text: Shipping plays a huge part in keeping your customers happy. From how quickly they receive their packages to how much they’ll pay for shipping—it all comes together to create a fast, reliable shipping experience for your customers.
  Luckily, if you’ve set up your online store on WooCommerce, you’re already ahead of the game. The platform features numerous shipping methods and features that guarantee a seamless experience. One of the most popular (and arguably most important) is WooCommerce shipment tracking.
  With the plugin, you can easily add shipping tracking data to customers’ orders. The tracking number is shared with both you and your buyers in notifications like WooCommerce notification emails and Order Details page so you both know what customers’ order status is.
  But how exactly do you set it up? Are there additional plugins you can use to enhance the feature?
  Below, we’ll show you how to set up the shipment tracking plugin in WooCommerce and provide a comparison of the top shipment tracking options.
  The Importance of Shipment Tracking for Your WooCommerce Customer Experience
  Thanks to retailers like Amazon, today’s shoppers are used to receiving shipping notifications. In fact, 93% of customers want to stay informed about the delivery process and 47% of customers won’t shop with a brand again with poor delivery visibility. Plus, 98% of customers say that delivery plays a huge role in their overall brand loyalty.
  A look at these numbers shows just how important shipping visibility is. Customers want to know exactly what their order status is—from checkout all the way to delivery.
  But why exactly do customers want WooCommerce shipment tracking? Ultimately, it comes down to peace of mind. If your customers are able to see where their package is, they’ll get an idea of how long it will take to get there as well as if any holdups happen. Plus, including a tracking number gives buyers an idea of when their package will arrive so they don’t miss delivery.
  Some additional benefits to adding WooCommerce shipment tracking include:
  - Attracting new customers: If you provide stellar delivery-tracking, you’re likely to attract new customers. One source found that 66% of shoppers bought from one retailer over another simply because their shipping method was better.
  - Higher profits: Customer loyalty goes a long way in increasing revenue for your ecommerce store. If your shipping method is seamless and transparent, your customers are likely to spend more.
  - Decreases customer support costs: One of the most common questions your customers will ask usually revolve around ‘where’s my package’. By simply providing a tracking number, you’ll deal with way fewer calls and questions around delivery and more time on more pressing issues.
  Basically, if you’re transparent about where customers’ order status and where their package is, they’re more likely to buy from you again, recommend your services to friends and family, and free up some of your time to focus on growing your ecommerce store.
  What to Look for in WooCommerce Shipping Tracking Software
  When it comes to delivering your WooCommerce products, you have tons of options to choose from. There are dozens of WooCommerce plugins that can enhance your storefront functions. Plus, you can offer your customers multiple shipping options such as a tracking link or email notifications. The right plugin will also make the delivery process a lot smoother so you can focus on more pressing needs. Plus, you can also integrate with popular shipping carriers like FedEx and DHL so you can deliver worldwide!
  So, when you’re evaluating different WooCommerce shipping tracking software, there’s a few things you’ll want to look out for in your search. We’ll review those in more detail below.
  Today’s customers are used to choosing from multiple shipping options. You want to ensure the WooCommerce plugin you’re considering includes more than one shipping option. The solution should allow you to calculate different weights for weight, quantity, product dimensions, product category, and more.
  Your buyers are coming to you from all over the world and from multiple channels. Make sure the WooCommerce add-on supports both national and international shipping so you don’t miss out on potential customers.
  As we said earlier, shipment tracking is one of the most important things you can offer to your customers. If a WooCommerce plugin doesn’t provide shipment tracking, find one that does. Remember, shipment tracking can really help you to boost your brand loyalty and attract new customers.
  Top 5 WooCommerce Shipment Tracking Plugins
  WooCommerce retailers like yourself have no shortage of add-ons to choose from. In fact, there are nearly 2,000 WordPress plugins alone! The CodeCanyon marketplace sells over 1,400 plugins and WooCommerce itself has 770 available plugins.
  With tons of add-ons available, how do you know which one is best for your ecommerce storefront?
  Below, we’ll highlight our top five plug-ins and the specific features they offer.
  Route goes far beyond simple package tracking. The integration allows you to maximize virtually every interaction you have with your customers and take complete control of the customer journey.
  With the Route and WooCommerce plugin, you can provide your customers with capabilities like:
  - Track: Send your customers real-time tracking information on their favorite channels, including email, text message, and social media via Route Track. This enables them to watch delivery progress from checkout to delivery and provides them with peace of mind. Plus, you help to decrease the amount of ‘where’s my order?’ questions that flood your customer support team.
