Are late shipments, unhappy customers, or chaotic orders stressing you out? Managing your BigCommerce order status effectively can solve these problems and make your store more efficient. You can transform challenges into seamless operations by keeping orders organized and customers informed.
Let’s break down the steps to make order fulfillment work like a charm.
Why Proper BigCommerce Order Status Management Matters
According to Forbes, the average online shopping cart abandonment rate is nearly 70%, often due to unexpected costs or complicated checkout processes.
Managing BigCommerce order status is important for a few key reasons:
- Keeps customers informed: Letting customers know what’s happening with their orders builds trust and cuts down on questions. BigCommerce makes it easy for merchants to change order status labels and send automatic updates, so customers always stay in the loop during their shopping journey.
- Reduces fulfillment delays: Managing order statuses properly makes it clear where each order is in the process. This helps teams know what to work on first, avoid delays, and make sure orders are sent out quickly.
- Maintains accurate inventory: When statuses are updated correctly, stock levels change instantly, so you don’t oversell or run out of items. BigCommerce works with inventory systems to make this process easy and keep your stock at the right levels.
In short, when you manage order statuses effectively, your store becomes smoother, faster, and far more reliable, leading to happier customers and fewer operational headaches.
See more: Unlocking the Benefits of BigCommerce Product Custom Fields for Personalized Shopping
Practical Steps for Managing Your BigCommerce Order Status
Now we know managing BigCommerce order status is important, let’s talk about how to do it in your BigCommerce store. These steps will make your store run more smoothly and keep customers happy.
1. Setting Up Custom Order Statuses for Unique Workflows
Updating how you manage order workflows can make your store more efficient and improve customer satisfaction. Let’s look at how to customize BigCommerce order status to match your needs.
BigCommerce allows you to rename order statuses to fit your processes, even though you can’t create entirely new ones. To update them:
- Go to Settings > Order Statuses in your BigCommerce control panel.
- Select the status you want to rename.
- Enter a new label and save it.
For instance, swapping out “Awaiting Fulfillment” for “Processing Order” can help customers and your team instantly understand where an order stands. While the core functionality of each status doesn’t change, choosing clear, descriptive names helps avoid confusion and improves overall efficiency.
2. Streamlining the Updating Process to Save Time
Manually updating order statuses is time-consuming and prone to errors, both of which can slow down your store and frustrate customers.
Fortunately, automation tools like Atom8 from GritGlobal simplify this process.
Atom8 automates status updates based on triggers like completed payments or shipping confirmations. This means fewer mistakes, quicker updates, and less time spent on routine tasks. Customers get real-time notifications, and you can focus on running your business instead of micromanaging orders with this BigCommerce Automation app.
With automation, there’s less room for errors, and customers get updates faster. Adding Atom8 to your BigCommerce store helps you save time and focus on more important tasks while the routine stuff gets done.
3. Tracking and Reviewing Order Status Performance for Continuous Improvement
Setting up workflows is just the first step. To keep your processes efficient and effective, it’s crucial to regularly track performance. With order management automation, you can streamline operations and reduce manual errors, ensuring a seamless flow from order placement to fulfillment. BigCommerce offers built-in tools that enable you to analyze order timelines, identify bottlenecks, and optimize your processes. By leveraging order management automation, you can improve accuracy, save time, and enhance the overall customer experience.
For example, if orders stay in “Awaiting Fulfillment” longer than they should, it might mean you need to adjust your inventory or staffing. Fixing these issues can make everything run more smoothly and keep customers happy.
You can also use analytics apps to get more detailed reports. These tools let you sort and filter orders by status, location, or date, making it easier to find ways to improve. Over time, small adjustments can make a big difference in your store’s performance and customer experience.
Watch more: How To Run A Pre Order Campaign Successfully?
Common Missteps and How to Steer Clear
It’s important to spot common problems once you’ve learned how to manage BigCommerce order status. Fixing these issues helps your store run more smoothly and gives better results.
1. Ignoring Timely Order Status Changes
Shoppers today expect updates at every step. In fact, 52% of consumers say consistent order tracking is a top priority (Forbes). Delays in updating order statuses can make customers anxious and erode their trust.
Operationally, missing updates causes internal confusion too. Inventory might not sync correctly, shipments could be delayed, and customer support teams end up overwhelmed.
Automating real-time updates eliminates these issues. Customers get instant BigCommerce order notifications, teams stay aligned, and trust in your store grows.
2. Providing Unclear Status Descriptions to Customers
Giving customers unclear or confusing order updates can make them frustrated and lose trust in your store.
According to McKinsey & Company, 70% of the customer journey is based on how the customer feels they are being treated. They might feel unsure and unhappy if they can’t tell what’s happening with their orders.
What to do here is to swap unclear terms for descriptive ones that reflect each step of the process.
For example, instead of a vague term like “Processing,” try using clearer ones like “Payment Confirmed,” “Preparing for Shipment,” or “Shipped.”
These labels provide clarity, manage expectations, and build confidence. Adding real-time tracking links and proactive updates (especially during delays) further enhances the experience and keeps shoppers happy.
3. Overlooking Data-Driven Adjustments to Enhance Efficiency
Once you’ve set up workflows and streamlined updates, don’t stop there. Use data to keep improving your processes. Neglecting performance metrics can lead to slowdowns, errors, and missed opportunities.
Metrics like how fast you ship orders, how long processing takes, and how well inventory is managed can show where issues happen. For example, tracking how often you meet order demands helps avoid running out of stock or overstocking.
These insights highlight areas that need tweaking. For instance, frequent delays in shipping might mean reallocating resources or adjusting inventory management. Small, data-backed changes ensure your store stays efficient and responsive to customer needs.
Conclusion
Managing BigCommerce order status well is key to keeping your store running smoothly and your customers happy. By setting up workflows, using tools like Atom8, and making smart decisions with data, you can make the ordering process easy and clear for everyone. Avoid problems like slow updates or confusing order statuses by focusing on clear and accurate communication.Want to take your BigCommerce order management to the next level? Contact us today to find out how we can help make your processes better.
