In the context of dynamically developing eCommerce, the ability to track order status has emerged as an essential service. Hence, it’s macro-essential for enterprises incorporated on the Shopify platform to offer clear and smooth order tracking solutions.

We explore many of Shopify’s features and tools to ensure you upsell by improving customer experience and lifetime value. Read on for the best Shopify tracking practices that increase retention, improve profitability, and personalize customers’ experiences.

Current State and Challenges of Shopify Tracking

Overview of Existing Features

Shopify has essential order tracking functions, enabling customers to keep track of their orders from their accounts. Once a customer has placed an order, they can go to their Shopify account and monitor the order status, including when it is processed, shipped, and delivered. Tracking numbers for orders can be found in the ‘fulfilled section’ of the orders page in the Shopify Admin interface.

Also, it is convenient because, through Shopify, automatic emails are sent as the order moves through various stages of the fulfillment process. Although, as it has been highlighted, these features are helpful, the following disadvantages can also be observed. For instance, the default configuration of Shopify does not include real-time tracking updates or special customization features, which are in high demand by today’s consumers.

Challenges Analysis

One of the main difficulties faced by Shopify merchants is that it needs to provide flexible real-time tracking capabilities. Today’s customers demand real-time tracking and predetermination of when they will receive their delivery. If this feature is lacking, merchants receive more client inquiries on different order statuses. This is not only a significant burden to your customer service departments, but eventually, customers’ dissatisfaction increases if their tracking expectations are not fulfilled.

Furthermore, the default tracking features integrated into Shopify are rigid and lack flexibility. Customers can’t directly enter their order number on a specific page of your Shopify store to check their package. Instead, they must log in to their account to view the tracking information.

This leads to two main issues: customers have a poor experience as they can’t easily track their packages, increasing inquiries to your customer service team; when they track on the carrier’s site, you miss chances for engagement, reducing retention and repeat sales. Therefore, having a dedicated Shopify tracking page becomes crucial.

What is a Shopify Tracking Page?

The Shopify tracking page is a specific page on the Shopify store created for the convenience of customers checking their orders. Unlike most of the time, when customers may have to log into their Shopify email account or the store’s website account to view the current status of an order, all they need to do is key in the order number and their email address. Then, they will be able to see where exactly their orders are.

The tracking page contains essential information with details so your customers can learn about the whole processing of their Shopify parcel. This real-time tracking feature does improve the post-purchase experience, reducing the volume of “WIMO” queries. Further, a branded Shopify tracking page enables you to build a unified brand image for customers from purchasing to delivery, increasing customer satisfaction and repeat business. 

The Importance of a Shopify Tracking Page

The Shopify order tracking page is crucial to the customer journey, forming part of the post-purchase phase. Here are five key reasons why a branded Shopify track order page is essential:

Enhanced Customer Experience

A branded order tracking page allows customers to check updates on their orders, including order confirmation, shipping carrier, current status, and delivery time. Providing all this information on a custom tracking page improves the shopping experience for customers and enables them to stay informed about order shipments.

Increased Transparency and Trust

Honesty and consistent client communication are essential components for building customers’ confidence. Useful tracking numbers, detailed information, a clear call to action, and a sound design of a tracking page calm customers’ minds and prove that everything is in experienced hands. The real-time shipment updates and tracking information can help merchants build customers’ trust and increase their share of business.

Reduction in Customer Inquiries

Most customers who contact stores do so to ask about the status of their orders being processed. A comprehensive tracking page where customers find all the information they require, including their order number, minimizes such inquiries. This not only eases the burden on the support teams and customers but also reduces overall business expenses.

Brand Consistency

In addition, having a branded tracking page enables merchants to brand throughout the customer flow. During the purchasing process, from the moment a customer buys a product to the time it is delivered, they stick to a brand’s image. Always maintaining consistency in each of the cited scenarios has the advantage of strengthening the brand image and guaranteeing that each message complies with brand values.

Improved Customer Retention

Offering POS with a tracking page that contains a merchant’s order details will help increase customer satisfaction, resulting in repeat sales. Partially satisfied customers don’t always come back for more purchases, but happy customers translate into repeat consumers. This greatly enhances customer loyalty and, ultimately, the store’s growth.

