Order confirmation emails: what to include so customers feel sure

The short answer

An order confirmation email should arrive within moments of purchase and include the order number, items, prices, delivery address and method, expected timing, payment summary, how to contact you and where to find your returns policy. Keep it clear, mobile-friendly and free of heavy marketing, and make sure it reliably reaches the inbox.

What the email is for

A confirmation email tells the customer that the order was received and records what was bought. Shoppers keep it as a receipt and use it when something is wrong. It also reassures: until it arrives, many people wonder whether the payment worked. If it is slow or missing, support enquiries follow.

Some places treat this email, or a durable record of the order, as a requirement, and tax or invoice rules vary. Ask a qualified adviser what your country requires.

The essential content

• A clear subject line including the order number and your shop name.
• Order number near the top.
• Items ordered with names, options such as size or colour, quantities and prices.
• Totals, showing delivery, discounts and tax as applicable.
• Payment method in summary only, such as the type of card and last digits, never the full number.
• Delivery address and chosen shipping method.
• Expected dispatch and delivery timing, as a range.
• Billing details where they differ.

Keep the language human. "Thanks, your order is confirmed" does more than a cold system phrase. Address the customer by name and write in the same voice as the rest of your shop. Remove codes and internal labels that mean nothing to a buyer.

Next steps and help

Tell the customer what happens next: when they will get a dispatch notice, how to track the parcel and what to do if something looks wrong. Offer a clear way to change or cancel the order and say how long that is possible. Give your contact route with working hours. Link to your returns policy and shipping policy, or summarise their key points. If digital goods are delivered, put the download or access instructions here.

For orders with several parcels, explain that items may arrive separately. For made-to-order or personalised goods, restate what the customer chose, since mistakes in the entry are easier to fix before production starts. Give a short window for corrections and say how to request one.

Design for the phone

Most customers open this email on a phone. Use a single column, readable text size and a clear button for tracking or viewing the order. Keep images modest, since some email apps block them and the message must still make sense. Include a plain-text version. Test in several email apps, including a web mail service and a phone app. The order table is the part most likely to break, so check it with long product names and many items.

How much marketing to add

The customer is paying attention, so it is tempting to add promotions. Keep them light and secondary. A small section of related items can work, but the order details must come first. Follow the ideas in cross-selling and upselling and avoid a design that looks like an advert. Marketing messages beyond the transactional email may need consent, which differs by country; ask a qualified adviser and see post-purchase emails for what comes next.

Make sure it arrives

An email that lands in spam does little good. Authenticate your sending domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, and send from an address on your own domain. The steps are explained in email deliverability basics. Use a reputable sending service for transactional email rather than a personal mailbox, and keep it separate from newsletters. Check bounce reports, and let customers correct a mistyped address.

Test every scenario

1. Place test orders: one item, many items, a discount code, a gift, an international address.
2. Check the email arrives quickly and displays correctly.
3. Check links, including tracking and account links.
4. Check wording for each shipping method.
5. Check refund and cancellation versions of the email if you send them.

Repeat after any change to your platform, theme or shipping options. Also review the page shown right after purchase; see thank-you page ideas. Customer service enquiries tell you what the email forgot to say. If you want help setting up reliable store emails, our ecommerce solutions page has details.

Variations you may need

One template rarely fits every order. Consider separate versions for these cases and check each one reads correctly.

• Click-and-collect: where and when to collect and what to bring.
• Pre-orders: the expected release or dispatch date and when payment is taken. See pre-orders and back-in-stock alerts.
• Digital products: access links and any licence terms.
• Gifts: hide prices and send the gift message as the buyer wrote it.
• Subscriptions: renewal dates and how to pause or cancel.
• Bank transfer or pay-later orders: how and when to pay, and what happens if payment is late.

Also decide in which language and currency the email is sent for international customers, and make sure amounts show the currency symbol clearly. A confirmation that the shopper cannot understand does not reassure them. Finally, keep a copy of every version of the template with the date you changed it, so you can see which wording was live when a customer asks about an old order.

Related guides

• Ecommerce solutions
• Ecommerce Shipping Policy: What to Include
• Guest Checkout vs Account Creation: Which to Offer
• Ecommerce checkout optimisation
• Contact page what to include
• Email marketing vs social media marketing

Questions and answers

How soon should the confirmation email arrive?

As close to immediately as possible, within moments of payment. If it is delayed, customers worry the order failed.

Should I include the full card number?

Never. Show only the card type and the last few digits.

Can I include promotions in the email?

Keep them small and secondary. Marketing consent rules vary by country, so check them.

Why do my confirmation emails go to spam?

Often because the sending domain is not authenticated or the sending service has a poor reputation. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC and use a proper sending service.

Is this email the same as an invoice?

Not necessarily. Invoice and receipt rules vary by country. Ask a qualified adviser what you must provide.