in your shipping confirmation emails, showing products that will perfectly match your customers’ needs.

(Source: Email from DoorDash)

6. Clear refunds

This email sample is designed in the brand style and immediately delivers great news: Your order is on the way. You can easily track the delivery via the attached link.

Besides this, they notify the client that they are allowed to request a full refund within 45 days.

Moreover, while you’re still excited after seeing such news, they encourage you to visit the website by putting the links on separate pages to make your search faster and more effective.

(Source: Email from MeUndies)

7. Short and sweet

There are a few friendly words, all the details regarding your order, and the link for tracking — nothing special but still memorable and pleasant to read. Don’t hesitate to use visualization for your shipping notification.

(Source: Email from Nike)

8. A good joke is never extra

This shipping confirmation template contains only a list of items and a tracking link, which may sound boring. So it would be good to add a little joke or pun to lighten the mood (but only if your brand has the appropriate vibe).

(Source: Stripo template)

9. Renew now, ship later

This is one of the marketing emails people try to avoid. Just kidding, because it’s actually a very useful email.

People prefer subscriptions, as they make their lives easier. But sometimes, you forget about them. And such emails are a good reminder for a customer to decide whether they want to renew.

Your task here is to offer the most desired conditions for a client to help them make the decision that will be the most appropriate for you :).

(Source: Stripo template)

10. Straight to your door

Shipping confirmations can and should be positive to encourage further action. This template shows quite an unusual way to advertise sportswear. But are you willing to use your phone to make a post with the hashtag to show off your new sneakers?

And here’s a reminder that they deliver right to your door. What could be better?

(Source: Stripo template)

11. Use a referral program

Lots of pictures, all the essential details, and social media are great. But there’s more: a huge banner that invites a customer to a referral program. It allows your company to get more clients who will already be loyal because they come via a recommendation. And your existing customers will get an attractive discount. It looks like a win–win situation!

(Source: Stripo template)

12. Just a quick update

This shipping confirmation email lets a customer know that everything is going smoothly. In the meantime, it suggests a few interesting sources to look at and get to know more about the product.

Additionally, there’s an unobtrusive link that leads to the website. But again, no pressure; you decide. 

13. Your recent order was successfully delivered

Any customer would appreciate receiving such a shipping notification email. It’s just a friendly reminder to go get the order or drop a line if something goes wrong. And, of course, there’s a tracking link.

(Source: Email from Athletic Brewing)

14. On the way

This template is a great example of a shipping email that is full of essential information. It provides a tracking link and explains how various shipping formats work with estimated delivery times.

(Source: Email from Vuori)

15. Exclusive membership awards

Your order has been shipped, and you may think about what you can find in a shipping confirmation email apart from order details.

In this template, you will find an invitation to a membership program that allows customers to get a discount, unique offers, and more.

(Source: Email from REI Co-op)

Wrapping up

Shipping confirmation emails are part of any business that sells goods online. Since these emails are indispensable, creating them requires the utmost attention, from ensuring compliance and including content that provides real value to the recipient to managing the presentation and the technical aspects of deliverability.

Above all, these emails reflect your attitude toward your customers and the kind of shipping experience you aim to provide. The better this experience (and the more open and comprehensive your shipping-related communication), the more likely it is that customers will return for future purchases. This article helps you prepare your shipping confirmation emails from both a technical and a content perspective, offering the tips and inspiration you need to easily create your own for your business.

FAQs

1. What should a shipping confirmation email include?

The main things to include in your shipping confirmation email are a clear subject line, order number and order date, list of ordered items, tracking link, estimated delivery date, payment summary, and support contacts.

2. When should a shipping confirmation email be sent?

This email sits between the placed and delivered orders, so it must be sent once the parcel has been shipped and is on its way to the customer.

3. Is a shipping confirmation email transactional or marketing?

These emails are purely transactional. However, they can include some promotional content, such as personalized recommendations and offers. 

4. Can I add promotions to a shipping confirmation email?

Yes, you can include promotions or special offers in your shipping confirmation email. But keep in mind that shipping confirmations must have 80% transactional content and no more than 20% promotional content.

5. What is the difference between shipping and order confirmation emails?

Order confirmation indicates that the placed order is accepted, paid for, and being processed by the business (picked, packed, etc.). A shipping confirmation email notifies the buyer that the goods have been handed over to the transport company and are currently on their way to them.

6. Why didn’t my customer receive the shipping confirmation email?

There are several reasons for this. Maybe your marketing and shipping email infrastructure is the same, and marketing performance tanks the performance of your shipping emails. Or you forgot about the authentication of your infrastructure using protocols such as SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI. Last but not least, your shipping confirmation does not look like a legit email since it has an unclear subject line, suspiciously shortened links, a weird sending domain, and other elements that may look suspicious to the recipient.