Why Shopify doesn't do it on its own
Shopify's order emails (confirmation, shipping, pickup) go out at set moments. The everyday messages are different: "your item is delayed", "this is out of stock", "there's a problem with your payment", "can you check your address?". Those are up to you.
The order page has a Contact customer box for one-off messages. You write each one fresh. There's no list of canned responses to choose from, and no way to drop in the customer's name, order number and items for you.
The free way
You can do this today with no app.
- Write your usual replies once and save them somewhere your team can reach: a shared notes file, or saved replies in your email program. Leave blanks like [NAME], [ORDER] and [ITEM].
- In your Shopify admin, go to Orders and open the order.
- In the Contact section, click the customer's email address. This opens the Contact customer box.
- Paste the right reply, then fill in the name, order number and item from the order page.
- Tick the option to send yourself a copy if you want one, then send.
- Leave a comment on the order timeline, like "Sent delay email, 6 Oct", so the rest of the team knows. Comments are only seen by staff.
Some shops also edit the look of the Contact customer email under Settings › Notifications, so every message at least carries their branding.
Where the free way falls short
- Copy, paste, fill in the blanks: every email takes a few minutes, and a wrong name or order number slips through now and then.
- Your replies live outside Shopify. New staff don't know where they are, and old versions hang around.
- If you send from your own email program instead, there's no record on the order at all.
- You have to remember to note what you sent. When a customer says "nobody told me", it's hard to check.
The easier way: RNS Order Email Templates
RNS Order Email Templates lets staff send the shop's usual emails from any order in two clicks, filled in with the order's details.
- Install the app. Four starter templates are ready for the usual cases (item delayed, out of stock and so on). Edit them or add your own.
- On an order, go to More actions › Send email template and pick a template. The name, order number and items fill in. Fill any [blank] that's left.
- Click Send to customer (or Send test to me first). The send shows on the order's "Emails sent from templates" card and on the app's Home, with who sent it and the result.
Test mode is on when you start, so emails go to you until you turn it off in Settings.
Free: 20 emails a month and 5 templates (4 ready + 1 of your own). Pro: $15 a month with a 14-day free trial, for unlimited emails and templates, every language per template and a copy of each email to you.
What it can't do: the "Emails sent from templates" card has to be added and pinned on the order page once by staff before it shows.
Questions
Can I pick a template when I click Contact customer in Shopify?
No. The Contact customer box is for a message you write each time. You can change how that email looks in Settings › Notifications, but you can't pick from saved replies there.
Can I use templates on older orders?
In RNS Order Email Templates, yes, for orders from the last 60 days (Shopify's limit for apps). Orders placed before you installed the app have no View your order button.
Can I check what wording staff send?
Yes. In Settings, you choose whether staff may edit the text before sending. Test mode sends every email to you first.
Sources
- Managing order details (checked 6 Oct 2026)
- Customizing email notification templates (checked 6 Oct 2026)