How Do I Send Shopify Order Confirmations and Updates on WhatsApp?
Send the confirmation as an approved WhatsApp template when Shopify creates the order, and answer every reply from the same order. AeroChat reads the order from Shopify, so the items and the total the customer paid, discounts included, are the ones in the message. When the customer replies, it answers from the order, and when they want to buy again, it takes the order in the chat with a payment link.
Why WhatsApp order messages go wrong
Merchants on the Shopify Community ask for three things. They want order confirmations on WhatsApp because customers read WhatsApp and miss emails. They want the message to show the right details: one merchant found their WhatsApp confirmations showed the price before the discount, another wants the product image and link in the message. And they want to handle the replies, which a one-way notification app can’t do. A flower shop owner describes spending hours a day on WhatsApp and wanting both staff order alerts and an AI that answers customers like a person.
Some stores go further and sell on WhatsApp. One WhatsApp-first business takes orders in chat and creates Shopify draft orders by hand. Others compare WhatsApp apps, manual messages and email for order updates, and find template approval and getting customers to reply are the hard parts.
The usual fixes and their limits
- A WhatsApp notification app. These send order confirmations and shipping updates from templates. Many send one way only, so replies go to a phone nobody watches, or to a separate inbox.
- Messaging customers by hand from the WhatsApp Business app. Personal and free. It doesn’t scale past a few orders a day, and nothing links the chat to the order.
- Email confirmations only. Shopify sends them by default. Customers who don’t see the email message you on WhatsApp to ask whether the order went through.
How to handle it in chat with AeroChat
When an order is created, Shopify sends it to AeroChat by webhook. If the customer opted in to WhatsApp updates at checkout, AeroChat sends your approved utility template with their name, the order number, the items, the total from the order and the order status link. When the customer replies, AeroChat finds the order by their WhatsApp number and answers from it: what was ordered, when it ships, where it is. If they ask for a change, it follows your rules, such as updating the address before packing. If they want to order something new, it recommends from your catalog, reads back the total with shipping, and sends an Airwallex payment link in the chat.
AeroChat: Hi Aisha, thanks for your order #8814: 2 x Rose candle, US$38 after your 10% discount (example). Track it here: [order status link].
Customer: Thanks! When will it ship?
AeroChat: It’s being packed today and ships tomorrow by USPS (example). Message me here anytime for the tracking number once it’s on its way.
Customer: Can I also get the lavender one sent separately to my sister?
AeroChat: Of course. The Lavender candle is US$19, and shipping to her address is US$5.90 (example). What’s her name and address? I’ll send you a payment link for US$24.90.
In Shopify: order #8814 gets a note “WhatsApp confirmation sent”. The new order is paid by Airwallex link in the same chat.
Copy this into AeroChat
When a new order is created in Shopify, follow these steps.
- Check whether the customer opted in to WhatsApp order updates. If not, do nothing.
- Send our approved template order_confirmed (example) with their first name, the order number, the items, the total paid and the order status link.
- Add a note to the order: “WhatsApp confirmation sent.”
- When the customer replies, find the order by their WhatsApp number. If there is no match, ask for their order number and email.
- Answer questions about items, total, payment and shipping from the order. Never promise a delivery date the order does not show.
- If they want to buy something else, recommend from our catalog, confirm the items, address and total with shipping, and send an Airwallex payment link.
Hand changes to items on a packed order, or a cancellation after shipping, to our orders team with the order number. Reply in the customer’s language.
Use the template name you had approved, and change the hand-over cases 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. AeroChat reads orders, products, discounts and shipping rates. The new-order webhook and the order note run through Shopify’s Admin API in the workflow you describe.
- Your WhatsApp Business number. Connect it with embedded signup and submit your order template for approval by Meta. You can keep using the WhatsApp Business app on the same number.
- Airwallex, to take orders in chat. Airwallex is built into AeroChat. No Airwallex account yet? Open one here.
Questions
Do customers have to opt in?
Yes. WhatsApp requires the customer’s consent before a business sends them a template message. Add a WhatsApp opt-in at checkout, and AeroChat sends nothing to customers who did not opt in.
Will the confirmation show the discounted price?
AeroChat reads the total from the Shopify order, so it shows what the customer was charged.
Can customers reply to the confirmation?
Yes. Replies land in AeroChat, which answers from the order and hands anything outside your rules to your team in the same inbox.
Can I also confirm cash on delivery orders this way?
Yes, with Confirm and Cancel buttons. See confirming COD orders before shipping and WhatsApp order confirmation.
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.
Confirm orders where customers read
Install AeroChat, connect WhatsApp, paste the confirmation recipe, and place a test order with your own number.
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