Order confirmations and delivery updates on WhatsApp: a practical setup

"Where is my order?" is the most common message any online shop receives. Answering it one customer at a time eats hours. Sending the answer before they ask removes most of those messages entirely.

The four messages worth automating

1. Order confirmation: thanks, here's what you ordered, here's when to expect it.
2. Dispatch notice: your order has left, and here's the courier and tracking number.
3. Out for delivery: keep your phone nearby, the rider is coming today.
4. Delivery confirmation: your order arrived, and here's who to contact if something isn't right.

Write them as utility templates

Messages about an order the customer already placed fall under Meta's utility category. They're generally approved faster than promotional messages and they cost less to send. Keep them short and factual. Save the discount code for a separate marketing message.

A dispatch template could read: "Hi {{name}}, your order {{order_id}} has been dispatched with {{courier}}. Tracking number: {{tracking_no}}. Expected delivery: {{eta}}."

Sending in batches

If you run a small store, the easiest workflow is a daily spreadsheet. Export the day's dispatched orders from your store, import them into Notivo, and send the dispatch template to all of them at once. Tracking numbers and names are filled in per row.

Let customers reply

A delivery message will trigger replies: "Can you come after 5?" or "I'm not home." When a customer replies, a 24-hour window opens in which you can answer with normal text, free of Meta's message charge. On the Growth plan and above, Notivo shows those replies on the contact and on your dashboard so nobody has to dig through a phone.

A few things to avoid

• Don't add a promotion to a delivery notice. It can get the template reclassified as marketing.
• Don't send updates to numbers that never ordered from you.
• Don't send five messages when two would do. Too many alerts is how people end up blocking you.