Shopify fulfilment and delivery status, explained for support
Shopify tracks two different things that both look like "status", and confusing them is the most common cause of a wrong support reply.
Last updated 29 August 2026 · by the CaseKit team
Two statuses, not one
Shopify records fulfilment status and delivery status separately, and they answer different questions:
- Fulfilment status is about you. Have the items been packed and handed over?
- Delivery status is about the carrier. Where is the parcel now?
An order can be fulfilled with no delivery progress at all: the label is printed, the parcel is still on your bench. Telling a customer "it has shipped" on the strength of the fulfilment status alone is exactly how you end up with a second email an hour later.
Fulfilment statuses
| Status | What it means | What to tell the customer |
|---|---|---|
| Unfulfilled | Nothing has been packed or handed to a carrier. | Being prepared. Do not mention tracking, it does not exist yet. |
| Partially fulfilled | Some line items shipped, others have not. | Name which items went and which are still coming. This one causes real confusion if you gloss over it. |
| Fulfilled | All items handed over, or at least labelled. | Shipped — but check delivery status before claiming movement. |
| Scheduled | Fulfilment is queued for a future date. | Give the date it is due to be prepared. |
| On hold | Fulfilment paused, often for stock or a payment check. | Say it is on hold and why, if you can. Silence here generates chargebacks. |
| Restocked / cancelled | Items returned to inventory. | Confirm the cancellation and the refund timing. |
Delivery statuses
| Status | What it means | What to tell the customer |
|---|---|---|
| Label created / confirmed | Carrier notified, parcel not yet scanned. | Shipped, awaiting first carrier scan. Do not promise a delivery date. |
| In transit | Moving through the carrier network. | Share the tracking link. Only give an ETA if the carrier has given one. |
| Out for delivery | On a vehicle for delivery today. | The one status where you can be confidently specific. |
| Attempted delivery | Carrier tried and failed. | Explain what happens next: redelivery, collection point, or a new address. |
| Delivered | Carrier marked it delivered. | Confirm, and give the next step if it is not there. |
| Failure | Carrier could not deliver and has stopped trying. | Usually a return to sender. Get ahead of it and offer a reship or refund. |
The combinations that trip people up
- Fulfilled + no delivery status. Label made, no scan. The parcel might be sitting in your dispatch area. Say "shipped, waiting for the carrier's first scan" rather than "on its way".
- Partially fulfilled + customer asking about one item. Work out which shipment they mean before answering, or you will confirm the wrong parcel.
- Delivered + customer says no. The scan is evidence, not proof. This needs an investigation workflow, not a restatement of the tracking page.
- In transit for eight days with no movement. Technically still "in transit". Practically it is lost, and resending the same tracking link reads as not caring.
The 60-day window
By default, Shopify shares roughly the last 60 days of order data with apps. Orders older than that may not be visible without extended access on your store. If a customer emails about a six-month-old order and your tooling returns nothing, that is usually the reason rather than a missing order.