WhatsApp Delivery Updates From Your Order and Shipping Data
Delivery updates on WhatsApp tell the customer when their order ships, when it is out for delivery and when it arrives. AeroChat sends each update as an approved template when your order or shipping system changes the status, then answers the customer’s replies from the same record in Shopify, NetSuite, Odoo, a Google Sheet or POS Malaysia.
What happens today
The warehouse ships the order and the courier sends its own SMS or email, if any. The customer doesn’t recognise the sender, or misses it, and messages you to ask where the delivery is.
For trade customers it is worse. A buyer waiting on stock calls the sales rep, the rep checks with the warehouse, and the answer comes back an hour later.
How it runs on WhatsApp
- The customer opts in to delivery updates on WhatsApp, at checkout or when the account is opened.
- When the order status changes to shipped, out for delivery or delivered, your system sends the change to AeroChat by webhook.
- AeroChat reads the order: customer, items, courier, tracking number and the delivery date or time slot.
- It sends the matching approved utility template with the order number, the status and the tracking link.
- When the customer replies, AeroChat answers from the order: what is in the shipment, what is still to come, where to collect a missed parcel.
- It writes back to the order: a note of each update sent, and any delivery instruction the customer gives, such as “leave it with reception”.
- If a delivery fails, a shipment is short, or the customer wants to rearrange delivery outside your rules, it hands the conversation to your team with the order and tracking details.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When an order’s delivery status changes, follow these steps.
- Check that the customer opted in to WhatsApp delivery updates. If not, do nothing.
- If the status is shipped, send our approved template order_shipped (example) with the order number, courier and tracking link.
- If the status is out for delivery, send our approved template out_for_delivery (example) with the delivery date or time slot.
- Do not send a message for delivered unless the order is marked as a trade account (example).
- Add a note to the order for each update sent.
- When the customer replies, answer from the order record. If they give a delivery instruction, add it to the order and confirm it back to them.
- If they say the parcel did not arrive, items are missing, or they want a different delivery day, hand the conversation to our dispatch team with the order number and tracking link.
Never promise a delivery time the record does not show. Reply in the customer’s language.
Pick only the statuses your customers ask about. Every update is a charged template, so fewer, more useful updates cost less.
Connect the systems behind it
- NetSuite: item fulfilments trigger the shipped update and carry the tracking number.
- Odoo: delivery orders in Inventory trigger each update and take back the customer’s delivery instruction.
- Google Sheets: for teams that track dispatch in a sheet, a change in the status column triggers the update.
- Shopify and POS Malaysia. Built in. Shopify fulfilments trigger updates, and AeroChat books and tracks POS Malaysia shipments directly and sends the updates on the channel the shopper used.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
What it costs on WhatsApp
Every delivery update is a utility template, charged per delivered message, including when the customer has an open conversation with you. Utility messages get volume tiers per market that reset monthly. The customer’s replies are free, and your answers are free up to 1,000 a month per business phone number, then charged per message. Rates vary by country and are set in Meta’s rate cards. AeroChat passes Meta’s WhatsApp fees through at cost.
Also on Instagram, Messenger, TikTok and web chat
Customers who ask about a delivery on Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok (DMs and TikTok Shop buyer chat), Telegram, web chat or email get answers from the same order and shipping records. Updates can also go by email to customers who have not opted in to WhatsApp.
Who uses it
B2B suppliers use it so trade buyers know when stock arrives without calling the sales rep. See the order status and delivery workflow for suppliers.
Questions
Do I need template approval to send delivery updates on WhatsApp?
Yes. Delivery updates usually reach the customer outside the 24-hour window that opens with their last message, so they must go as templates Meta has approved. You create and submit them in AeroChat, and Meta assigns the category when it reviews them.
Do customers have to opt in to delivery updates?
Yes. Messages your business starts need the customer’s opt-in. Collect it at checkout or account setup and store it with the customer, so AeroChat can check it before each send.
How much do WhatsApp delivery updates cost?
Each update is charged per delivered message at Meta’s utility rate for the customer’s country. Sending two updates instead of four halves that cost. Customer replies are free.
Can customers reply to a delivery update?
Yes. A reply opens the 24-hour window, and AeroChat answers from the order record, takes delivery instructions, or hands the conversation to your team.
Tell customers where their delivery is before they ask
Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store
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Related: order tracking and returns and refunds.