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See FeaturesHow to send WooCommerce order confirmation emails: The full guide
Some merchants think sending a WooCommerce order confirmation email is an optional, inconsequential task. They mistakenly assume they are unnecessary and don’t impact customer experience.
The reality is these post-purchase emails are more than just a polite gesture. They’re crucial for customer retention and engagement, and can potentially increase open and click-through rates.
In fact, our recent research shows that order confirmation emails have an open rate of 58.7%, making them a powerful tool to nurture customer relationships.
When you send a WooCommerce email after an order has been placed, it keeps the communication with the customer alive and increases their lifetime value.
However, designing attractive, branded post-purchase emails in WooCommerce can be tricky. In this guide, we discuss a few effective types of WooCommerce post-purchase emails, as well as how to send order confirmation emails in WooCommerce.
In this post:
- What is a WooCommerce confirmation email?
- Types of WooCommerce post-purchase emails
- Why send WooCommerce order confirmation emails?
- How to send WooCommerce post-purchase emails using a plugin
- How to send post-purchase emails using WooCommerce in-built options
- Wrap up
What is a WooCommerce confirmation email?
A WooCommerce confirmation email is an email, or series, that you send to customers after they make a purchase from your WooCommerce store.
Although it’s possible to send a single confirmation email, creating a series can provide a better customer experience. For example, not only could you confirm the order but also offer similar products or accessories to use with the item they purchased, and share tips on getting the most out of the product.
Types of WooCommerce post-purchase emails
1. Order confirmation email
An order confirmation email is the email a customer receives after making a purchase. It confirms their purchase details and gives an opportunity for you to make a good first impression. You can share helpful details about the item and include upsell or cross-sell products to increase the order value.
2. Thank you email
A thank you email expresses your gratitude for an action, such as signing up for your newsletter or making a purchase. In the example below, Paravel thanks customers for sharing its products on social media and “for making us a part of your travels this summer.”
3. Shipping confirmation email
A shipping confirmation email notifies your customers that their item has been dispatched. Some emails, like the example from Paddywax below, include the order details and tracking information so customers can find out the status of their order’s shipment.
Buyers won’t worry about their order once they know the product is on its way, and the ability to track it can help them make any necessary arrangements for its arrival.
4. Educational email
Once your customer has bought their item, it can be helpful to give them tips on getting the most out of it. That’s what educational emails are for. From how to pair clothing to Beardbrand’s tips on white beards below, these emails are powerful ways to build authority and help your customers.
5. Cross-sell or marketing email
If a customer had a positive experience purchasing from you, there’s a good chance they’d want to make another purchase. A cross-sell or an upsell email should highlight relevant items or services that complement the customer’s original purchase.
In the example by Open Spaces below, the email features related products that are bundled together to get a discount. This incentivizes customers to make another purchase.
6. Feedback on the return process
A customized WooCommerce email after purchase can also be sent to collect valuable insights from customers who have returned or exchanged an item or canceled a subscription.
By allowing customers to share their experiences with returns, you can refine your processes and enhance satisfaction.
TunnelBear asks for honest feedback while reminding customers they can still use its services.
Why send WooCommerce confirmation emails?
WooCommerce emails sent after purchase can serve different goals, so it can make sense to split them over a series of messages.
This avoids overloading your buyers by cramming everything into one email, and sending multiple emails is a good way of keeping in touch. They’ll see you in their inbox more than once, which helps to increase awareness of your brand.
There is no specific formula for the number of emails to send, but a handful is a good starting point. Here are some ideas to get the ball rolling:
- Give post-purchase order info: Order confirmation, shipping confirmation, care tips — this email is to give order-related information
- Ask for customer feedback: Ask them to leave a review or to let you know how their experience was so you can make any necessary improvements
- Promote related or additional products: This email would have upsells or cross-sells, where you make product recommendations based on their purchase history
- Share useful order-related resources: Offer care tips or information to help them get the most out of their new purchase
How to send WooCommerce post-purchase emails using a plugin
Using a plugin is one way to send post-purchase emails on WooCommerce and is quicker and more flexible than using WooCommerce itself. Plus, using a plugin allows for lots more customization options.
You also benefit from a variety of amazing pre-built templates, meaning you can send professional confirmation emails with ease.
