2. Delivery Options: Send Now, Send Later, On Delivery, On Fulfillment
How the four delivery timing options work, what triggers each one, the tracking fallback, and how to turn off an option you don't want to offer.
Written By Giftnote Team
Last updated About 1 hour ago
Giftnote gives your customers up to four choices for when their gift message reaches the recipient. Understanding how each option works, and what triggers it behind the scenes, helps you choose the right options for your store and answer customer questions with confidence.
Why this matters
The timing of a gift message directly affects the recipient's experience. A message that arrives at the exact moment the package lands on the doorstep creates a "surprise and delight" moment that drives opens, clicks and conversions. A message that arrives too early can spoil the surprise. Choosing the right delivery options for your products means happier gifters, impressed recipients and fewer support requests.
How each option works
When a customer adds a gift message through the widget, they choose one of the delivery timing options you have turned on:
Every option delivers the gift message by email, SMS, or both, depending on what the customer entered in the widget. SMS is included on the Core and Professional plans.
Choose which options your customers see
- Open the Giftnote app and go to Settings → Gift Orders → Advanced.
- Find the Delivery Methods card. It lists Send Now, Send Later, On Delivery and On Fulfillment, each with its own switch.
- Turn off any method you don't want to offer. For example, turn off Send Now so customers can only choose Send Later or On Delivery.
You can also hide On Delivery for one widget design only. Go to Settings → Gift Orders → Widgets, open the design, and turn on Hide 'On Delivery' option in the Display card. The same card sets the Default delivery method the widget opens with, so check it matches the methods you've left on.
Send Now — message fires shortly after purchase
When your customer selects Send Now, the gift message is sent to the recipient 15 minutes after the order is placed — before the item ships, before it's even packed.
What the gifter sees: A confirmation email that the gift message has been sent.
What the recipient sees: An email and/or SMS with the gift message, arriving about 15 minutes after purchase.
Best for: Digital products, gift cards, or situations where the gifter wants the recipient to know a gift is on the way.
Send Now can't be recalled once it fires. Giftnote holds Send Now gifts for 15 minutes after checkout. In that time a cancelled or fraud-flagged order stops before anything is sent, and a typo can still be fixed. The 15 minutes is set by Giftnote and can't be changed in your settings. Once the message has gone out it cannot be unsent. If a customer contacts you saying they entered the wrong email, open the order in the Giftnote app and select Edit on the Gift Message card to correct the email. Saving an edit doesn't send the message again. Wait for the order page to finish loading, check the Timeline to see what has already been sent, then resend the Gift Order - Gift Message Delivered notification if the recipient still needs it. The original send cannot be undone.
Send Later — message fires on a date the gifter chooses
When your customer selects Send Later, they pick a specific future date — a birthday, anniversary, holiday, or any date they choose. Giftnote holds the message and delivers it on that date.
What the gifter sees: A confirmation email showing the scheduled date and the recipient's details.
What the recipient sees: Nothing until the scheduled date, when they receive the gift message by email and/or SMS.
Best for: Birthday gifts, holiday pre-orders, or any time the gifter is purchasing well ahead of the occasion.
Key details:
- You can edit a scheduled message before it sends. Open the order in the Giftnote app and select Edit on the Gift Message card to change the message text or the recipient's email or phone. You can also change the delivery method and the scheduled time.
- Stopping a scheduled message. Open the order and select Archive. Archiving hides the gift order from your active list and stops any further gift processing, so the message won't send. It can't be undone. To cancel the order itself, cancel it in Shopify.
On Delivery — message fires when the carrier marks the parcel as delivered
This is Giftnote's signature feature and the option we recommend for physical products. When your customer selects On Delivery, the gift message is held until the carrier confirms the package has been delivered. The recipient gets the message at the moment they receive the physical gift.
What the gifter sees: A confirmation email when the order is placed, and a second notification when the gift message is successfully delivered to the recipient.
What the recipient sees: Nothing until the package arrives. Then, when the carrier scans the parcel as delivered, an email and/or SMS with the personalised gift message.
Best for: Physical products where the surprise matters. This is the option that creates the strongest recipient experience and the highest engagement rates.
How it works behind the scenes:
- Your customer places the order and selects On Delivery.
- You (or your warehouse) fulfil the order in Shopify with a tracking number.
- Giftnote detects the carrier from the tracking number and monitors its delivery status. There is nothing to map or configure.
- When the carrier marks the parcel as delivered, Giftnote fires the message.
Giftnote automatically recognises roughly 700 carriers, including Australia Post, FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL, Royal Mail and DPD.
On Delivery requires a valid tracking number. If an order is fulfilled without a tracking number, or the carrier isn't recognised, Giftnote cannot detect delivery. In these cases a fallback notification is sent to the recipient after 10–12 days, and the order's Timeline shows a Tracking Fallback event. To avoid this, make sure your fulfilment workflow always includes a tracking number. If a tracking number was missed, add it to the order's fulfillment in Shopify. Giftnote picks up changes from Shopify straight away.
On Fulfillment — message fires when the order ships
On Fulfillment sends the gift message as soon as the order is fulfilled (shipped) in Shopify, without waiting for delivery confirmation. It fires earlier than On Delivery.
Best for: Perishables, alcohol or frozen goods where recipients should be told at shipment, and stores whose carrier or courier never reports a delivery scan.
Turn it on or off in Settings → Gift Orders → Advanced → Delivery Methods.
What about gift cards?
The gift card widget only offers Send Now and Send Later — there is no On Delivery option for gift cards. This is by design: gift cards are digital, so there's no physical package to track. The recipient gets their gift card code by email and/or SMS based on whichever timing option the gifter selects.
Send Now gift cards also wait 15 minutes, counted from when payment is received. If your store uses a fraud-detection app that holds payment until the buyer is approved, the 15 minutes starts after that approval.
Key things to know
- On Delivery is the option we recommend for physical products. It creates the strongest recipient experience and is what sets Giftnote apart from other gifting apps. About 75% of gift messages come through checkout, and On Delivery is the most popular choice among gifters.
- If your carrier never reports a delivery, On Delivery messages can wait for the fallback. Some local same-day couriers and certain networks — including Shopify Fulfillment Network — may not report a delivered status. If you use one of these, mark the order as Delivered manually in Shopify, which triggers the gift message, or offer On Fulfillment instead. If you're unsure whether your carrier reports deliveries, chat with us using the chat button in the help centre or in the app, or email support@giftnote.com.
- Some tracked orders hit errors (missing carrier or an unrecognised tracking number). For these orders the fallback notification fires after 10–12 days. If an order shows warnings in the Health column of your Gift Orders list, check its tracking number and add or correct it on the order's fulfillment in Shopify, or chat with us.
- Customers sometimes choose Send Now when they meant Send Later. If this happens often on your store, turn Send Now off in Delivery Methods.
- The gift message character limit is 210 characters across all delivery options.
Frequently asked questions
Can I hide the "On Delivery" gift message option?
Yes. Every delivery method has its own switch. To remove On Delivery everywhere, go to Settings → Gift Orders → Advanced and turn off On Delivery in the Delivery Methods card. Customers can still choose any method you leave on. To hide it on one widget design only, go to Settings → Gift Orders → Widgets, open the design and turn on Hide 'On Delivery' option in the Display card, then check the Default delivery method in the same card isn't On Delivery. If you're hiding On Delivery because your carrier doesn't report deliveries, consider leaving On Fulfillment on, so the gift message goes out when the order ships.
Do I need to set up my shipping carriers?
No. Giftnote detects the carrier from the tracking number on new orders, so there's nothing to configure.