Blog, Shopify

Track Shopify Orders with Multiple Carriers: Complete Guide

Posted on by Abhishek
track orders on shopify
27
Jul

Every carrier you add to your Shopify store adds a new layer of post-purchase complexity. One customer’s order goes out with FedEx. Another ships via DHL. A third goes through a regional carrier specific to your market. All three customers want to know where their order is, and they expect to find out without having to email your support team. To properly track orders on Shopify across multiple carriers, you need more than a tracking number in a fulfilment email.

In This Article:

Track Orders on Shopify: The State of Shopify’s Native Tracking

Shopify’s built-in order tracking works on a simple principle: you fulfil an order, you enter a tracking number, and Shopify generates a fulfilment notification that includes a carrier tracking link. For single-carrier stores with low order volumes, this is often sufficient.

The problems start when you scale:

  • Shopify’s tracking relies entirely on what the carrier exposes through supported integrations. For carriers outside Shopify’s native list, tracking links may not function correctly.
  • There are no automated follow-up notifications. Shopify sends one fulfilment email. If the shipment status changes, the customer is not proactively updated.
  • There is no centralised shipment dashboard. If you ship with three carriers, you’re monitoring three separate carrier portals.
  • There’s no branded tracking page. Customers clicking a Shopify tracking link are taken to the carrier’s own site, not yours.

These aren’t minor inconveniences; they’re gaps that generate support tickets, undermine customer trust, and limit your ability to catch delivery problems before customers notice. To properly track orders on Shopify, you need infrastructure beyond what Shopify ships with.

Why Multi-Carrier Tracking Is Essential to Track Orders on Shopify

Single-carrier tracking is relatively straightforward: you have one data source, one set of statuses, one notification flow. Multi-carrier tracking is a different challenge. Each carrier uses different status terminology, different tracking number formats, different update frequencies, and different API behaviours.

FedEx, for example, may update shipment status multiple times a day during final delivery. Regional carriers like PostNord or Aramex may update less frequently, especially for cross-border shipments clearing customs.

If you’re sending automated customer notifications based on status changes, you need a layer of logic that normalizes all of this into a consistent experience regardless of which carrier is fulfilling the order.

This is why merchants who track orders on Shopify across multiple carriers can’t rely on a patchwork of individual carrier apps. Each app creates its own silo. The result is fragmented visibility for your team and an inconsistent post-purchase experience for customers. For a comparison of how different multi-carrier Shopify shipping apps handle rates and labels alongside tracking, that guide covers the full landscape.

Track Orders on Shopify: Carrier-Specific Tracking Explained

Different carriers expose tracking data differently, and understanding that shapes how you set up notifications and status pages.

  • Global carriers like FedEx, UPS, DHL, and USPS have robust APIs with frequent updates and predictable status vocabularies. Shopify has native support for several of these, meaning tracking links in fulfilment emails usually work correctly. That said, even for these carriers, Shopify doesn’t send automated follow-up notifications or provide a merchant-level dashboard.
  • Regional and specialty carriers are where gaps become more pronounced. Carriers like PostNord (Nordics), Aramex (Middle East and South Asia), Purolator (Canada), or Australia Post behave differently across international borders, and Shopify’s native tracking often doesn’t surface their status updates reliably. For merchants specifically using USPS, the guide to USPS order tracking in Shopify covers what’s available natively and what requires additional setup.

The Four Things Every Multi-Carrier Tracking Setup Needs

Regardless of which carriers you ship with, a complete setup to track orders on Shopify requires the same four components:

  • Live carrier data sync: The tracking system needs to pull live status updates directly from each carrier’s API, not just store a static tracking number. This ensures customers see current status, not a snapshot from the moment of fulfilment.
  • A branded on-store tracking page: Customers should be able to enter their order number and email on a page within your Shopify store and see live shipment status without being redirected to the carrier’s website. This keeps the post-purchase experience on your domain and reduces the friction of finding order information.
  • Automated milestone notifications: Status-based email notifications triggered automatically at key delivery events (picked up, in transit, out for delivery, delivered, exception) replace the manual follow-up work that eats into operations time. These should send from your own domain and email address.
  • A merchant-facing shipment dashboard: A consolidated view of all active shipments across all carriers filtered by status lets your team proactively spot delays or delivery exceptions before customers raise a ticket. This is the operational half of tracking that most merchants overlook.

