Apology for delay email templates for online shops
Send this before customers start asking. When a supplier is late, stock is stuck at port or a busy launch has swamped your packing, a single honest email to the affected orders saves you dozens of individual "where is it?" replies.
Template
Subject: Your order {order_number} is running late, sorry
Subject: Important update on order {order_number}
Subject: Order {order_number} delayed
- {first_name}
- The customer's first name. Hobson fills this from the conversation.
- {order_number}
- The Shopify order number. Hobson fills this from the matched order.
- {delay_reason}
- One honest sentence on what went wrong, such as "Our supplier delivered the linen range a week late".
- {affected_dates}
- The order date range affected, such as 3 and 9 November.
- {new_dispatch_date}
- The date the orders will now leave your warehouse.
- {new_delivery_date}
- The expected delivery date based on the new dispatch date.
- {discount_amount}
- The goodwill discount, such as 10% or £5.
- {discount_code}
- The discount code you created in Shopify for this apology.
- {agent_first_name}
- The first name of the teammate sending the email. Hobson fills this.
- {workspace}
- Your shop name. Hobson fills this.
When to use it
- You know a group of orders will dispatch later than promised.
- A pre-order or launch date has slipped.
- A carrier strike, bad weather or a warehouse problem has held up dispatch.
If one customer is chasing a single late parcel, use the delayed order template. Delayed order
UK consumer law
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods must arrive within the agreed time, or within 30 days if none was agreed, and a customer facing a long delay can end up entitled to cancel for a refund. Offering cancellation up front avoids that argument. If the customer cancels before dispatch, refund them within 14 days. This is a general guide, not legal advice.
How to use it
- 1
List the affected orders
In Shopify, filter unfulfilled orders by date range or product so you only email the customers who are actually affected.
- 2
Create the discount code
If you are offering one, set up the code in Shopify first and check it works on the products these customers usually buy.
- 3
Fill in the dates
Give a dispatch date you are confident in. A later date you hit beats an earlier one you miss.
- 4
Watch the replies
Tag replies to this email so cancellation requests are handled quickly and nobody waits days for a refund.
Common mistakes
- Waiting until customers start chasing. The same email sent a week earlier reads as honest, not defensive.
- Writing "a slight delay" with no date. Customers want a day, not an adjective.
- Sending it to every customer instead of only the affected orders.
- Offering a discount code that excludes sale items without saying so.
What they usually ask next
Can I cancel instead? Cancel an order
Related templates
All orders and delivery templates- Delayed orderReply templates for when an order has missed its delivery date: say sorry, explain where the parcel is, give a new estimate and say what happens if it is late again.
- Cancel an orderReply templates for cancellation requests: confirm the cancellation and refund before dispatch, with refund timings and UK cancellation rights explained clearly.
- Where is my order?Copy-ready replies for "where is my order" emails and chats: tracking link, carrier, expected date and what happens next. Friendly, formal and brief versions.