Implementing a branded order tracking page for your Shopify store is one of the most effective strategies for providing and fulfilling orders, enriching the customer experience, increasing loyalty, and achieving the store’s sustainable goals.

Using the Shopify Order Status Page

Shopify automatically provides an order status page link in the order confirmation email and on the thank you page after checkout. Customers can use this page to view their order status, including tracking information if available. You can customize the order status page to fit your brand and provide other essential order information for customers, like contact information, shipping address, etc. Following the steps to set up order tracking on Shopify:

Customize the Order Status Page

Firstly, you need to log in to your Shopify admin panel, navigate to ‘Settings’, then click ‘Checkout’. Look for the “Order status page” in the checkout settings. Customize your order status page according to your brand image. Edit the content, such as logos, adjust colors, and edit text to ensure the page is clear and aligns with your brand image. Once you have finished editing, save the changes.

Set Up Shopify Order Status Notifications

Secondly, still in ‘Settings’, choose ‘Notifications.’ Customize the notification templates before sending messages to your customers. Review the “order confirmation, shipping confirmation, out for delivery, and delivered” notifications. Ensure the content matches your brand and includes necessary order and tracking details.

Ensure Accessibility of the Order Status Page

Thirdly, add navigation links to your order status page. Go to ‘Online Store’ and select ‘Navigation’. Add a link to the Order Status Page in your main navigation menu or footer to make it easy for customers to find. In addition, include links to the order status page in the order confirmation and shipping notification emails, allowing customers to directly access the page from their inbox.

Test the Order Status Page

To simulate the customer experience, first create a test order on your store. Then, go through the entire order fulfillment process, checking that the order status page displays the correct information and that all notifications are sent as expected. Finally, review the test results and make any necessary adjustments to ensure a smooth and optimized customer experience.

Adding Tracking Numbers

After setting up your Shopify order status page, please add a tracking number to each order promptly. This step is critical to enhancing the customer experience and ensuring smooth order delivery. By providing real-time order tracking, customers can reduce the anxiety of waiting while you better monitor the status of your logistics to ensure orders are delivered on time.

When a logistics company receives a package, it generates a unique tracking number. Before the order ships, or as soon as you get the tracking number, you should update the order information in the Shopify backend to associate that tracking number with the order. The steps are listed below:

Steps to Add a Tracking Number

Here’s how to add a tracking number on Shopify in one simple step:

1. Get Tracking Number: Get the tracking number of your package from your logistics provider.
2. Log in to Shopify: Go to the order management page.
3. Select Order: Find the order you want to add a tracking number to and click ‘Edit.’
4. Enter logistics information: In the “Logistics Information” section, fill in the logistics company and tracking number.
5. Save and update the order: Save the changes and Shopify will automatically send the tracking information to the customer.

With these steps, you can ensure that the status of each order is clear and transparent, giving your customers peace of mind.

Using Shopify Liquid to Create A Shopify Tracking Page

The Specific Order Lookup Page

As the Shopify admin, you can provide functionality on a simple and easy order lookup page where customers can enter their tracking order number with their email ID and check order details on the store itself. This process is more flexible and allows the page to be designed according to the merchants’ brand image to provide continuity and consistency with customers.

Pros and Cons

Using Shopify Liquid as the foundation of a custom order confirmation page has one significant benefit: flexibility. For merchants, customization for the design and features serves the brand identity better, thus giving a professionally uniform look to the product. However, this method also has its demerits, as pointed out below. It relies on the knowledge of Shopify Liquid, which may be a problem for people with no coding background. Also, it does not come with sophisticated traits such as real-time updates, on-time tracking updates, or even an immediate notification, as it is via third-party applications.

Using the Shopify Order Tracking App

Using an order tracking app on Shopify is one of the most effective ways for merchants who want to improve their store’s performance. They are third-party apps with additional functionalities that allow quick and easy implementation irrespective of the user’s coding prowess. These include real-time tracking, individualized tracking pages with brand messages, and complete SER services to deliver customer status.