  - Protect: Add to your customers’ peace of mind by offering comprehensive package protection. This allows customers to quickly file claims in case their package is lost, stolen, or damaged during the shipping process. Route then automatically reorders or refunds customers so sellers don’t have to go through the hassle of filling out return orders themselves. With Route Protect, you keep customers happy by ensuring they’ll be taken care of if something goes wrong.
  While WooCommerce is already a pretty great platform to use, Route takes that greatness a step further by allowing you to optimize your post-purchase experience.
  ShipStation is a Software-as-a-Service shopping platform that allows you to manage all your small parcel and less than truckload (LTL) shipping needs from a single platform. The platform allows you to quickly compare rates from multiple shipping providers as well as print shipping labels, update tracking information, and trigger shipping notifications for your customers.
  One of the biggest benefits to using ShipStation is that it provides steep discounts for USPS as well as discounted accounts on FedEx and UPS. If you rely on any of these shipping providers, ShipStation is a great plugin to include on your WooCommerce site.
  However, one thing to be aware of is that ShipStation does not have a pay-as-you-go option. Instead, you’ll have to sign up for a subscription plan. The base rate starts at $9 a month which allows you to ship 50 parcels. The more expensive plans allow you to ship up to 10,000 packages each month, but it is pretty pricey.
  Regardless, ShipStation is a solid option for volume sellers as they can take advantage of some great discounts.
  Similar to ShipStation, AfterShip is an SaaS platform that provides shipment tracking from a single platform. With AfterShip, customers can track packages in real-time from over 900 carriers, including UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL, and more.
  Additional features of the platform include:
  - Order lookup widgets
  - Delivery date prediction
  - Shipping notifications
  - Shipment visibility
  However, one of the drawbacks to using AfterShip is the platform has been known to experience outages and crashes in addition to spotty integrations with third-party applications. For example, some customers report experiencing delays in real-time shipping notifications with the system drastically slowing down after order pickup.
  AfterShip is still a solid option for your ecommerce store however—especially if you ship with more than a dozen shipping carriers.
  Also a SaaS software platform, Shippo is a multi-carrier shipping rate comparison tool. When connected with WooCommerce, you can sync your WooCommerce order data with Shippo which then updates customer’s shipping information and provides real-time updates through email notifications or text message alerts. You can also quickly compare shipping prices between multiple carriers, ensuring you find the best deal.
  One of the reasons Shippo is such a popular plugin is that it connects to virtually every major carrier and provides great discounts. The platform is also popular among startups as it offers a pay-as-you-go plan and there’s no limit to the amount of labels you can print.
  Ultimately, if you’re looking for a simple shipping plugin that helps you save some money, Shippo is a great option. Just be aware that it doesn’t offer additional features like package protection or automatic refunds.
  Similar to Shippo, Ordoro is also a shipping rate comparison tool; however, the platform goes step further by including inventory management, purchase order management, and dropshipping tools.
  If you’re a volume seller, the WooCommerce and Ordoro integration is a great option. Together, you get a comparison tool as well as automated inventory controls. Plus, if you rely on USPS for shipping, you’ll get steep discounts for shipping.
  However, this great package does come with a pretty big price tag. If you want a shipping-only account, plans start at $39 per month while enterprise-plans (which includes inventory management tools) are nearly $400 per month.
  The Post-Purchase Experience Goes Beyond Shipping Tracking
  Despite the numerous WooCommerce plugins available, none of them provide you with a comprehensive post-purchase strategy. But Route does!
  With Route Track, customers get real-time updates of exactly where their package is, which is crucial in creating a seamless post purchase experience but Route goes a step further.
  Route Protect provides your shoppers with further peace of mind with automatic package protection. Even if you take every precaution to safeguard customers’ orders, accidents and damages happen, and it’s totally out of your control.
  What is in your control is package protection, which automatically compensates customers in the event their package is lost, stolen, or damaged. Customers will love the transparency of knowing where their package is and the peace of mind knowing they’ll be taken care of in case something happens to their parcel.
  The best part? With Route you can engage with customers long after checkout. This shows your customers you truly care about their experience which results in a 400% increase in customer engagement and a 92% increase in customer satisfaction.
  To learn more about how Route can benefit your WooCommerce store, request a free demo of our platform or get in touch with a representative.