Shopify Order Tracking: How It Works for You and Customers
Shopify order tracking starts when a fulfilled order gets a tracking number. From then on Shopify sends shipping updates to the customer, shows the parcel’s progress on the order status page, and syncs the order to the customer’s Shop app. You do not need a tracking app for this; you need a tracking number on every fulfillment and, ideally, a carrier Shopify recognizes.
Everything below follows Shopify’s Help Center pages on order tracking and order status pages, read on October 23, 2026.
How tracking gets onto an order
There are three routes.
| How you ship | How the tracking number arrives | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Label bought in the Shopify admin | Added to the fulfillment automatically, with the carrier | Nothing; buy the label from the order |
| Your own carrier account or a post office counter | You type or paste it during or after fulfillment | Check the detected carrier, fix it if wrong |
| Fulfillment app, 3PL or dropshipping supplier | The service sends it to Shopify, if its integration supports tracking | Confirm with the service that it sends the number, carrier and tracking URL |
When you enter a number by hand, Shopify detects the carrier from the number’s format. That works for big carriers and fails for many small ones, because plenty of carriers have no recognizable format and some share one. If the carrier is blank or wrong, pick it from the Shipping carrier dropdown, or choose Other and paste the full tracking URL from the carrier. Your choice overrides the automatic detection.
The same applies to apps. An app that sends only a number leaves Shopify guessing the carrier; a good integration sends the carrier and the tracking URL too. If a fulfilled order shows no carrier and no number, or the status Requested, it is probably still with the fulfillment app, and that app’s support has the tracking.
You can also add tracking later: open the fulfilled order and add the number to the fulfillment. If you print labels in bulk, our Shopify shipping labels guide covers that route, and automated order fulfillment explains how fulfillment services pass tracking back without you touching the order.
Where customers track their order
Once the number is on the order, the customer has three places to follow it.
The order status page. This is the main one. Customers reach it from the tracking link in their shipping confirmation email, by signing in to their customer account, or by entering their order number and verifying their email or phone number. With a supported carrier the page updates in real time through the statuses Confirmed, On its way, Out for delivery, Delivered and Attempted delivery, and shows the parcel on a map. With an unsupported carrier the page shows the tracking number as a link to the carrier’s site, without live status or map. Split shipments get their own section each, even with different carriers. What else you can put on that page is covered in our guide to the Shopify order status page.
For privacy, the link from the confirmation email works without a login for three weeks in the same browser (two weeks across up to five browsers). After that, the customer signs in or enters the order number and contact details, and anyone with a shared link sees only limited details such as items and order total.
Shipping emails. Customers who gave an email at checkout get the shipping confirmation and later delivery updates by email. Customers who checked out with only a phone number get the order confirmation by SMS, but Shopify does not send order and shipping updates by SMS. Edit the wording, or switch individual messages off, in Settings > Notifications > Customer notifications. Keep the tracking link in the shipping confirmation; it is the shortest route from the inbox to the order status page.
The Shop app. Orders from your store sync automatically to the customer’s Shop account, where they get status updates, push notifications at shipping milestones, a live map and an estimated delivery date. For eligible shipments the date is updated after checkout, and when Shop’s estimate differs from the carrier’s it is labeled Predicted by Shop. You can add a Track with Shop link to the mobile order status page: Sales channels > Shop > Settings, then in Track with Shop click Manage in checkout settings.
Supported and other carriers
Labels bought in your admin always include tracking; which carriers you can buy from depends on your default shipping location. For carriers outside Shopify, Shopify recognizes tracking numbers from hundreds of carriers, including DHL, UPS, FedEx, Canada Post, Australia Post and Evri, and generates a clickable link for the customer. The full list is in the supported tracking companies list of Shopify’s API documentation.
Watch for services that have no tracking at all. Shopify’s Help Center names USPS First Class Mail and several Canada Post services (Small Packet USA Air, International Parcel Surface and Air, Small Packet International Air and Surface). A parcel sent that way cannot be tracked by anyone, so if “where is my order” emails cost you time, pay for a tracked service.
Orders shipped without a tracking number
If you fulfill without a number, no carrier updates ever arrive, and the order never reaches Delivered on its own. Shopify’s two Help Center pages describe the stuck status differently (one says On its way, the other Confirmed), but the fix is the same: when you know the customer received the parcel, open the order and mark it as delivered.
When tracking does not update
Shopify’s troubleshooting notes list these common causes of stalled tracking:
- Wrong or blank carrier. The number matched another carrier’s format. Select the right carrier or use Other with the URL.
- The carrier has not scanned the parcel yet. The order status page keeps Confirmed until the carrier reports it in transit.
- Reused tracking numbers. In peak season USPS and Canada Post have reused numbers, so the page can show an older shipment’s events until your label is scanned. Old events that stay after the scan live in the carrier’s system; contact the carrier.
- USPS number looks longer in Shopify than on the label. That is expected: the admin shows the full tracking number and the label prints the package code. Both track the same parcel.
- Link opens the carrier’s home page. Carriers that create a new session per visit cannot deep-link to a shipment, so the customer must paste the number. FedEx-style links that contain the number open the shipment directly.
- Right city, wrong country (Edmonton, Australia instead of Canada). The carrier reported only a city name; it usually corrects itself at the next scan, and Shopify Support can help if it does not.
The shipping and returns hub has the rest of the delivery setup.
FAQ
How do customers track a Shopify order? Customers click the tracking link in their shipping confirmation email, sign in to their customer account, or enter their order number on the order status page. Orders also appear in the Shop app with status updates and a delivery estimate.
Can I add tracking after I fulfilled the order? Shopify lets you enter the tracking number during or after fulfillment, and then uses it for the order status page and shipping updates.
Do I need a tracking app on Shopify? For basic tracking you do not: Shopify’s order status page, shipping emails and the Shop app cover it. Tracking apps add things like branded tracking pages or proactive delay emails, which are worth paying for only when “where is my order” messages take real time.