Transactional Notifications: Their Characteristics and When to Use Them (2024)

Introduction

Due to the continually increasing usage of mobile devices, notifications (SMS and push notifications) are an increasingly popular method for communicating with customers. Compared to traditional emails, notifications are more accessible and invaluable for getting across time-sensitive information. They are, thus, well-suited for transactional notifications.

Unlike marketing notifications, which are usually meant to persuade customers to purchase a product orengage with a site in other ways, transactional notifications are related to existing orders (e.g., delivery notices) or to customer-company relations (like updates on service terms).

In preparation for the fifth edition of our Transactional Emails, Confirmation, and Notification report (part of our Ecommerce User Experience report series), we conducted two longitudinal diary studies on transactional emails and notifications with respondents from four countries.

Participants were asked to report the transactional messages they received before and during the study. We collected examples and user feedback on various types of messages, such as:

• Order placement and fulfillment
• Reservation notices
• Account and billing notifications
• Reviews and recommendation notifications

Transactional Notifications vs. Emails: Similarities

Though delivered to users through different channels, good transactional notifications and emails share some characteristics. We first discuss best practices across both formats, including:

• Using a clear subject line to summarize content
• Writing concise and easy-to-process details
• Providing all necessary information

Use a Clear Subject Line to Summarize Content

For transactional emails, a subject line that precisely represents the content of the email can help users quickly determine whether they need to open it. (Sometimes, the subject line is informative enough that users don’t even need to open the email — a phenomenon similar to good abandonment on search-results pages.)

A study participant really liked the subject line of a Walmart delivery-confirmation email. The subject line was Some items have been delivered: CeraVe Hydrating Face Wash,… & 2 more items.

The subject line included several facts that summarized the email content:

• The order was split into two (or several) packages.
• 3 items from the order were delivered.
• One of the delivered items was a face wash.

The participant commented, “It gave me what I needed to know and perfectly explained the content of the email.”

Like the subject lines of transactional emails, the headlines of push notifications are a critical component. These salient headlines, often bolded and occupying the top-most position, should briefly summarize the purpose of the message.

Let’s compare the two following push notifications: a review request from Uber and a reminder to continue shopping by the Wish app. Uber used the headline Rate your trip, stating the purpose of the notification. This notification headline is easy to understand –- the recipient may not even need to read the message to understand it or take action.

On the other hand, Wish used the company name as the headline of its push notification. Since push notifications already include the name of the application that sent the message, repeating it is unnecessary and makes it more challenging to quickly assess the purpose of the message.

Write Concise and Easy-to-Process Details

Because users often receive hundreds of emails and notifications daily, they have little time to spend on them, no matter the format. As a result, they want the message to be to the point and easy to digest. Otherwise, people may just give up reading. A concise message conveys the message that the customers’ time is valued and, thus, helps increasetrust in your brand.

For instance, a respondent in our study praised a reminder email sent by eBay because it was very easy to understand and communicated its purpose well. eBay had detected that the user hadn’t updated her personal information for more than a year, so it sent an email to verify that it was still valid. The tone of the email was very friendly; it clearly explained the issue and how to complete the verification. The participant commented, “It was easy to understand, very straightforward, and simple English. It informed me about my account security, which is very important.”

Similarly, concise notifications with the right amount of information help users to understand why they’re receiving the messages and the available next steps.

A participant in our notification study liked a clear refund notice sent by Amazon via SMS. The purpose of the message (Refund issued) was clearly stated at the beginning of the message, followed by the amount, the item name, and the account to which the credit was issued. Moreover, a direct link to the order page was provided at the end of the message in case she wanted more details.

Provide All Necessary Information

Though being concise is important, users want the message to carry sufficient information about the transaction. Otherwise, they will have to spend extra time hunting for that desired information, incurring unnecessary interaction cost.

Best Buy’s order confirmation message did a good job stating:

• The delivery date and address
• How to modify the delivery address if needed
• Their delivery guidelines

It was also considerate enough to include Text STOP to Unsubscribe at the end of the message, as people may receive the same message from multiple channels (as we discuss at the end of this article).

In contrast, incomplete messages can cause confusion and frustration. The same principle works for both transactional emails and notifications.

A study participant was disappointed by a shipping-delay email sent by Zara. It used only the order number to refer to the order, without listing the items within the order or offering any actionable buttons to track the order’s current status. Even worse, there was no estimate for when the order would be shipped, leaving the participant’s question unanswered.

Another study participant encountered a similar problem with a pickup notification she received via SMS. She had placed two orders from Coco Milk Tea for herself and her roommate, but the message she received mentioned only the 12-digit order number, with no detail about the order content. She realized it was her roommate's order only after walking to the store to pick it up.

Transactional Notifications vs. Emails: Differences

Compared to email, push notifications and SMS are more constrained:

• Limited length: Push notifications can only display 50–240 characters.
• Little formatting: SMS notifications are usually text-based, with little formatting. Failing to frontload the key information can cause critical details to be overlooked, as people read only the first several words when scanning a message.
• Easy to ignore: Users read many notifications almost as soon as they arrive. However, lengthy messages often fail to attract attention, due to the high volume of communications that users now manage.

Notifications Must be Concise and Timely

As a result of these constraints, best practices for transactional notifications differ from those for emails in several aspects. First and foremost, transactional notifications need to be more concise than emails. We recommend including only essential information such as the company name, order summary, status change, expected date of receipt, contact information, or links to additional details. More detailed information, such as return policies, can be supplemented by email.