How PluginHive Shipment Tracking & Notify Works for Multi-Carrier Shopify Stores

PluginHive Shipment Tracking & Notify addresses all four of the above requirements in a single Shopify app. It integrates with major global carriers including UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL Express, Canada Post, Australia Post, Blue Dart, Delhivery, and a wide range of regional carriers, all managed through one dashboard inside Shopify.

Here’s what the setup looks like in practice:

  • Install the app from the Shopify App Store and connect each carrier account you use. Authenticated account-level connections give the app access to your specific shipment data rather than relying on generic public API lookups.
shipment tracking app landing page
  • No changes to your fulfilment flow are required. You fulfil orders in Shopify as usual, entering the tracking number. The app detects the carrier from the tracking number format and begins syncing status automatically.
track orders in shopify order page
  • Configure notification triggers for each status event you want to communicate. These send from your own SMTP server and email address, keeping your branding intact and your deliverability high.
shopify order tracking email
  • The on-store tracking page is activated through your Shopify navigation settings; customers reach it directly from your store, enter their order number and email, and see live status for any carrier.
track orders on shopify storefront

For merchants who also want to manage label generation and carrier rates from the same place, the PH Multi-Carrier Shipping Label app handles the full pre-shipment workflow alongside tracking.

Reducing WISMO Tickets Through Proactive Tracking

“Where is my order?” (WISMO) is one of the highest-volume support request categories for e-commerce stores, and it’s almost entirely preventable with the right tracking setup. The root cause isn’t carrier delays; it’s information gaps. Customers don’t contact support because their package is late; they contact support because they don’t know what’s happening.

Proactive milestone notifications close that gap. If a customer receives an “out for delivery” notification on the expected delivery date, they’re not emailing support. If they receive a “delivery exception” notification with the reason and next steps, they’re not filing a dispute.

This logic applies across all carriers. Whether you’re managing DHL international shipments or regional carriers like PostNord, the notification structure is the same; only the carrier data source differs. For merchants already using PostNord, this walkthrough on PostNord order tracking in Shopify covers the specific configuration needed.

Building the Right Tracking Experience for Your Store’s Scale

Not every Shopify store has the same tracking requirements. Here’s how to think about what you need based on where your business is:

  • Early-stage stores (under 100 orders/month): Shopify’s default tracking is probably workable. Focus on getting the fulfilment email right and ensure your tracking numbers are entered correctly at every fulfilment.
  • Growing stores (100–500 orders/month): This is where manual gaps start to create real pressure. A dedicated tracking app with automated notifications and a branded tracking page is worth prioritising now.
  • Established multi-carrier operations (500+ orders/month): A centralised dashboard showing all active shipments by status, across all carriers, becomes operationally essential. The cost of a missed delivery exception at this volume is higher than the cost of any tracking app.

Conclusion

The ability to track orders on Shopify properly is not a feature you get for free at any scale. It’s a system you build: live carrier data, branded customer-facing visibility, automated status notifications, and a merchant dashboard that keeps your team in control. The more carriers you add, the more that system matters. PluginHive Shipment Tracking & Notify provides that system in a single Shopify-native app, consolidating every carrier into one consistent post-purchase experience.

FAQs

Q. Does Shopify natively support tracking for all carriers?

No. Shopify has native tracking support for a selection of major carriers but does not automatically surface live status updates or send follow-up notifications for most carrier integrations.

Q. Can I track orders on Shopify from multiple carriers in one place?

Yes, with a multi-carrier tracking app like PluginHive Shipment Tracking & Notify consolidates all carrier tracking data into a single dashboard within Shopify.

Q. Will setting up a branded tracking page reduce support tickets?

Yes. When customers can self-serve their tracking status from a page on your store, WISMO support volume drops significantly because the information gap that drives those tickets is closed.

Abhishek
Abhishek

Passionate about turning complex eCommerce topics into simple, useful content.