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WhatsApp order confirmation and update messages: 14 templates you can copy

Copy-and-paste WhatsApp messages for every order status: order received, paid, shipped with tracking, ready for pickup, delivered, refunded, unpaid-order reminders, cash on delivery and abandoned carts, with the rules that keep them short and welcome.

By Clement, founder of ReplaiPublished Updated 5 min read

Quick answer

A good WhatsApp order message is three to five lines: who it is from, the order number, what changed, the one detail the customer wants next (a tracking link, a pay link, a pickup time), and how to opt out. Send one message per status change, never a burst, and keep marketing out of it. The 14 templates below cover every status a WooCommerce or Shopify store uses, with fields for the order number, items, totals, tracking and links.

  • One message per order status, three to five lines, one link. Customers read it in a lock-screen preview.
  • Fill in fields (order number, first item, tracking number, courier, pay link) so every message is specific without retyping.
  • Follow-ups for unpaid orders and abandoned carts work best after 60 minutes and again the next morning, never at night.
  • Sent from the shop's own WhatsApp number there is no template approval and no per-message fee; the wording is yours.

Every online store sends the same five messages a hundred times: we got your order, we got your payment, it has shipped, it is ready, it is done. Most stores send them by email, where about a third get opened. On WhatsApp the same message is read within minutes, and the customer replies in the same thread when something is wrong. That is why order messages moved to WhatsApp in most of the markets where WhatsApp is the default channel, and why the wording matters: a message that lands in a lock-screen preview has three lines to do its job.

Below are 14 templates, one per status, written for a store that sends from its own number. Copy them, change the shop name and tone, and keep the shape.

What should a WhatsApp order confirmation say?

Four things, in this order. Who it is from, because the customer may not have the shop's number saved. The order number, because it is what they will quote back. What changed and what happens next, in one sentence. The single link or detail they want at that moment: the order page after purchase, the tracking link after shipping, the pay link when a payment is pending.

Then stop. The strongest order messages are shorter than this paragraph. Marketing lines, loyalty points and review requests belong in a separate message, sent later, or not at all.

Fields in square brackets are the details your store fills in automatically. In Replai they are inserted from a picker with a click; the names below are what the picker shows.

An order confirmation message annotated in four places: who it is from, the order number, what changed and what happens next in one sentence, and the single link the customer wants at that moment. Text in square brackets is a field the store fills in automatically.
The same four parts sit behind every template below. Anything in square brackets fills itself in.

Order placed and paid

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Order update, sent from the shop's own number

Hi [First name], thanks for your order. Order [Order number]: [First item] and [Item count] more, [Total]. We will message you here when it ships. View the order: [Order link] Reply STOP to switch off order messages.14:02

Use this for stores where payment is taken at checkout. If your store separates the two, split it into the next two templates.

Order received, payment pending

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Order update

Hi [First name], we have your order [Order number] for [Total]. It is reserved for 24 hours. Pay here to confirm it: [Pay link] Questions? Reply to this message.14:02

This is the message that recovers bank-transfer orders. The pay link opens the store's own payment page for that order on any device, so the customer does not have to find the checkout again.

Payment confirmed

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Order update

Payment received for order [Order number]. Thank you. We are preparing it now and will send the tracking number as soon as it ships.14:31

Being prepared

Only send this if there is a real gap between payment and shipping, for example made-to-order goods. A store that ships the same day should skip it; two messages an hour apart feel like noise.

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Order update

Order [Order number] is being prepared. Custom cakes take 3 days; yours is due to ship on [Date]. Anything to add to the order? Reply here.09:15

Shipped, with tracking

The message customers keep. Put the tracking number in plain text, because people copy it into the courier's app, and the tracking link on its own line.

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Order update

Order [Order number] has shipped with [Courier]. Tracking number: [Tracking number] Track it: [Tracking link] Expected in [Shipping method] time. Reply here if it has not arrived by then.16:40

Out for delivery

Send this only when the courier feeds that status back to your store; a message that says out for delivery while the parcel sits in a depot does harm. The order lookup on the shop's number should answer "where is it?" instead.

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Order update

Order [Order number] is out for delivery today with [Courier]. Someone may need to be at [Shipping address, first line] to receive it.08:05

Ready for pickup

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Order update

Order [Order number] is ready for pickup at [Shop name], [Pickup address]. Open 8am to 6pm today and tomorrow. Show this message at the counter.11:20

Stores that renamed a status (Ready for collection, Ready at counter) keep their own wording; the message goes out on whatever the store calls it.

Delivered

Two jobs: close the loop, and open the door for a problem before it becomes a chargeback.

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Order update

Order [Order number] was delivered. Thank you for ordering from [Shop name]. If anything is missing or damaged, reply here with a photo and we will sort it out.15:12

Refunded

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Order update

Refund issued for order [Order number]: [Total] back to your [Payment method]. Banks usually show it within 3 to 5 working days. Reply here if it has not arrived by [Date].10:02

Cancelled

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Order update

Order [Order number] has been cancelled as requested. Nothing has been charged. If this was a mistake, reply here and we will reinstate it.10:02

Payment reminder for an unpaid order

The first message went out when the order was placed. This is the follow-up, sent only if the order is still unpaid, and cancelled the moment it is paid. Send it after 60 minutes, and again the next morning; never after 10pm.

