How to Get Shipping Confirmations Right

Shipping confirmation and tracking emails may be overlooked by many brands. But for marketers at top companies, like Nike and Amazon, it’s a critical piece to ensuring strong customer lifetime value,revenue, and that acquisition dollars have been well spent. In a time when digital saturation is driving up acquisition costs (higher than most average order values) it’s more important than ever for marketers to focus on retention. 

We all know the old 80/20 rule, it’s much harder to sell someone who’s just learning about you than someone who’s engaged with or purchased something from your brand in the past. A great post-purchase experience will drive brand loyalty and repeat purchases, when done right!

Let’s look at Nike: the first email starts off with details about my order (shipping address, order number, and status). They’re working on getting my order out the door and I feel a sense of trust. Nike also recommends some top picks at the bottom related to what I just purchased. Product recommendations are a great way to round out transactional emails! Even if I don’t purchase, they’re getting a better idea of what I might buy next by looking at my behavior with these links.

Throughout the shipping process, Nike kept me updated in real time with the status of my order, and even though the order was delayed, I was notified and had to take minimal steps to figure out what was going on with my order. 

Unfortunately, even with this better than average customer experience, more can and should be done to improve these communications in the email itself. Incorporating live images that update each time the user opens the email allows your customer access to their shipment in real-time, without the added burden of multiple emails. In the three emails I received from Nike I also had to click out of the email to get updates, which adds another step and more friction for customers to get what they’re looking for (and can actually affect email deliverability).

Consumers are driving higher expectations for companies and email marketing, they want speed and convenience when interacting with brands. At Zembula, we believe this technology should be highly accessible and priced fairly. Curious to learn more about how we can make your package tracking emails simpler, easier, and more delightful? Chat with one of our experts!