A Guide to Shopify Order Confirmation Email Customization

Understanding Shopify order confirmation emails and how to customize, test and send them effectively.

Getting Started with Shopify Order Confirmation Emails

Dollar for dollar, email continues to be one of the most cost-effective digital marketing tactics. While most people are familiar with traditional email marketing, many Shopify stores are finding success by using transactional emails as a marketing channel.

The order confirmation email from your Shopify store may seem like an insignificant piece of the buyer customer journey, but it's actually the first step of your customer's post-purchase experience. Don't discount it.

Understanding Shopify Order Confirmation Emails

What is an Order Confirmation Email?

When a customer purchases from your website, Shopify makes it easy to send out an automated order email notification.

The information in the email body should:

give your customer a confirmation that the Shopify order was received
include details of the items in the order and cost as a type of receipt

But those are just the basics. A savvy store owner will also customize a Shopify order confirmation email to go beyond these transactional functions because the checkout process is only the beginning of a journey to cultivate customer loyalty. The goal is to make each point of communication count. However, there’s only so much customization available within Shopify.

What are the key components of a Shopify Order Email?

When you are working in Shopify to customize the order confirmation email, it’s critical you include the most important, needed information your customers expect. The standard Shopify order confirmation email typically includes the following key components and information:

Thank you for your purchase
Order number
View order and visit our store CTA links
Order summary
Discounts used
Customer information (shipping and billing addresses)
Shipping method
Contact email address for questions

How to Set Up Order Confirmation Email in Shopify

Accessing Settings:

The quickest and easiest way to access your default shopify order confirmation notifications is by searching “order confirmation” in your search bar and clicking on “Notifications” which is also accessible in your “Settings.”

Here, you will see all of the notifications available to you directly from within Shopify. Order Confirmation is listed at the top. You can view and edit both your email and SMS order confirmations in Shopify from this view.

Default Email Configuration for Shopify Order Confirmation Emails:

The default order confirmation email settings produces an email confirmation that will look very familiar to you. From here on out, you will never unsee this. If you order from a Shopify store, you’ll know right away if they’re using this default template or not!

How to edit the order confirmation email in Shopify

The customization options available in Shopify are very slim. You can add your logo and update your accent color that is used in the emails.

In order to edit the looks and feel of your email notifications, you’ll need to make global changes on the “customize email templates” page in your Shopify account. You can easily navigate to this by clicking “edit code” while viewing the email. Otherwise, you’ll need to edit the email via code.

Here’s an example of the same email shown above, but with a global logo and accent color added:

Step-by-Step Guide to Edit Shopify Order Confirmation Email

Accessing the Email Editor:
- Go to settings→ Notifications → Order confirmation
Editing Content:
- The content of the email is set and not editable unless you’re comfortable manipulating code. Anything beyond verbiage updates will require using in-line CSS. If you want to edit the tone of the emails and are comfortable working within HTML, you can review the conditional email copy in lines 3-46 and make edits. This is less risky than editing CSS, but still lets you add your brand tone of voice.
Adding Branding Elements:
- Make sure to add your brand logo and an accent color in “Customize email templates: in Shopify. This will globally update any emails sent from Shopify, not just the order confirmation email.
- https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/orders/notifications/edit-template

How to Send The Order Confirmation Email in Shopify

What do you need to do to send and test order confirmation emails in Shopify? Enabling email sending is possibly the easiest part. By default, these emails will get sent. So make sure you’ve reviewed the standard settings before you start selling on Shopify.

Most order, shipping, and customer account notifications are sent to customers automatically, and can't be disabled on Shopify. You must be on Shopify Plus to disable certain notifications such as the Order Confirmation Email. For more information on disabling Shopify emails visit “How to Disable Shopify Notification Emails.”

Testing Shopify Order Confirmation Emails:

Once you’ve added your logo and accent color, you can send a test email to ensure it looks the way you want it to. Keep in mind ADA compliance when choosing an accent color. From the Order confirmation preview page click “Send test” and the top right of your screen. From there you’ll be able to see what it looks like when you send the order confirmation email from shopify.

Best Practices for Shopify Order Confirmation Emails

If you’re using the basic Shopify Order Confirmation email, you’ll naturally cover the most basic bases. However, once you’re ready to move to Shopify Plus and unlock most customization options there are some other best practices to keep in mind.

Order confirmation emails can be a great way to engage with customers. Follow our tips to ensure you're creating the best order confirmation emails for your brand. Here are some best practices to keep in mind when creating order confirmation emails for your Shopify store:

Keep brand voice consistent

Remember, content is king. The first edits to make to your order confirmation email should be the copy. Make sure to include all of the pertinent information listed above, but keep the style and tone in line with the copy on your website, your social media presence, SMS notifications, and all other customer communications.

If your Shopify store uses quippy and playful language, don't leave your order confirmation email with the default copy. Ensure your customer experience offers the same tone throughout all of our Shopify email notifications.

Customize the visual style

Like keeping your brand voice consistent, match your brand visual style across all of your emails to your Shopify store's same style.

While it's possible to find developers to create custom HTML email templates, Shopify email templates provide a solid design base with which to start.

A Shopify admin can easily make edits to existing templates to update the header, footer, modify CSS for custom colors, and add a custom logo.

Remember to test

Before sending your emails out into the world, always conduct testing. Even if the email preview looks flawless, different email clients uniquely display emails. Do your best to view test emails on the top clients like Microsoft Outlook and Gmail. Also, remember to view the emails both on your desktop and on a mobile device.

It's best practice to make plain text emails available just in case.

