# Ecommerce Order and Return Notifications > Transactional order messages keep customers informed at each meaningful event — confirmation, shipment, delivery, cancellation, return stages and refund. Sending only messages relevant to the actual order state avoids confusion and prevents false status claims from reaching customers. - Type: Merchant guide - Level: Intermediate - Reading time: About 6 minutes - Audience: Written for store owners, builders, and designers refining high-performance ecommerce stores. - Last updated: 2026-11-04 - Canonical page: https://academy.getzenbasket.com/merchant-questions/ecommerce-order-and-return-notifications/ - Part of: [Merchant Questions](https://academy.getzenbasket.com/merchant-questions/) on ZenBasket Academy --- ## What you need to know ### Which transactional emails should ecommerce stores send? Common transactional messages cover order receipt or confirmation, payment exceptions, shipment, delivery, pickup, cancellation, return stages, exchange and refund. Send only messages relevant to the order. ### What should an order-confirmation email contain? Include order number, items, quantities, prices, discounts, shipping, tax, total, addresses, expected next step and a secure support link. Do not imply acceptance if the order still needs review. ### What should a shipping-confirmation email contain? Include the shipped items, carrier, tracking number, handoff date, delivery estimate and separate details for items still pending. A created label alone should not trigger a false Shipped claim. ### What should a delivery-confirmation message contain? Identify the delivered shipment, time or carrier event, and what to do if the parcel is missing, wrong or damaged. Avoid exposing delivery details to an unverified recipient. ### What should a cancellation email contain? List cancelled items, reason when appropriate, payment or refund action, remaining active items and the next expected update. ### What should a refund email contain? Show the refund amount, items, original payment destination, submission date, current status and realistic bank-processing guidance. ### What should a return-status email contain? Show the return number, affected items, current stage, any action required, label or tracking link and what triggers the refund or exchange. ### Email vs SMS for order notifications: which should I use? Use email for durable detail and SMS for consented, time-sensitive updates. Respect channel preferences, opt-in rules and the risk of exposing order information on a shared phone. --- ## Frequently asked questions ### Should every update use email and SMS? No. Use the customer's consent and preferences, message urgency, local rules and channel reliability. Avoid duplicate noise. ### What makes a useful transactional message? Identify the order, explain what changed, show the next expected step and provide a secure path for tracking or help. --- ## Related learning path - **Reducing WISMO Customer Questions** - **Returns and Customer Experience** - **Shipment Tracking and Customer Notifications** - [ZenBasket Build Guide](https://help.getzenbasket.com/zenbasket-builder/)