Last updated on January 7, 2024

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Jeanie Dunn
Content Manager, SMS @ Yotpo
March 16th, 2022

Find out how to use transactional text messages to engage customers post purchase and beyond.

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A truly exceptional customer experience transcends the point of purchase — it continues all the way until you are able to bring your customer back. Transactional text messages are a simple way to deliver engaging content at every stage of this post-purchase customer journey, allowing you to keep your brand top of mind, establish credibility and trust, and drive repeat purchases.

What are transactional text messages? Similar to post-purchase emails, a transactional SMS is a non-marketing message used to connect with your customer about a recent purchase, sharing need-to-know order details, tracking information, and more. Consumers today expect these real-time updates where it’s most convenient to receive them — their phones — and with SMS, you can reach them there with a level of immediacy and personalization that other channels can’t match.

In fact, a recent Yotpo survey revealed that over 55% of U.S. consumers prefer text messaging because it’s immediate, convenient, and allows them to quickly get updates, while more than half of consumers (51%) said they would opt in to SMS just to receive transactional text messages. In addition, 47% of consumers said their email inboxes are overflowing, and they are more likely to see a brand’s message if it’s sent via SMS. So if you aren’t currently leveraging SMS to engage your own customers post purchase and beyond, now is the time to start.

Here are five examples of transactional SMS that are guaranteed to create post-purchase satisfaction, so you can get on your way to increasing customer lifetime value (and overall revenue).

1. Order confirmation

An order confirmation is like a receipt, only better. Once a customer places an order with your eCommerce store, you can trigger a confirmation text to provide a sense of security that their transaction was successful and is being processed. Order confirmation SMS flows are critical to the post-purchase experience, instilling confidence through transparency and getting your customer excited about the item they purchased at the same moment.

Example: Hey {BillingFirstName}! Thank you so much for your order! We’re doing the heavy lifting and I’ll let you know when your {OrderName} has shipped.

Text message with order confirmation

2. Shipping notification

It’s the moment we all wait anxiously for — “Your order has shipped!” Thank your customer again for their business and create the ultimate post-purchase experience with an automated shipping update. Let them know their package has shipped, and provide the corresponding tracking number or link to where they can check in on their order’s status anytime, anywhere, and as often as they would like.

Example: {SiteName}: Great news! Your order {OrderId} just shipped and is on its way to you 📦. Track it here: {OrderStatusUrl}

Text message with shipping details

3. Order out for delivery

What’s more exciting than your package being shipped? Getting it into your hands. Alleviate your customer’s worry about exactly when their order is going to show up with a triggered message sent directly to their phones. With a 98% open rate, SMS is the optimal way to notify customers when the shipping carrier is delivering the package to its final destination, helping to both boost their anticipation and ensure they are there to receive it.

Example: {SiteName}: Hey, your order is out for delivery. Keep an eye on your order here: {OrderStatusUrl}

4. Package delivered

You’ve almost reached the end of the post-purchase customer journey, but not quite. As soon as your customer’s package is delivered, let them know it’s there and waiting for them. This message is critical to ensure that no problems occurred during the delivery process, such as damage during transportation or lost packages. If problems do arise, you will have a direct line of communication to your customer to solve them in a timely manner and strengthen your relationship. And if delivery goes smoothly, this transactional SMS will further excite your customer and leave them with a positive impression about your brand, which will inspire them to order from you again in the future.

Example: {SiteName}: Hey there, guess what? Your order is at your door, that’s what! 📬 Thanks for being our customer and let us know if you have any questions!

5. Review request

Customer feedback matters — 93% of consumers say online reviews influence their purchase decisions. With SMS, you can maximize your review collection by reaching customers directly on their mobile devices where they are already the most active. After your customer receives their order (and shortly after they receive your delivery SMS), send them a review request to help build your brand credibility with impactful social proof. Review requests sent via SMS have a 66% higher conversion rate than those sent via email, and you can boost this further by adding an incentive, such as an exclusive discount or limited-time offer for sharing feedback.

Example: {SiteName}: Hey {BillingFirstName}, thank you for your purchase! How did you like your {OrderName}? Don’t hesitate to leave us a review at {SiteUrl}

Text message requesting a product review

Elevate your eCommerce post-purchase experience with Yotpo SMS & Email

These five SMS transactional messages are essential to pair with any purchase, but you need to be able to make them unique to maximize their value. And to do that, you need the right SMS marketing platform.

With Yotpo SMS & Email, you can easily design a post-purchase experience that keeps customers engaged, using custom triggers and conditions that make every text timely and relevant. All of our transactional SMS flows are fully customizable, so you can add your brand’s personal touch to each post-purchase message you send. Plus, go a step further and add a personal touch for your customers — 35+ data points allow for more thoughtful targeting and a personalized approach that is guaranteed to excite them far more than a generic template will.

Our customers’ feedback matters to us too, and when it comes to transactional SMS, we’re getting five star reviews.

I have many more choices with Yotpo SMS & Email than Shopify’s text. I love, love, love the pre-scheduled templates for the rest of the month. I just need to read through, choose the dates I want to send and edit the template. I love adding my own photos too. I can personalize it for each customer set. I’m still learning but when I have any questions, customer support was there for me right away in chat and helped me through it. I would highly recommend this for your SMS app. It’s wonderful and the customer service is wonderful! — Alder & Alouette ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Request a demo today to see how easy it is to send transactional text messages that convert on our winning SMS marketing platform.