When should the thank-you arrive?
A series that starts when the parcel is delivered, with first-use tips and a review ask.
What does this flow do?
Order confirmation and shipping emails come from elsewhere. Bento’s job starts at the door: the thank-you, the first-use tips and the review ask all wait for the parcel.
That one decision, delivery rather than order date, is what makes this flow feel attentive instead of automatic.
When does it start?
When the parcel is delivered. Our own delivery tracker tells Bento the moment a courier confirms it; if tracking never confirms, a fallback starts the series about twelve days after the order.
How does it run, step by step?
- An order is placed; the flow waits for the parcel instead of writing straight away.
- Delivery is confirmed by tracking, or the fallback day arrives first.
- A day later: first-use tips for what they bought, in their medium. If delivery wasn’t confirmed, it also says the parcel should have arrived and to reply if not.
- About a week later, the review ask, on WhatsApp first and email as a fallback.
- A week after that, a note on completing their setup, plus how the discounts work.
- A newer order at any point quietly ends this run; the new order starts its own.
What happens before every send?
Every email in every flow passes the same quiet check first. Is the customer still in this flow? Have they bought since it started? Have we emailed them in the last couple of days? If any answer says wait, the flow waits a day and asks again, rather than piling another email on top.
After the send, the flow marks a short cooldown, so the next flow that wants this person knows to give them a breather.
Want to try the decision yourself?
Order placedDelivered: day 5Fallback: day 12Tracking confirmed delivery on day 5, so the first email goes out that day, while the box is still being opened.
{%- if delivered_day != nil
and delivered_day < fallback_day -%}
day {{ delivered_day }}, tracked
{%- else -%}
day {{ fallback_day }}, fallback
{%- endif -%}
How do you build this on your platform?
These are the events the flow needs, and where each one comes from on your store.
Order placed Works out of the box
Bento’s Shopify app sends purchases with order value and items.
Parcel delivered Needs a relay
Shiprocket and most Indian couriers only mark orders fulfilled in Shopify, so their own delivery webhook goes through a small relay.
Order placed Works out of the box
Bento’s plugin sends $OrderPlaced, but only when an order reaches completed.
Parcel delivered Needs a relay
Your courier’s or Shiprocket’s delivery webhook, through a small relay.
Order placed Works out of the box
Our open-source plugin sends $purchase with items, categories and totals.
Parcel delivered Needs a relay
We run our own tracker that tells Bento when a parcel is delivered.
How does it connect to the other flows?
- A happy review leads to an invitation to share their artwork.
- Second purchase and replenishment wait until this flow is done.
- A cancelled order ends it straight away.
What does one of the emails say?
Your order should be with you now. Here are a few things that help the first time you use watercolour paper.
If anything arrived damaged or not as you expected, just reply. A real person will sort it out.
Kshitij, Art Lounge
An excerpt. The full emails change with each customer’s order and medium.
Questions people ask about this flow?
When should a post-purchase email be sent?
After delivery, not after the order. A “how are you enjoying it?” that arrives before the parcel does is worse than no email. We start the series on the delivery day, with a fallback in case tracking never confirms.
How does Bento know a parcel was delivered?
Bento doesn’t track couriers itself. Our delivery tracker sends Bento an event when a courier confirms delivery. On Shopify, Shiprocket’s webhook can do the same through a small relay.
What if tracking never confirms delivery?
A fallback starts the series about twelve days after the order, and the first email changes its wording: it says the parcel should have arrived, and asks them to reply if it hasn’t.