How to Send Order Confirmation Emails to Get Repeat Sales
Editorial Team
March 21, 2023
An order confirmation email shares information about the completed order and paves groundwork for the next sale.
When used wisely, it can bring you sales as well.
According to research, confirmation emails have an average open rate of 65%, an click rate of 17%, and order rate of 3.77%.
Do you also want to design WooCommerce order confirmation email that bring high conversions?
In this blog, we will show how you can create and send custom order confirmation emails in WooCommerce that get you repeat sales.
And the best part?
We will be using a drag-and-drop email builder! No coding required!
Let's get started…
Contents
An order confirmation email is a transactional email sent to a customer after they've completed a purchase in your store or placed an order.
The primary goal of such an email is to inform the customer that the store has received the order and is on its way to delivery. Usually, such emails include order confirmation details such as
Nowadays, almost every order confirmation email contains the mentioned information. However, there is no rule to limit your email to only this information.
An order confirmation email is a good chance for store owners to build customer relationships. So, depending on your brand and marketing strategy, you can include many things in your order confirmation email (which we have discussed later in this blog).
Order confirmation emails are extremely crucial for any eCommerce business. That’s because
64% of customers consider order confirmations to be the most valuable type of email. The reason is obvious: it confirms they will soon receive the product they ordered.
And of course, if it’s valuable for the customers it’s valuable for store owners as well. Because these emails give businesses the much-needed opportunities to incentivize repeat sales by delivering an excellent customer experience.
Here are some of the reasons why order confirmation emails are so important :
Purchasing stuff online is a different experience than buying products from a physical store. People can get frustrated if they aren’t informed about the whereabouts of their products
So, if you want to ensure customers have a good shopping experience, send them an informative confirmation email. This will relieve customers from post-purchase anxiety.
Any chance you get to communicate with your customer is a chance to build the relationship a little stronger than before. As mentioned, customers expect to receive a confirmation email when ordering.
A well-designed and timely order confirmation email will leave a good impression of your brand and thus lay the groundwork for a strong relationship in the future. So, utilize customer anticipation for a confirmation email to build long-term relationships.
Order confirmation emails have an open rate of 70%. The more users engage with your brand the better chance you have of convincing them to buy more.
Therefore, if you are looking to improve user engagement with your brand effectively then you must send customers confirmation emails. In addition, make sure to put relevant information so users are tempted to click on and engage more.
Almost one in three people are likely to make an order from a confirmation email even though it's offered to them a short time after they made a purchase. So, you can imagine the power of the order confirmation email.
Basically, you apply the “strike while the iron is hot” approach with an order confirmation email. So, if you want to increase repeat sales in your store, then you must utilize an order confirmation email in WooCommerce.
In this section, we will show you how to design a custom order confirmation email by dragging and dropping widgets in a WooCommerce site. In addition, we will also show you how you can automate the process.
And to achieve this, we are going to use FunnelKit Automations. It's an all-in-one marketing automation and broadcast engine that allows you to automate your marketing workflows, such as cart abandonment, new user registration emails, WooCommerce follow-up emails, WooCommerce first order discount, etc.
The best part is it comes with a pre-built workflow and email templates that you can import and use within moments. If you want to build your workflow and design your email template, you can do that as well.
Moreover, you can automate the emails using FunnelKit. So, design once and send as many times as you want. Besides, FunnelKit Automations saves all the email data on your server so you don’t have to worry about security issues.
First, you need to install and activate FunnelKit Automations. Please note that FunnelKit is available in both the free and premium versions.
After activating the FunnelKit automations, you need to disable the default WooCommerce automated email for order confirmation. To do so, go to WooCommerce ⇒ Settings ⇒ Emails tab and click on go to manage option for a new order
Now uncheck the Enable/Disable option and click on Save Changes to update.
Now it’s time for the main process.
The first step is to create a new automation. For that, navigate to FunnelKit Automations ⇒ Automations (NextGen) and then click on Add New Automation.
