How Gift Message Delivery Timing Works — Send Now, Send Later, and On Delivery

Learn how Giftnote's three delivery timing options work, when each sends the gift message, and how to hide options you don't need.

Written By Giftnote Team

Last updated About 3 hours ago

This article explains the three delivery timing options your customers see in the gift message widget, what each one does, and how to hide options you don't want to offer.

Why this matters

Delivery timing controls when your customer's gift message reaches the recipient. Choosing the right options for your brand directly affects the gifting experience — a "happy birthday" message that arrives two weeks early isn't much of a surprise. About 80% of customers choose the "On Delivery" option, making it the most popular by far.

How it works

When a customer adds a gift message through the widget, they choose one of three delivery timing options:

Option

When the message is sent

Best for

[Send Now](delivery-options-send-now-send-later-on-delivery)

Immediately after the order is placed

Digital gifts, last-minute gifting, brands that want instant delivery

Send Later / Scheduled

On a specific date the customer picks (birthday, holiday, etc.)

Planned gifts, pre-orders, subscription first shipments

On Delivery

When the carrier marks the parcel as delivered

Physical products — the "unboxing moment" experience

All three options deliver the gift message via email, SMS, or both — depending on what the customer entered in the widget.

The "On Delivery" option is Giftnote's primary differentiator. It uses carrier tracking data to fire the message at the exact moment the package arrives, so the recipient gets the surprise timed to the unboxing.

Key things to know

  • Gift cards only show Send Now and Send Later. Since gift cards are digital and don't involve a physical shipment, the "On Delivery" option does not appear on gift card products.

  • "On Delivery" requires a supported carrier. If your carrier isn't integrated, the gift message may not fire. Giftnote supports 1,000+ carriers globally through its tracking infrastructure, but some local same-day couriers and certain carriers (like Shopify Fulfillment Network) may require workarounds. If you're unsure about your carrier, contact support.

  • The gift message character limit is 210 characters across all delivery modes. This is an SMS standard constraint — even if the customer chooses email-only delivery, the limit applies consistently.

  • "On Fulfillment" is a fourth option currently in development. This will fire the message when a tracking number is added to the order (earlier than "On Delivery") and include the tracking link. If you ship perishables, alcohol, or frozen goods and want recipients notified at shipment rather than delivery, ask us about early access.

  • Customers sometimes accidentally choose "Send Now" when they mean "Send Later." Once a "Send Now" message fires, the recipient email cannot be changed. If this is a recurring issue for your customers, you can hide the "Send Now" option (see below).

Hide a delivery timing option you don't want to offer

There is no native toggle to show or hide individual delivery timing options. However, Giftnote can apply a CSS rule that hides any option from the widget — for example, removing "Send Now" so customers can only choose "Send Later" or "On Delivery."

To request this:

  1. Email support@giftnote.com and let us know which delivery timing option you'd like hidden (e.g., "Hide the Send Now option" or "Hide the On Delivery option").

  2. We'll apply the CSS rule to your theme's Giftnote app embed settings.

  3. You'll see the change live within one business day.

If you're comfortable editing CSS yourself, you can add the rule directly in Shopify Admin → Online Store → Themes → Customize → App Embeds → Giftnote Control Panel → CSS field. Contact us for the exact CSS snippet for your store.

⚠️ Important: Custom CSS changes can be overwritten by Giftnote platform updates. If a hidden option reappears after an update, re-apply the CSS or contact us to reapply it. We recommend keeping a record of any custom CSS you've added.

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