Manage Emails With AfterShip Returns Notifications Center

Overview

AfterShip Returns email notifications are designed to keep your customers informed and communicate important information at every stage of the returns journey. AfterShip Returns lets you trigger automated email notifications for multiple scenarios. This tutorial will give you a tour of how to set up, customize, and trigger automated returns notifications from AfterShip Returns admin.

What you’ll learn

In this tutorial, we will show you:

• Email notifications set up
• Email notifications customization
• Merge tags (custom variables)
• Multilingual notifications set up
• Adjust sender name and email address
• FAQs

Email notifications set up

All the email notifications will be enabled by default. If you’d like to disable any of them, follow the steps below.

1. Go to Customizations in AfterShip Returns admin
2. Click Notifications. AfterShip Returns offers email notifications for 14 return statuses
3. Select the email template you would like to
4. Move the toggle to the right to enable and to the left to disable
5. Edit the trigger settings as per your requirement by selecting Edit > Edit trigger

Email notifications customization

Once email notifications are enabled, you have the complete customization freedom to edit the notification that will be emailed to your customers. To customize, follow the steps below

1. Select the template and click the Edit button displayed alongside the notification toggle button
2. You will land on the notification editor page
3. You can opt for either a Branded or an HTML theme template to customize your email notifications. Expand the downward-facing arrow icon to select the theme from the dropdown

• Under Branded theme template, you can edit the email subject, title, and email body
• Under an HTML theme template, you can edit the email subject and email body

4. Once edits are made, select Save
5. Preview the final version of the email on both desktop and mobile

Merge tags (custom variables)

Merge tags are used in an email template to auto-populate required customer and order information from our database according to the return request. Each email contains a list of available merge tags that can be embedded in the required place within the email subject, title, and body to import unique information. Content for each email varies, so we recommend auditing all the merge tags available with each template and if they are inserted correctly.

For more information on merge tags visit.

Multilingual notifications set up

Configure the language of your email notifications from the upper right-hand corner in the template editor.

1. Click the downward-facing arrow icon and click Add language
2. Select a language and click Create
3. For every language you add, you will need to create a new version of the email in that selected language
4. Each version will be automatically sent to customers whose order language matches it

5. Select a language as default by clicking Set default language. Its corresponding email version will be sent to customers when their order language is not in your version list

Adjust sender name and email address

By default, notification emails are sent by AfterShip Returns standard support email address [email protected]. If you’d like to use your domain to send email notifications, the email sender name and reply-to address can be changed at any time:

1. Go to the Sender info section in Notifications
2. Click the Edit button given alongside the sender name and email address
3. Edit the desired fields

a. Name: this name will be displayed on return emails

b. Email: shows in your customer-facing sections whenever we show a support email link

c. Save the changes

Get a tutorial on how to verify your sender email address here.

FAQs

1. How many types of return email notifications are available?

AfterShip Returns offers 14 different return status notifications that can be enabled or disabled individually based on business requirements.

2. Are email notifications enabled by default?

Yes, all return email notifications are enabled by default. You can disable or re-enable them anytime from the AfterShip Returns admin panel under Customizations > Notifications.

3. Can I customize the content and design of my return emails?

Yes, you can fully customize your return email templates using either:

• Branded Theme: to modify subject lines, titles, and body text.
• HTML Theme: for advanced HTML-based customization.

All edits can be previewed before publishing.

4. What are merge tags and how are they used?

Merge tags are custom placeholders (like {{customer_name}}, {{order_number}}) that automatically pull in customer and order-specific details into your email templates.

They ensure personalized and accurate communication with every return notification.

5. Can I send email notifications in multiple languages?

Yes. For Pro and Enterprise plans, you can add multiple languages in the email template editor. Each language version must be manually translated and customized before it’s sent to customers based on their order language.

6. Why should I verify my sender email domain?

Verifying your sender email domain improves email deliverability, reduces spam risks, and maintains brand trust by showing your own verified domain instead of the default AfterShip sender.

7. Can I disable charge reminder emails?

Charge reminder emails are only available if Instant Exchange is enabled. You can toggle this notification ON or OFF within the Notifications settings.

8. What is the best practice for designing email templates?

AfterShip recommends keeping your email content simple and consistent across devices to ensure proper display on all mail clients. Avoid excessive formatting or large images.

9. Which plans include these email notification features?

• All Plans: Include standard notifications and customization.
• Pro and Enterprise Plans: Include multilingual email setup.

10. Where can I get help if my email notifications are not working?

If your notifications are not sending or showing errors, verify that they’re enabled and correctly configured under Notifications **> Triggers. If issues persist, contact **AfterShip chat support or email [email protected].

For any further questions or help, please contact our chat support team or reach out to us at [email protected].

Updated on: 12/11/2025