How Do I Let Customers Change Their Shipping Address After Ordering?
Let customers fix the address in chat, before the order ships. AeroChat verifies the customer against the order in Shopify, checks that it has not been fulfilled yet, reads the new address back to them and updates it on the order. If the new address costs more to ship, it quotes the difference and sends a payment link in the same conversation, on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, web chat or email.
Why address changes go wrong
Store owners on the Shopify Community describe the same few cases. A customer types the wrong street or apartment number at checkout and emails an hour later. A pre-order customer moves house before the item ships. Someone realizes the parcel is going to their old office. Each one needs a person to find the order, check it has not been packed, change the address and reply.
The hard part is timing and contact. If the message sits in an inbox until the next day, the parcel may already be with the courier. Some merchants also ask how to charge extra shipping when the new address is further away, because the order is already paid. And when an address is incomplete, the courier sends the parcel back and the customer does not answer the store’s emails, so the order stalls.
The usual fixes and their limits
- Edit the address in the Shopify admin. You can change the shipping address on an unfulfilled order yourself. It works, but every request still needs someone to read it, find the order and confirm the change.
- Ask customers to double-check at checkout. Address autocomplete and a reminder on the checkout page cut some typos. They do nothing for a customer who moves or changes their mind after paying.
- An order-editing app. These let customers change details from the order status page for a short window. They add a subscription, and the customer has to find the page, which many simply don’t do. They message you instead.
- A chatbot that only answers from your FAQ. It can explain your policy on address changes, but it cannot check the order or change it, so the request still lands on your team.
How to handle it in chat with AeroChat
The customer messages you on the channel they already use. AeroChat asks for the order number and the email or phone number they ordered with, and verifies them against the order in Shopify. If the order has not been fulfilled, it takes the new address, reads it back in full and updates the shipping address on the order. If the order has already shipped, it says so and hands the conversation to your team. If you charge more for the new address, AeroChat checks your Shopify shipping rates, tells the customer the difference and sends an Airwallex payment link for it before changing anything.
Customer: Hi, I put the wrong apartment number on my order. It should be 4B, not 4D. (example)
AeroChat: I can fix that. What’s your order number and the email you ordered with?
Customer: #5127, lena@example.com
AeroChat: Thanks, Lena. Order #5127 hasn’t shipped yet. Your new address is 22 Harbor Street, Apt 4B, Portland, OR 97209 (example). Is that right?
Customer: Yes, perfect.
AeroChat: Done. Your order will go to Apt 4B. Ask me here anytime for the tracking link once it ships.
In Shopify: the shipping address on order #5127 is updated before fulfillment, with a note that the customer changed it in chat.
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer asks to change the shipping address on an order, follow these steps.
- Ask for their order number and the email or phone number they ordered with. Verify them against the order in Shopify before going further.
- Check whether the order has been fulfilled. If it has, tell them it has already shipped and hand the conversation to our team with the order number.
- Take the new address and read it back in full, including the apartment number and postal code. Wait for them to confirm.
- If the new address is in a different shipping zone, check our shipping rates. If it costs more, tell them the difference and send an Airwallex payment link for it. Only change the address once it is paid.
- Update the shipping address on the order in Shopify and add a note: “Address changed by customer in chat.”
- Confirm the change and tell them they will get tracking once it ships.
Never change the billing address. If they ask, hand the conversation to our team. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the rules on extra shipping and the hand-over steps to match your store before you paste it.
What to connect
- Your Shopify store. Built in. Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store and connect your store in the dashboard. AeroChat verifies the customer, reads the order and its fulfillment status, and checks your shipping rates. The address update runs through Shopify’s Admin API as part of the workflow you describe.
- Airwallex, if you charge for a change. Airwallex is built into AeroChat for payment links in the chat. No Airwallex account yet? Open one here.
- Your courier, if parcels come back. POS Malaysia is built in, and shipping tools such as Shippo connect through their APIs, so AeroChat can check a returned parcel’s status when the customer gets in touch.
Questions
Can a customer change the address after the order ships?
Not through this workflow. AeroChat checks the fulfillment status first. If the order has shipped, it tells the customer and hands the conversation to your team, who can contact the courier.
Can I charge extra shipping for a new address?
Yes. AeroChat checks your Shopify shipping rates for the new address, tells the customer the difference and sends an Airwallex payment link. You decide in the recipe whether the address changes before or after they pay.
Does AeroChat change the billing address?
No. The recipe above only changes the shipping address on unfulfilled orders. Anything else goes to your team.
What if the customer gave an incomplete address and isn’t answering email?
Many customers answer a WhatsApp message faster than an email. When they reply in the chat, AeroChat takes the full address and updates the order. See also WhatsApp order changes.
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.
Fix addresses before they ship
Install AeroChat, paste the address recipe, and ask your own store chat to change the address on a test order.
7-day free trial.