Order confirmation emails for e-commerce businesses

Any e-commerce business must prioritise customer satisfaction. Your customers' experience when they visit your website sets your company apart from competitors. The order confirmation email you send customers after they make a purchase can be used to gauge how they feel about the online purchasing experience.

Online shoppers love order confirmation emails. This is for obvious reasons, of course. Order confirmation emails reassure the customer that their order has been successfully placed. Without receiving one, a customer might believe their transaction hasn't gone through correctly and possibly lose their cool. To ease their minds with a timely order confirmation email, you’ll have to be a pro at email confirmation best practices.

If you have never sent a confirmation email but would like to include order confirmation emails in your email marketing strategy, read this article to learn how to set up effective campaigns with high open rates due to sending order confirmation emails.

Let’s begin!

What is an order confirmation email?

After a customer makes a purchase from a company's online store, the company emails the customer an order confirmation to inform them that their order has gone through successfully.

Order confirmation emails are essential because they help you gain your customer’s trust and shape solid relationships.

They also inform the customer about what is coming next. This is the best time to tell the client when they can expect to receive the order.

Interestingly, order confirmation emails receive an open rate reaching up to 60%. This makes them an excellent channel to market your brand even more and provide your customers with useful information that will keep them coming back for more.

What’s included in an email order confirmation?

All elements listed below are included in the best order confirmation email.

• Order number
• A description of the item or items purchased
• Product images
• Customer contact information
• Delivery address
• Amount paid
• Payment method
• Date of the anticipated delivery
• Links to your return policy
• Customer service contact information

Order confirmation email best practices

Now that you know what an order confirmation email is, why it is essential and what is included in it, it’s time to know how you can crack the code and break the secrets of creating the best order confirmation emails.

1. Send the email at the right time

You might wonder, “When is the best time to send an order confirmation email?” The answer is simple: there is no better time to capture a customer than right after they have interacted with your brand. Try to send this transactional message as quickly as possible. It will assure your customer that they have done the right thing and that your company can be trusted.

2. Create a unique subject line

Use a unique subject line for your order confirmation email to stand out in the customer's cluttered inbox and make it simpler to find.

Some examples of clear subject lines that you can use are listed below.

• Pauline, your order with the number [#] has been successfully placed
• Hi there! Your order is received and processed
• Guess what? Your order is confirmed
• Good news! Your order with [Company name] has been placed

Be sure to add elements like the order number, the customer's name, your company’s name and a friendly tone to get your customers to open your email with no hesitation.

3. Create a smart call to action

After your customer has seen that they’ve successfully managed to place an order with your company, you don’t have to end things there. This is a great opportunity to have a smart call to action(CTA) that will benefit you even more.

A good next step or CTA for your customer, for example, is to redirect them to your online store to view similar products or services. However, take care not to distract them from the main point — the order information.

So, perhaps place a CTA button that says, “More products like this” at the end of the email and keep the order information at the top.

4. Use mobile-friendly templates

Remember, 60% of customers check their emails on their phones while simply strolling around. Therefore, your order confirmation email template must render flawlessly on a mobile device as well as a desktop. You don't want to come across as suspicious.

Order confirmation emails are a great way to give your online store a more personal touch.

We hope that both new and seasoned e-commerce companies have benefited from our article's advice on how to write powerful order confirmation emails that will help them build long-lasting relationships with their customers.