Order tracking at Shopify
You can let customers track their shipments. After you add a tracking number to a fulfilled order, customers can follow their delivery through the order status page, shipping emails, and the Shop app.
On this page
Adding tracking information to orders
When you fulfill an order and add a tracking number, Shopify uses that information to send shipment updates to your customers. Your customers can access tracking through the order status page, customer notification emails, and the Shop app.
You can add tracking information to an order in the following ways:
- Add tracking automatically, when you purchase a shipping label within the Shopify admin. The tracking number and carrier are added to the fulfillment automatically.
- Add tracking manually, when you use a shipping carrier that isn't integrated with Shopify. You enter the tracking number during or after fulfillment, and the carrier is detected automatically. If the carrier isn't recognized, then you can select it from a dropdown or enter a tracking URL directly.
If you use a third-party service for fulfillment, such as an app, then how you add tracking information depends on the service that you use. If the service provides tracking information, then it's added automatically. If you're not sure whether your fulfillment service provides this information in their integration with Shopify, then contact that service for more information.
If you ship an order without a tracking number, then you can mark the order as delivered from the order details page after your customer receives it. Otherwise, the order remains in the On its way status on the order status page.
Order tracking for customers
Customers can track their shipments through the order status page, shipping notification emails, and the Shop app. In the Shop app and on customer account order pages, the delivery date for eligible shipments is updated after checkout as the shipment progresses, and is labeled Predicted by Shop when it differs from the carrier's date.
Order status page
The order status page is the primary place where customers track their shipments. After you add a tracking number, customers can return to this page to check the status of their delivery.
Customers can access the order status page in the following ways:
- Sign in to their customer account
- Click the tracking link in their shipping confirmation email
- Enter their order confirmation number and verify their email or phone number
For shipments using a supported carrier, the order status page displays updates on the location of the shipment.
Email notifications
Customers receive notification emails at key points during delivery. You can customize notification templates or deactivate specific notifications in your Shopify admin at Settings > Notifications > Customer notifications.
Shop app
The Shop app gives your customers a dedicated place to track all their orders. Customers can use the following order tracking features in the Shop app:
- Order status updates
- Push notifications for shipping milestones
- Live map tracking
- Estimated delivery dates
Orders from your Shopify store are automatically synced to your customer's Shop account.
To activate a Track with Shop link on your mobile order status page, in your Shopify admin go to Sales channels > Shop > Settings. In the Track with Shop section, click Manage in checkout settings.
Learn more about setting up Track with Shop.
Supported shipping carriers
Tracking is supported for shipping labels purchased through Shopify and for most carriers outside of Shopify. The carriers available to you depend on how you fulfill orders.
Shopify-supported carriers
When you purchase a shipping label through your Shopify admin, tracking is included automatically. Carrier availability depends on your default shipping location.
Learn more about shipping carriers that integrate with Shopify.
Third-party shipping carriers
If you ship with a carrier that isn't integrated with Shopify, then you can still provide tracking by entering the tracking number when you fulfill the order. Shopify recognizes tracking numbers from hundreds of carriers worldwide, including major carriers such as DHL, UPS, FedEx, Canada Post, Australia Post, and EVRi. Clickable tracking links are generated automatically for your customers.
For the full list of supported tracking carriers, refer to the supported tracking companies in the Shopify API documentation.
If your carrier isn't automatically recognized during fulfillment, or if the wrong carrier is detected, then you can do one of the following:
- Select the correct carrier from the Shipping carrier dropdown during fulfillment. Your manual selection takes priority over automatic detection.
- If the carrier isn't listed, then select Other. Enter the full tracking URL provided by your carrier.
Customers can click the link to visit the carrier's website and review their tracking details.
Troubleshooting order tracking
If tracking information on an order isn't what you expect, then review the following common issues and solutions.
Troubleshoot a missing tracking number
Some carrier services don't include a tracking number, usually lower-cost services that prioritize price over tracking. A package that ships without a tracking number can't be tracked, so buy a service that includes tracking when tracking matters to you.
The following services don't include tracking:
- USPS First Class Mail
- Canada Post Small Packet USA Air, International Parcel Surface, International Parcel Air, Small Packet International Air, and Small Packet International Surface
If a fulfilled order has no carrier and no tracking number, or has a status of Requested, then the order might be with a third-party fulfillment app for processing. Contact that app's support for the tracking information.
Troubleshoot a tracking number that differs from the label
For USPS shipments, the tracking number on the order in your Shopify admin can include more digits than the number that's printed on the label. This is expected. The longer number is the formal tracking number, and only the package identification code prints on the label. Either version tracks the same shipment.
Troubleshoot tracking that displays old or unrelated events
During peak shipping periods, carriers sometimes reuse tracking numbers, so a tracking page can display events from an earlier shipment. This has been reported with USPS and Canada Post. After the carrier scans your new label, the tracking page updates to your shipment.
On some shipments the earlier events remain even after the new package is scanned. This happens in the carrier's own tracking system, so the events can't be cleared from Shopify. If your shipment is moving but the tracking page still displays the earlier events, then contact the carrier with your tracking number.
Troubleshoot an incorrect shipping carrier on an order
If you add a tracking number without selecting a carrier, or the carrier that you select isn't supported for tracking, then the tracking number is matched against the number formats of known carriers.
Many carriers have no recognizable number format, and some carriers share a format with each other, so the carrier on the order can end up blank or wrong.
To correct it, select the carrier from the Shipping carrier dropdown, or select Other and enter the carrier's tracking URL. Your selection takes priority over automatic detection.
If a third-party app adds your tracking information, then the app needs to send the carrier and the tracking URL along with the number. When an app sends only a number, the carrier is identified automatically, and the result might not be the carrier that you use.
Troubleshoot a tracking link that doesn't open the shipment
A tracking link doesn't always open the details for a specific shipment. Carriers such as FedEx use a URL that includes the tracking number, so the link opens the shipment directly. Other carriers, more often smaller ones, create a new session each time their tracking page is opened, so the link opens their tracking page and your customer needs to enter the tracking number.
Troubleshoot a tracker that displays the wrong country
A tracking page can display the correct city in the wrong country, such as Edmonton, Australia instead of Edmonton, Canada. This happens when the carrier reports only a city name, without a region or country, and more than one city shares that name. The location usually corrects itself after the carrier reports a scan that includes a region or country. If the wrong country continues to display, then contact Shopify Support with your tracking number.