Use case
Confirm cash on delivery orders on WhatsApp before you ship
A one-tap WhatsApp check before a COD order ships: what the customer sees, how the automation updates the order, and how to measure whether it pays off.
By Broadchat teamPublished 3 min read
How the flow works
A COD order is placed
Your store creates the order with payment method cash on delivery. Your store or an automation sends the approved cod_order_confirm utility template to the customer's WhatsApp number.
The customer taps a button
The template carries two quick-reply buttons, Confirm order and Cancel order. A chatbot with keyword triggers on those replies picks up whichever one the customer taps.
The order is updated
On Confirm, the chatbot marks the order confirmed and thanks the customer. On Cancel, it marks the order cancelled and asks an optional reason. Both steps tag the contact for reporting.
No reply, one reminder
If there is no reply within a few hours, a reminder goes out while the customer service window is still open. Orders still unconfirmed are left for your team to call or hold, based on your own rule.
Business: Hi Arjun, you placed a cash on delivery order #48219 for ₹1,180 with Rangoli Home. Please confirm it so we can ship it today. If you did not place this order, tap Cancel order. [Confirm order] [Cancel order]
Customer: Confirm order
Business: Thank you, Arjun. Order #48219 is confirmed and will ship today. We will send the tracking link here.
Customer: Can it come after 6 pm?
Business: I have passed your delivery note to our team. Someone will reply here shortly.
The problem this solves
When a customer refuses a cash on delivery parcel, the brand pays to ship it out and to ship it back, and the stock is locked up for days. Many refusals are predictable: an impulse order, a wrong address, a customer who ordered the same item elsewhere. A confirmation step before dispatch gives the customer an easy way to say no while it is still cheap for you.
WhatsApp suits this better than an automated call or SMS because the customer can answer with one tap, ask a question in the same thread, and see the order details in writing. The confirmation is a utility template, because it is about an order the customer has already placed.
Writing the template
Keep it short and factual: who you are, the order number, the amount payable and the two choices. Do not add offers or product suggestions, which would make it a marketing message. The order update template library has a ready version, cod_order_confirm, with sample values for approval.
Building the flow in Broadchat
- Get the template approved under CRM → WhatsApp Templates.
- Send it when a COD order is created: from a chatbot started by the new-order trigger for orders placed in WhatsApp, or from your store system through the REST API for website orders.
- Create a chatbot with Match Keyword triggers for "Confirm order" and "Cancel order".
- In each branch, update the order status, add a tag such as cod-confirmed or cod-cancelled, and send a short reply.
- Add an Assign to Agent step for anything the customer types instead of tapping a button.
What results to expect
The effect depends on your category, average order value and how often orders are impulse buys, so measure your own baseline before you start. Track the four numbers below for at least four weeks. If cancellations at confirmation rise while refusals at the door fall, the flow is doing its job: those were parcels you would have paid to ship and return.
Broadchat modules used
- Message templates
- Chatbot builder with keyword triggers
- Ecommerce orders
- Contact tags and segments
- Shared team inbox
Industries: Ecommerce, D2C brands, Online pharmacies, Furniture and home decor
What to measure
- Confirmation rate: confirmed orders as a share of COD confirmation messages delivered.
- Cancellation rate at confirmation: orders cancelled before shipping instead of at the door.
- Refused-at-delivery rate for confirmed COD orders, compared with the period before you started.
- Time to confirm: how long customers take to reply, to tune the reminder timing.
Sources
- Template components — Meta for Developers, checked 12 October 2026
Broadchat team · Product and partner success team
The people who build and support Broadchat, the white-label WhatsApp Business API platform. We write from what we see while onboarding partners and their clients on the official WhatsApp Cloud API, and we check every article against Meta's current documentation.
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Frequently asked questions
Is a COD confirmation message marketing or utility?
Utility, because it concerns an order the customer already placed. Keep it free of offers so Meta does not re-categorise it.
What if the customer does not reply?
Send one reminder while the 24-hour window is open, then apply your own rule: ship, call or hold. Avoid repeated reminders, which lead to blocks.
Does this work for orders placed on my website?
Yes, if your store system calls the Broadchat API to send the template when a COD order is created. Orders placed inside a WhatsApp chatbot can trigger the flow directly.