Here we are going to build an order confirmation email template from scratch.. So, click on the Start From Scratch option.
Now provide a name and click on Edit
The next step is to select a trigger. A trigger is an event that will start the automation and send the email each time someone orders a place.
To select a trigger, click on “select trigger”.
Go to the WooCommerce tab, then under Order select Order Created. Finally, click on ‘Done’.
Now we will set the action to send the email. For that click on the “+” icon and and select the “Action” step.
Now on the Messaging Tab, under email select Send Email and click on Done.
Now it’s time for the fun part! That is to design the order confirmation email.
Let’s start with the subject line. In the subject line and throughout the email you can incorporate dynamic information such as customer email using the Merge tag feature of Funnelkit.
To add any merge tag click on the “{{..}}” icon, then search for the tag you want to use and click on the Copy Icon to add it to your email.
Here as an example we are using the subject line - Hi Customer Name! Your Order No #000 is Confirmed!
You can use the merge tag for both customer name and order no so whenever a customer receives this email, he sees his name and his order no.
Now provide a suitable preview text. After that we need to design the email body. You can design email using Rich Text, Raw HTML and Visual builder. For this we are going to use a drag and drop email builder so choose Visual Builder and click on Start.
Once the visual builder opens, you can select different blocks and then drag and drop content widgets to create your email.
We will start by adding a single column to the email body and adding the brand logo for personalization.
For that, from the Blocks tab select a single row and drag and drop on the email body.
Now from the Contents tab select the Image widget and drag and drop on the row you just added.
Now you can upload a logo or add a logo using the URL option.
Next add a divider by dragging and dropping the divider widget below the logo you just added.
Next drag and drop the menu widget.
Now on the left side editor, click on Add New Item, then provide page text and URL to add a menu.
Under the style tab, you can change the menu alignment, text color, padding and many more options.
After that add another divider and then on the text section add the text you want to say to customers.
After that drag and drop a button.
You can customize the button URL, button text, color, background color etc.
Now add a divider like before. But this time I changed the divider length to make it a little thick. Also, change the color.
Now we are going to add a new section for order summary. For that first drag and drop a heading widget.
After that add a heading like Order Summary. Then change the heading type and alignment. Also make the heading bold.
Now it’s time to add the order summary. For that we are going to use the merge tag feature of FunnelKit Automations.
We are going to add a merge tag in the text widget.So, first drag and drop the text widget.
After that, to add the order summary merge tag , click on the merge tags on the top, then search for the order summary tag and click on the icon on the left to copy it and paste it on the text widget.
Next we will add a section to display shipping address, for that again drag and drop divider, header and a text widget. Then, customize the divider, add a heading for shipping address and add the shipping address merge tag on the text box like shown below:
Note: If you want, you can add another section showing the billing address using the merge tag too.
It's always a good practice to engage your customers with your brand so they make repeat purchases. You can do that by adding the popular items of your store on the email so when you users open the email to check the confirmation status they engage more.
And too add a best items section add a heading and then a new row with two columns.
Now to add a product to the first column, drag and drop the product widget.
Then click on the ‘Add Product” button and click on “Select” to choose the product you want to add to your email.
After adding the product you can change the product title, product description, title color, description color, button color, price color etc.
At the end, we are going to add the social media links so people can find your store on different social media platforms easily.
You can add a text widget and then write the social media names you want to add. For better visibility you can separate each social media names by “|”. Then insert a link to each of the names.
You can change various style settings of the email body using FunnelKit. For that, Go to the body tab. Here you can change Text Color, Background Color, Content width, Content alignment and many such options.
You can send a test email to check how the email will look once users receive it. For that, provide the email address and hit “Send Test Email”.
Note: Coupon code will not be generated on a test email. For that you need to activate the workflow and place a test order on the site.
After that save the order confirmation email template and go back to the workflow page.
Turn the toggle button on the top-right corner to activate the automation. Once you activate it every customer that orders on your website will receive this email.