Communicate proactively

Beyond the order confirmation email and the shipment tracking email, it's essential to communicate proactively to your customers when delays or exceptions occur. These notification emails help manage customer expectations when the inevitable snafu occurs.

Identify cross-sell and upsell opportunities

The order confirmation email, shipment confirmation email, and other post-purchase emails are great times to offer customers valuable content, so they stay engaged with your brand between purchases.

Because post-purchase transactional emails enjoy significantly higher open rates and click-through rates, they can be an effective marketing channel for cross-selling and upselling other products to your customer base. These are emails that could be triggered based on past purchase history.

Bonus: Overcome cart abandonment

Another critical type of Shopify email combats cart abandonment. Cart abandonment is when shoppers add items to their online shopping cart and then leave the online store before purchasing those items.

Sending reminder emails to shoppers when they have left items in their cart has been shown to significantly reduce the number of abandoned carts.

Fully Custom Shopify Order Confirmation Emails

Many brands want more control over how to customize their Shopify Order Confirmation emails. In those cases, they'll turn to another email service provider that can handle the level of customization they desire. Malomo works closely with Klaviyo to help our customers take full control of their port purchase emails. Here's our instructions for how to design better Shopify emails in Klaviyo.

If you go outside of Shopify to send your order confirmation emails, you can reference this list to customize the content:

Most popular information to include in your Shopify Order Email:

Order Details:
- Order Number: A unique identifier for the order.
- Ordered Items: A list of the products purchased, including names, quantities, and prices.
- Total Cost: The overall cost of the order, including taxes and shipping fees.
Discounts and Promotions:
- Discounts Applied: If any discounts or promotional codes were used, detail the savings.
- Promotional Messages: Include any personalized thank-you messages or information about ongoing promotions.
Shipping Information:
- Shipping Address: Clearly display the recipient's shipping address.
- Shipping Method: Specify the chosen shipping method.
- Estimated Delivery Time: Provide an estimated delivery timeframe.

Optional Information to include in your Shopify Order Email:

Billing Information:
- Billing Address: Confirm the billing address associated with the payment method.
- Payment Method: Specify how the customer paid (credit card, PayPal, etc.).
- Transaction ID: Include a unique identifier for the transaction.
Discounts and Promotions:
- Discounts Applied: If any discounts or promotional codes were used, detail the savings.
- Promotional Messages: Include any personalized thank-you messages or information about ongoing promotions.
Return Policy:
- Return Instructions: Clearly outline the steps for returns, if applicable.
- Return Policy Link: Provide a link to the detailed return policy on the website.
Contact Information:
- Customer Support: Display contact information for customer support.
- Customer Service Hours: If applicable, include the hours during which customer support is available.
Additional Information:
- Order Confirmation Message: A personalized message expressing gratitude for the order.
- Tracking Information: If available, provide a link or details for order tracking.
- Next Steps: Outline what the customer can expect next in terms of order processing and delivery.
Social Media and Newsletter:
- Social Media Links: Encourage customers to follow the store on social media.
- Newsletter Signup: Invite customers to subscribe to newsletters for updates and promotions.
Legal and Privacy:
- Privacy Policy: Provide a link to the privacy policy.
- Terms and Conditions: Include a link to the terms and conditions, if applicable.
Footer:
- Website Link: Provide a link to the main website.
- Unsubscribe Option: Include an option for customers to unsubscribe from email newsletters.

By including these components, a Shopify order confirmation email can provide comprehensive information, reassure customers, and enhance their overall shopping experience.

Shopify order confirmation FAQs

Here are some other frequently asked questions related to Shopify order confirmation emails.

DOES SHOPIFY SEND CONFIRMATION EMAILS?

Yes, Shopify sends basic purchase confirmation emails to customers. Even so, many vendors prefer to send all of their emails through a third-party integration.

CAN YOU SEND EMAILS FROM SHOPIFY?

No, Shopify is not an email software. Most Shopify store owners choose to integrate with a third-party email application. The most popular is Klaviyo. Klaviyo also allows you to track your emails' engagement rates, so you can see if your email lists are engaging with your content. Apps like Klaviyo are better suited to running email marketing campaigns.

HOW DO I MESSAGE CUSTOMERS ON SHOPIFY?

To message customers, either through live chat or SMS, Shopify integrates with other third-party applications.

DOES SHOPIFY SEND THE TRACKING NUMBER TO THE CUSTOMER?

Yes, Shopify offers the basic functionality of sending the package tracking number to the customer. Shopify will send the tracking number when it notifies the customer when the package is shipped. However, if you would like to provide customers with more sophisticated shipment tracking that shows when the box is out for delivery, failed attempts, exceptions, etc., you will need to use a third-party integration.

All of these third-party integrations are available on the Shopify app store.

Elevate post-purchase experiences with Malomo

On average, buyers check tracking emails 4.6 times for each purchase. Applications like Malomo lets you take advantage of these high engagement rates by enriching ecommerce post-purchase emails with engaging content.

BRANDED TRACKING PAGES

Malomo creates sleek, custom-branded shipment tracking pages that fit your brand's aesthetic— all without coding.

SHIPPING UPDATES

Malomo makes proactive communication with your customers, as discussed above, a breeze by offering shipping updates to notify your customers when delays or exceptions occur. We integrate with Klaviyo to make the customization options for order confirmation emails and other notifications easy.

INTEGRATIONS WITH LEADING PLATFORMS

Malomo integrates with Shopify and other third-party applications like Klaviyo so that you can customize your shipment tracking emails directly within the Klaviyo platform with easy-to-use templates.