Show the full shipping address on the review page beside the order button, ask returning customers to confirm an address saved long ago, and put it at the top of the confirmation email.

A parcel at the wrong door

On Boxing Day morning a customer emails: the gift she ordered never arrived. The tracking says delivered, at the house she moved out of in April.

She did not type that address. The checkout filled it in from her account, and at no point before payment did it show her where the parcel was going.

From her side, the shop sent her order to the wrong house. From the shop's side, it shipped exactly where it was told. Both are right, and the parcel is still at the old door.

Why the checkout never asked

Checkouts for signed-in customers are built to be quick. They fill in the saved address and payment details and skip the screens a new customer sees, to save steps.

Some show the address only in a small summary beside the total, in grey type. Some show it only in the confirmation email, after payment, when it is too late to change.

A step saved for every customer becomes a parcel lost for the ones whose lives changed since they last ordered.

Whose saved address goes stale

Saved addresses age faster than shops assume. The usual cases:

The first is the case a shop selling to younger customers meets most, and the hardest to predict, because the customer last ordered from a place that was right at the time.

Show the address before payment

The review page, the last screen before the order button, should show the full shipping address in ordinary type, under a plain heading saying where the order is going.

Put a change link right beside it. A customer who spots an old address should be able to fix it in one step without losing the cart.

Show the delivery method and expected date next to it. Customers read the three together, and the date often prompts the thought that they will not be at that address.

Ask returning customers to confirm

When a saved address has not been used for some months, show it on its own step and ask the customer to confirm it before going on.

It costs one click, once in a while, and only for the customers whose address is most likely to have changed. Regular customers ordering every few weeks pass straight through.

For gifts, ask early in the checkout whether the order goes to the customer or to someone else, so the saved address is not assumed.

A worked example

A skateboard shop in a university town sells decks, wheels, trucks, shoes and clothing in its store and online, shipping across the country.

In the weeks before Christmas, several parcels went to addresses customers had left. Most belonged to students who had moved since their last order in the spring.

The shop's checkout took signed-in customers straight from the cart to payment. The address appeared only in the confirmation email, which most people read after the parcel had shipped.

The review page now shows the shipping address in large type above the order button, with a change link. Customers whose saved address has not been used in six months confirm it on a separate step.

Confirmation emails put the address at the top, and the shop holds orders for an hour before packing, so a customer who spots a mistake can reply in time.

The checkout is one step longer for a few customers and unchanged for the rest. The address is in front of each customer at the one moment they can still change it.

When the parcel is already on its way

Act the same day. Ask the carrier whether the parcel can be redirected or held at a depot; many carriers can, sometimes for a fee, and usually only at the sender's request.

Tell the customer what you have asked for and when you expect an answer. A parcel caught in transit is far easier to recover than one left on a step.

Keep the tracking number and the original address together in the order notes, since the carrier will ask for both.

When it has already been delivered

Ask the customer whether they know the new residents or the landlord. Many people pass on a parcel when asked, and a polite note from the shop with a prepaid return label makes it easy.

If it cannot be recovered, decide on the replacement. Some shops share the cost when the customer supplied the address; others absorb it, especially at Christmas.

Whatever you choose, write it into the shipping policy, so the next case is decided before anyone is upset.

The address in the confirmation email

Many customers open the confirmation email within minutes of ordering. Put the shipping address near the top, not below the list of items and the legal text.

Add one line asking them to reply at once if the address is wrong, and make sure someone reads those replies before parcels leave.

The counter-case

A shop whose customers mostly check out as guests has the address typed fresh each time, and stale addresses rarely arise.

One that sells mainly to businesses with fixed premises sees fewer moves, and a confirmation step may annoy buyers who reorder every week.

Even there, the address belongs on the review page in plain view. It adds no step, and it catches the cases nobody predicted.

Checking out as a returning customer

  1. Place a test order as a signed-in customer.
  2. Note where the address appears, and when.
  3. Show it in full on the review page.
  4. Add a change link that keeps the cart.
  5. Confirm addresses unused for months.
  6. Lead the confirmation email with the address.
  7. Write the policy for parcels sent to old addresses.

Step one shows the problem in a minute. Most owners have only ever seen their own checkout as a new customer, and never the shortcut their regular customers take.

Why customer accounts and passwords do not simply carry over when a shop changes its software is covered in customer accounts lost when the shop moved platforms.

Frequently asked questions

Why did my customer's parcel go to their old address?

Checkouts for signed-in customers often fill in the saved address and skip showing it, so a customer who moved never sees where the parcel is going.

Where should the shipping address appear?

On the review page, in full and in ordinary type, beside the order button with a change link, and again at the top of the confirmation email.

Will a confirmation step slow down checkout?

Only for customers whose saved address has not been used for months. Regular customers pass straight through, and the step costs one click.

What can I do once the parcel has shipped?

Ask the carrier the same day whether it can be redirected or held at a depot. Many can, sometimes for a fee, usually only at the sender's request.

Who pays when a parcel goes to an old address?

That is the shop's decision, and it belongs in the shipping policy. Some shops share the cost of a second parcel; others absorb it, especially for gifts.

What about gift orders?

Ask early in the checkout whether the order goes to the customer or someone else, so the saved address is not assumed for a gift.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Parcels going to old addresses?

Point us to your online shop, and we will walk through checkout as a returning customer and show where the address disappears.

Start a Conversation