Furthermore, these apps make the rationalization of order tracking much easier since all the tracking details are available under one application. This saves on resources and helps focus the work of managing these issues on the customer service staff.

In-depth Review of the ParcelPanel Order Tracking

Elevate your Shopify store with ParcelPanel – the cutting-edge solution for order tracking excellence. In the dynamic world of e-commerce, keeping your customers in the loop is paramount. ParcelPanel empowers you to deliver real-time updates, ensuring transparency and trust.

 Real-Time Order Tracking

ParcelPanel’s real-time order tracking makes it stand out through a network of over 1,200 carriers around the globe. These wide-ranging carrier supports help customers track their orders regardless of the various parts of the world.

ParcelPanel connects with the leading shippers, and they can receive order confirmation updates on different stages of the shipment process. These notifications help minimize customers’ stress and increase satisfaction by providing various options concerning the order’s status. It can also support custom shipment statuses that can be added to meet a particular company’s needs.

Furthermore, ParcelPanel provides estimated delivery dates, which are important regarding client expectations and satisfaction. Specifically, it ensures that the delivery aspects of the business are well-calibrated to reduce the number of times that the support team line gets flooded with questions about deliveries and the delivery schedule.

Brand Customization

Brand customization on ParcelPanel is quite flexible. It is possible to construct highly individualized tracking pages and mail shots that are familiar to merchants, which is beneficial in reinforcing the merchandisers’ brand association. This feature is critical for organizations seeking a homogenous brand image from the client’s purchase decision to the point when he or she receives the product.

Setting basic options and preferences defines the look and feel of the tracking page and places the logo, colors, and templates. Such adjustment is helpful because many of these elements may be designed to integrate well with the brand’s existing image, thus improving customer confidence and satisfaction.

Furthermore, ParcelPanel offers recommendation options that can be included on the tracking page. This is particularly useful for cross-selling and upselling while ensuring customers continuously interact with the brand after their first purchase.

Robust Analytics

It is crucial for e-commerce merchants, and one of ParcelPanel’s essential features is its powerful analytics tools. The platform also provides more elaborate information about the performance of tracking orders, customers, and shipping. Such analytics help businesses decide about their shipping operations and general customer satisfaction.

The strong set of analytics helps merchants set performance benchmarks concerning shipping duration, delivery ratios, and other factors. This data allows businesses to discover trends, prevent problems, and enhance operational methods.

SEO Optimization

Tracking is also provided for ParcelPanel to support SEO optimization of the tracking page. You can also control the SEO information, including the title and description of their website, which will help them rank higher and get more traffic, hence the possibility of more sales. This means changing the tracking page URL is easy and should be optimized for searching online.

Case Study: Laifen

Case studies like Laifen, a Shopify merchant whose clients’ satisfaction rating significantly increased after using ParcelPanel, can explain some real-world success stories of using ParcelPanel. Laifen experienced a decrease in customer “WIMO” queries and increased brand loyalty because of ParcelPanel, which shows a positive effect on the business.

User Experience Enhancement

The ParcelPanel interface assumes the convenience of working with many options designed for users from different countries. The possibility to use multiple languages increases merchants’ ability to attend to customers from different geographical locations, thus improving the accessibility of the tracking system for the broad clientele base.

This means users can easily implement the order tracking setup even if they lack the technical know-how to navigate the platform. Trackability and ease of use are other aspects that make business tracking systems user-friendly and, hence, easily managed by businesses.

The application features of ParcelPanel are numerous, encompassing different aspects that will improve the order-tracking functionality of the business operation. It significantly emphasizes user perspective, implementing multiple language support, simple navigation, and so on, which makes the platform affordable and powerful for any merchant regardless of the company’s size. Altogether, ParcelPanel is a valuable solution for companies that want to upgrade their logistics strategy and make it more beneficial for their customers.

Conclusion

In this respect, it becomes imperative to understand how tracking is done through Shopify for improved order management and, thus, customer satisfaction. By applying the above-stated steps and using Shopify features and third-party apps, one is in a better position to enhance tracking processes and shipping services to deliver the best services to customers.