[Discussion] Is anyone else tired of delayed “Delivered” notifications?
This is something I’ve been noticing more and more across Shopify stores lately, and once I started looking into it, I realised it’s not really a rare issue at all.
A customer receives their package, probably already checked the tracking page multiple times or even messaged support asking where the order is… and then hours later, they finally get the “Your order has been delivered” email. At that point, the notification almost feels pointless.
So I did some digging, and it turns out that it isn’t even a bug. A lot of tracking systems work on polling, meaning the app checks carriers for updates at fixed intervals instead of getting updates instantly when the delivery scan happens. So the delay is basically built into the workflow itself.
From what I understand, the faster alternative is webhooks, where carriers push tracking updates immediately, and notifications get triggered in near real time. But not every app is built around that model, and many carriers still don’t support it consistently.
Which brings me to two things I genuinely want to hear the community's take on:
- Given that this is by design and not a bug, do you think it's still acceptable from a customer experience standpoint? A delayed "delivered" email arguably creates more confusion than value.
- If not, what are you actually doing about it? Have you found a setup that handles this better, or have you just turned off delivered notifications entirely?
Would love to hear what's working for you all....