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Follow-up, 60 minutes later

Hi [First name], order [Order number] is still waiting for payment. It is held for you until tomorrow. Pay here in one step: [Pay link] If you have already paid by transfer, reply with the reference and we will match it.15:02
H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Second follow-up, next morning

Last note on order [Order number]. It will be released at 6pm today unless it is paid. [Pay link] No longer needed? Reply and we will cancel it, no problem.09:00

Failed payment

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Order update

The payment for order [Order number] did not go through, so nothing was charged. Try again here: [Pay link] Cards sometimes fail on the first attempt; a second try usually works.14:05

Cash on delivery confirmation

For stores that lose money to fake or unconfirmed cash orders. The reply is the confirmation; an order with no reply by a set time can be held. There is more on this in the cash-on-delivery guide.

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Order update

Order [Order number], cash on delivery, [Total]. Delivery to: [Shipping address] Reply YES to confirm and we will ship today. Reply with a new address if this one is wrong.14:02

Abandoned cart

Sent after the customer typed their phone number at checkout and left. The link matters more than the words: a link to the cart page opens an empty cart on another device, so use one that rebuilds the cart. The consent line the customer saw at checkout is what makes this message welcome.

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

60 minutes after checkout was abandoned

Hi [First name], you left [Cart items] in your cart at [Shop name], [Cart total]. This link rebuilds it on any device: [Cart link] If a question stopped you, ask it here.15:20

New order alert for the owner

Not a customer message, but worth having. Sent to the owner's own number on every new order, or only on failed payments and refunds.

H

Harbour Lane Bakery

Admin alert, to the owner's number

New order [Order number]: [Total], [Payment method]. [Items] Ship to [Shipping address, city].14:02

Rules that keep order messages welcome

  • One message per order and status, ever. If a status flips back and forth, the customer does not need to see it.
  • Immediate updates go out at once, because the customer expects them. Follow-ups wait for morning: quiet hours from 10pm to 8am in the store's time zone.
  • Space messages out. A bulk status change on fifty orders should trickle out over a few minutes, not land as a burst; WhatsApp reads bursts as spam and so do people. The broadcast limits guide covers the pacing that keeps a number safe.
  • Honour STOP. A customer who replies STOP gets no more order messages, and the store's other messages should stop too.
  • No marketing inside a transactional message. Announce the sale in a separate message to people who opted in for it.

Sent from your own number or through the API?

Two routes exist. Through the WhatsApp Business Platform, each of these templates has to be submitted to Meta for approval before use, the sending number cannot be the one on your phone, and since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per delivered utility message outside a customer's 24-hour service window (Meta for Developers, 2025). Sent from the shop's own number, paired to a tool like Replai by QR the way WhatsApp Web pairs, the wording is yours to change at any time, there is no per-message fee, and replies land in the inbox you already use. The trade-off is that the connection is unofficial, which is why pacing and caps matter; the order updates page explains how Replai handles both.

How to send these automatically

For a WooCommerce store, the step-by-step guide takes about ten minutes: install the plugin, paste one URL and one secret, pick statuses, paste a template, press Send me a test. Shopify connects through its notification webhooks. Either way, test mode sends every message to your own phone first, tagged [TEST], until you switch it off.

Related

Frequently asked questions

What should a WhatsApp order confirmation include?

The shop's name, the order number, what was ordered (or the first item and a count), the total, what happens next and when, and one link to the order page. Three to five lines. Leave out marketing, and add a short opt-out line so the customer knows a reply of STOP ends the messages.

When should the shipping message be sent?

The moment the order moves to shipped and the tracking number exists. If tracking is added later, send the shipping message then, not before. One message per status is the rule; a second message for the same status reads as spam and costs trust.

Do I need WhatsApp Business API templates for order messages?

Only if you send through the official API, which needs a dedicated number, Meta's approval for each template, and since 1 July 2025 a per-message fee for utility messages sent outside a customer's 24-hour service window. Sent from the shop's own paired number the wording is yours and there is no fee, though the connection is unofficial and must be paced.

How do I send these automatically from WooCommerce or Shopify?

Connect the store to a tool that watches order status changes and sends the message for each one. With Replai you install a small WooCommerce plugin or paste a Shopify webhook secret, pick the statuses, paste a template like the ones here, insert the fields with a click, and press Send me a test before switching it on.

Can I send order updates in the customer's language?

Yes. Write each status message in the language most of your customers use, and keep a second version for the other one if your store serves two. The order fields fill in the same way. Replies from customers can be in any language; an assistant answers them from your own information.

Sources

  1. WhatsApp Business Platform pricing, Meta for Developers, 2025-07-01
  2. WhatsApp: About, WhatsApp, checked 9 September 2026

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