Here is a preview of the order confirmation email
Note: You can use the same process to create any order confirmation email and include any information that you want.
Now that you know how to design a custom order confirmation email,let’s have a look at how you can make order confirmation email bring in repeat sales.
Another proven way of increasing sales is to provide some discount on the next offer in a confirmation email. You can easily do that with FunnelKit.
To create a new action, save the email and go back to the automation workflow. Here before sending the email, you need to create another section that will create a personalized coupon code.
Note: This creating the coupon code action needs to take place before sending the email as we will send the coupon code with the email.
To create the coupon click on the “+” icon between the trigger and the existing action. Then click on Action.
Under WooCommerce tabs, select the action “Create Coupon” and click on Done.
Now provide a coupon title, choose the discount type and provide a discount amount.
Scroll down a little and provide the Coupon Code Prefix. You can use a dynamic prefix here such as user first name using merge tag.
After that select the coupon expiry date. You can choose a date or time period in days. You can also allow free shipping if you want. Finally click on Save to create the coupon.
Here is how the updated workflow will look like :
Now that our coupon is ready, it’s time to add it in our email. For that go to the email visual editor and add a new section that says “Enjoy 20% Off on your next purchase using the coupon code. The offer is valid for the next 24 hours”.
You can use the merge tag to add the coupon code you just created. To add the coupon code select the WC Dynamic Coupon tag. Then from the dropdown choose the coupon you just created.
You can also highlight it or change the color of the coupon code so it catches the user's attention.
Don’t forget to save the email template after adding the new section with coupon code.
You should send a confirmation email right after someone orders on your website. If you want you can add a maximum delay of 1 minute but not more than that. Otherwise it will unnecessarily add up to your customer's post-purchase anxiety.
Your subject should make it clear that the email is about order confirmation. If the subject line provides the right information then it will get the users excited to read what’s in the email.
It’s always a good practice to show some gratitude for your customers for trusting your brand. Customers choose to shop from your brand out of many online choices.You should thank them so they feel special and grow customer loyalty for your store.
Since it’s an order confirmation email you must ensure all the important information such as order details, shipping address, billing address, order total, payment method, estimated delivery date is included in this email.
This way customers will be relaxed knowing all the information is correct. And in case some information such as estimated delivery address is wrong they can contact your customer service team.
Since order confirmation has high open and click through rates, you should include content to give them the opportunity to engage with your brand.
For example, you can add your best seller items, provide them a discount on your next purchase, ask them to refer your brand to a friend to earn a discount,ask them to follow you on social media, add proper call to action etc.
While you want to incorporate as much information as you can, it should be presented in a simple way so users can easily read it. Designing an email that has too many things going on and is’t user friendly will not get you the desired user engagement. That’s why you should keep your email simple.
According to research, 60% of people check their email from mobile devices which includes order confirmation email too. So, it’s crucial that your emails are device responsive and look great on all devices-mobile tabs and desktops.
These were some of the basic things one should keep in mind when it comes to order confirmation email. Keeping the best practices in mind you can design your email anyway you want.
Why should I send order confirmation emails?
You should send order confirmation emails as they will help you improve the customer experience of people shopping on your website. It’s an effective email marketing tactic that can help you earn customer loyalty.
What should I say in a confirmation email?
You can start by thanking the customer for purchasing from your store. After that provide all the order related information and followed by content that will engage the customers more.
Are order confirmation emails required?
Well, order confirmation emails are not required but it’s highly recommended if you want to build strong relationships with your customers and ensure they enjoy shopping without any post-purchase anxiety.
Sending custom emails can also earn you both customer loyalty and more revenue. Just make sure to follow the best practices we shared on this blog.
Using FunnelKit Automations you can easily design an order confirmation email that looks elegant on all devices and serves the purpose of increasing user engagement. Moreover, you can easily add a discount coupon to entertain the idea of a repeat purchase.
On top of that with this WooCommerce plugin you can easily make the process of sending order confirmation email automated.
So, are you ready to design your first custom order confirmation email?