So you’ve won over a customer and they’ve purchased from your website. This is an exciting step in the customer journey, but it’s not over yet: Today’s consumers expect a message confirming their order details.
Sending an order confirmation email gives your customers peace of mind that their order went through. However, order confirmation emails are also an opportunity to create a great customer experience and keep the recipient engaged with your brand.
Here’s how to build an order confirmation email that goes above and beyond for an excellent experience.
What is an order confirmation email?
An order confirmation email is sent to a customer after they purchase from an e-commerce business. The email lets the customer know that their order has been received and typically includes information like the order number, items purchased, and relevant payment information—like a digital receipt.
Order confirmation emails are also a key component of a post-purchase engagement email marketing strategy. When a new customer makes a purchase, you have their full attention, so it’s the perfect opportunity to build loyalty and drum up excitement for future purchases.
Some brands opt to use SMS messages for order confirmation rather than email. If your target audience prefers mobile communication, SMS could make your order confirmation more accessible and convenient.
Why order confirmation emails are important
Order confirmation messages have become an expected part of online shopping, and you shouldn’t skip them when building email campaigns for your e-commerce store. Here are some of the reasons why order confirmation emails are so important.
- Establish initial trust: If you don’t send a confirmation email to your customers, they may feel anxious and wonder if their order has been processed. Sending an order confirmation email establishes trust and prevents confusion.
- Encourage customer loyalty: Sending an order confirmation email shows that you value user experience, which helps encourage brand loyalty.
- Drive engagement and upselling opportunities: Open rates for order confirmation emails are consistently high, which means they’re the perfect opportunity to drive customer engagement. You can use these emails to subtly upsell or cross-sell other products, or link to your social media pages so customers can follow you.
What does an order confirmation email include?
An order confirmation email has several key components:
Clear subject line
An effective confirmation message starts with a direct email subject line. Today’s consumers constantly receive new emails, and you don’t want yours to get lost in the shuffle.
One study found that the average worker has 651 unread emails in their inbox, and that’s just in a professional context. Many people also receive hundreds of marketing emails and even scam messages through their personal emails each day. If your subject line isn’t clear about the context of the message, there’s a good chance the recipient will ignore or delete it.
Personalized greeting
Adding a touch of personalization goes a long way toward building trust and loyalty with your customers. Including the customer’s first name makes the email feel more professional while also making them feel valued.
If the customer has shopped with you before or is a member of your loyalty program, you can also acknowledge this in the message. Including phrases like “Thanks for shopping with us again!” or “Thanks for being a valued member of our loyalty program!” is an easy way to show appreciation and make the message feel a little more personal.
Order summary
In an order summary, be sure to include the customer’s order number and a breakdown of the products they ordered, including their prices. This way, you and the customer have the order in writing and can reference the message if something goes wrong.
It’s also important to include direct links to each product listing on the site. If the customer has an account on your website, you can also include a link to the account homepage. Finally, include a link to your return policy and other essential information about your brand. This makes it easy for the customer to find more information about the order if necessary.
Payment details
In addition to providing a summary of the products, the email should include a payment summary. This should contain the total amount paid and the payment method used. If the customer used a debit or credit card, include the last four digits of the card number and the billing address.
Including this information makes the order confirmation more transparent and informative for the customer. It also provides proof that the payment was processed successfully on your end.
Shipping and delivery details
Another key component of your order confirmation email is shipping and delivery information. Include the customer’s delivery address, the shipping method, and the estimated delivery date. (Note that most companies send out a separate shipping confirmation email.)
Nearly 70% of customers say the ability to track orders online is one of their top three considerations when purchasing a product. If your shipping provider offers order tracking, provide the tracking link so customers can monitor the shipment in real time. Knowing exactly where their order is will give your customers peace of mind and generate excitement about the upcoming delivery.
Customer service contact information
Ideally, your customers won’t experience any problems with their order. However, there are some instances where they may need to contact customer support, whether to ask a question or correct an issue with their order.
Include your support team’s phone number, email address, and support hours, so customers know exactly how to get in touch. You can also link directly to your online help center for more support.
Best practices for effective order confirmation emails
When writing your order confirmation emails, use these best practices to make them as effective as possible.
Keep the subject line clear and concise
Be strategic when writing your subject line so it doesn’t get lost in the recipient’s inbox. This isn’t the place to get overly creative with your copy. If the subject line is too vague, it may confuse recipients and lead to the message getting lost in their inbox.
A good order confirmation subject line is clear, simple, and concise. Something as simple as “Your Order Confirmation from [Business Name]” can be very effective. It tells the reader exactly what to expect and prevents any confusion.
Maintain brand consistency
Use brand elements that are consistent with your current marketing strategy. This lends credibility to the email while also helping to build brand recognition.
For example, you can use your brand’s standard colors and fonts in the email design and place your logo strategically on the page. The copy in the email should also align with your brand’s tone of voice while remaining professional.
Provide essential and relevant information and FAQs
You should provide the customer with everything they need to know about their order in the confirmation email. This includes order details, payment information, tracking numbers, and customer service information.
Consider including an FAQ section at the bottom to clarify your shipping and return policies and address other common concerns. Including this information in the email helps limit customer service inquiries.
Encourage account creation and show the benefits
In your confirmation email, encourage the customer to create an account on your site if they haven’t already. Highlight some of the benefits that come with having an account, such as saving items in their cart, faster checkout, and reviewing past orders. Depending on your business model, you can even offer special discounts for account holders.
Offer upselling opportunities
An order confirmation email is a great opportunity to upsell the customer. For example, you can include a box with recommendations of related products or add-ons for their purchase. This introduces the customer to products they may have missed when they were shopping. Customers are 78% more likely to repurchase from brands that provide a personalized experience, so customizing your recommendations can lead to more business in the future.
Promote your rewards program
If you have a customer rewards program, the order confirmation email is an excellent place to promote it. Provide a link to your website so customers can sign up and claim any points earned with their purchase. This is also a great place to highlight the benefits of your rewards program and showcase some of the perks customers can earn with future purchases.
Ensure mobile-friendliness
Many people prefer to check their email notifications on the go using mobile devices. This means that order confirmation emails should be mobile-friendly. Use responsive email templates that adjust to screens of different sizes and shapes, allowing recipients to read the message regardless of the device used.
Optimizing your order confirmation page
In addition to optimizing your order confirmation emails and post-purchase engagement SMS marketing campaigns, optimizing the order confirmation page on your website is essential.
An order confirmation page should display all the essential information about a customer’s order in one place, including the products purchased, shipping address, payment information, and more. You can go into more detail on your order confirmation page than in an email since you have more space.
Additionally, consider adding an interactive widget where customers can track their order status. Many customers appreciate seeing where their package is and when it will be delivered.
Improve your order confirmation emails with shortened links from Bitly
Order confirmation emails are an essential part of customer relationship building. When structured effectively, these emails create trust and set the tone for the upcoming order. Personalization, clear subject lines, and providing helpful details and valuable information can help improve your order confirmation emails’ effectiveness and enhance your customer’s post-purchase experience.
Your order confirmation emails should contain links to your website, social media, and other important pages. With Bitly, you can create branded short links that fit neatly into your email copy. Bitly Links are also trackable, so you can monitor traffic from the email to your website to see how users engage with your messages.
Get started with Bitly today to elevate your order confirmation strategy with branded, trackable links.