Second, people want notifications to be as timely as possible. Though transactional emails should also be timely, they’re often less urgent. This is because reading an email is an active information-seeking behavior and might be done only occasionally.

For instance, participants in our study believed that receiving automated customer-service messages 30 minutes after they sent an email complaint was okay, but were disappointed that a delivery-notice SMS was sent 30 minutes after their package was delivered.

Use Notifications Only for Urgent Content

The third difference is that people expect to receive notifications (especially SMSs) only for critical and urgent content. Since phone numbers have traditionally been a more private means of contact than emails and app push notifications are more intrusive, it’s important to be judicious when sending SMS and push notifications to customers.

Extraneous, irrelevant, or unexpected notifications, especially when sent through SMS, may lead to frustration or confusion. They should be restricted to information that directly benefits the user rather than the company. Limit their use for promotional content.

These differences make notifications more suitable for time-sensitive services, such as food-delivery services and other services that require appointments, as well as when urgent input from users (e.g., update to payment details, approval for a transaction) is needed.

Moreover, users’ habits and mental models also influence the channel where users want to receive a specific type of content.

For instance, we found that users leverage SMS more for certain features, like sharing products with friends. This activity used to be done mostly via email. However, due to the growth of smartphones and mobile shopping, this interaction has transitioned to SMS and social media.

Cultural Variations in Expectations

The cultural factor also plays a role here. Users from certain regions prefer notifications over emails. For example, phone numbers have long been unique identifiers for Chinese users; as a result, communication between users and businesses has been mostly through text messages. In addition, the heavy use of the WeChat app as a hub for many different interactions made in-app messaging a natural way to communicate with businesses.

In contrast, in Western countries, email addresses were traditionally used as unique identifiers for user accounts with companies; as a result, email has been the traditional method of communication between businesses and their customers.

Thus, if you’re designing communication channels for audiences from multiple countries, use the best communication channel for each of them to convey your messages.

SMS vs. Push Notifications: When to Use Which

Although SMS messages and push notifications are similar, our study participants had different expectations for each. Because SMS notifications are more durable and can include longer text than push notifications, users expect them to be more detailed. Sometimes, they are also used to store information that users may need to refer to later.

Save SMS Notifications for Crucial, Time-Sensitive Information

SMS messages are suitable for the following types of information:

• Details such as item information, delivery time and location
• Information to be used later, such as pickup codes
• Important order-status changes, such as delivery-time change or order cancellation
• Time-sensitive information, such as reservation reminders, account-change notifications
• Occasions that require quick feedback from users, such as requests for confirming a transaction from a credit-card company or two-factor authentication

Push notifications are limited to maximum 240 characters. In contrast, SMS notifications can convey far more information. Thus, if you need to send users more information, such as item details, delivery time and address, you should choose the SMS format.

Push notifications are also more likely to be accidentally deleted or cleared with a single tap. So, if the notification contains information that the user may need to use later, it is best to send it via SMS.

Moreover, if a user has not downloaded a specific application or has chosen to turn off push notifications for that application, they may not receive the notifications set up by the company or organization.

In addition, sending push notifications is connectivity-dependent and, in environments with poor data-signal strength, notifications may struggle to reach mobile phones. Therefore, SMS is a stabler channel for sending important information than push notifications.

Lastly, the SMS format allows users to provide a response quickly and is thus preferable for confirmation inquiries where a timely response is important (e.g., if users need to confirm a transaction or that they will be home for a delivery).

Push Notifications for Nonurgent Information

Push notifications are better for the following scenarios:

• Suggestions that the user returns to the app to revisit certain information, such as changes to terms and conditions or items left in the cart
• Nonurgent status-change messages, such as shipping notifications

Tapping a push notification will lead the user to a page within the app, which makes push notifications particularly suitable for notifications that suggest future actions to the user. For example, a push notification that leads to the shopping cart can be useful when you want to remind the user of the items left in the shopping cart.

In addition, frequent SMS notifications can feel more invasive than push notifications — first, because they require access to the users’ phone numbers (and, thus, people may be easily annoyed by messages that they perceive as unnecessary) and, second, because users will often have alerts associated with them (but not with push notifications). Therefore, push notifications are a better choice for less urgent notifications such as shipping notifications.

Opting Out from Specific Channels

As companies can provide the same transaction information through multiple channels, it should be easy for users to opt out from specific channels if they wish so.

Make the Unsubscribe button easy to locate on transactional emails. For all text messages you send to users, provide an easy way for them to opt out at the end of the message, such as Text STOP to unsubscribe. For app notifications, consider allowing users to customize the frequency of notifications or the types of notifications.

Conclusion

Good transactional notifications and emails share similar traits. Both types of messages need to contain a summary in the subject line or in the headline and be concise yet informative. However, users expect notifications to be more concise than emails and delivered in a timelier manner.

Too many notifications can annoy users, who may then disable all communication with your organization.

Save SMS messages for urgent and crucial information that users need to refer to later or that they need to respond to quickly; use push app notifications for nonurgent communications as some users may block them. If you send users information across multiple channels, allow them to easily opt out from specific channels.

For more information on how to design effective emails and notifications, please check the Transactional Email, Confirmation Messages, and Notifications volume of our recently updated report series Ecommerce User Experience.