For this tutorial, we’re going to use the Omnisend plugin, one of the top-rated plugins available for WooCommerce.
Step 1: Install the Omnisend plugin for WooCommerce
To begin, head over to the Plugins page in your WordPress admin dashboard, select Add New and search for the “Omnisend for WordPress” plugin. Select Install now and once it’s done, select the Activate button.
Go to the Omnisend plugin settings page and click Connect your account, as shown below. If you need to create an account first, you can click Create new account instead.
When you click Connect your account, you’ll see the following popup, and you need to click Approve:
That’s all there is to it. Now, it’s time to build the workflow.
Step 2: Create an order confirmation automation workflow
Creating an order confirmation automation workflow is very easy with Omnisend. You simply need to go to the Automation tab, click on the Create workflow button, and pick the Order Confirmation workflow.
Next, you want to adjust the trigger settings according to your preferences. The default trigger is set to Paid for Order, but you can tweak the settings to target your automation more specifically.
For instance, you can use the Audience Filter to target specific customers, the Exit conditions to stop the workflow when certain events happen, and Frequency to limit how often a customer can enter the workflow.
You can add and customize the messages you want to send in your order confirmation workflow. You can also use different channels, such as email, SMS, or push notifications, and add dynamic content, such as order details and the shipping address.
Step 3: Create a post-purchase automation workflow
Now that your account is active, it’s time to build your WooCommerce post-purchase email workflow.
Begin by selecting Automation from the main menu and then Post-Purchase. You’ll see other workflow types available, which you can look into later. For now, let’s stick with a post-purchase series.
Once you’ve selected Post-Purchase, you can choose Customize workflow in the Cross Sell box:
Step 4: Customize the workflow
As a first step, edit the trigger for entering this workflow and sending the email. You can set this up so that an email is sent if any product is purchased, not just a selected product:
Once the trigger is set to your liking, you can choose the delay — this is the period between when they make a purchase and when the first email arrives. By default, it’s set to three days, but you can set it to anything you like. You can also experiment with different delays to discover if your audience has a preference.
Step 5: Design the email
After setting the delay, it’s time to edit the email. You can also set your subject line here — our free subject line tester will give you a score, plus tips to improve the score and a preview for both desktop and mobile devices. You can also set the preheader and sender name from this box.
Once you’ve set those details, click the Edit content button and you’ll be taken to the email editor. This is where you customize your email to your liking. The email builder is drag-and-drop, so it’s incredibly easy to use. And because Omnisend has been built for ecommerce, there are handy features to help you — like easily adding discount codes or pulling products directly from your store.
Once it’s finished, click the green Finish editing button to complete the design, and then save your progress on the workflow editor page.
Your first WooCommerce after-purchase email is done — now it’s time to send yourself a test email to check how it looks, and then you’re ready to send it to your buyers.
How to send post-purchase emails using WooCommerce in-built options
WooCommerce allows you to send post-purchase emails directly from it.
To do this, head to the WooCommerce tab on the left-hand side of your WordPress dashboard, then select Settings.
Click on Emails from the options you’re given, then find Processing Order and select the corresponding settings wheel.
Check the box to enable this email notification, then enter your subject and email heading.
Clicking View Template allows you to make changes to the actual content of the email.
You can customize your post-purchase email using WooCommerce’s global settings — but be aware that this changes all emails, not just your confirmation email template.
Go back to the General tab of the Emails section to edit the following for all your emails, including those post-purchase:
- Header image
- Base color
- Background color (full-width)
- Background color (body)
- Text color (body)
- Footer text
- “From” name
- “From” address
Wrap up
Sending WooCommerce after-purchase emails is a powerful way to develop deeper relationships with your customers and can increase customer LTV.
While it’s possible to send just one WooCommerce confirmation email after an order has been placed, there are benefits to sending a series instead. You increase the touchpoints with your customers and can focus on one thing per email, such as recommending another product or requesting a review.
Check out the Omnisend blog for more tips and information on email marketing. For some help getting started, we recommend the following:
- Email marketing 101: Beginner’s guide to building successful campaigns
- How to make an email marketing strategy (case studies, expert tips)
- 20+ email marketing best practices by category [+ examples]
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