Resources
Ecommerce support glossary
The vocabulary that turns up in support tooling, defined without jargon. Useful when onboarding someone new, or when a sales page assumes you already know.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| WISMO | “Where is my order?” The shorthand for order-status questions, usually the largest single ticket category in an ecommerce inbox. |
| DNR | Delivered but not received. The carrier marked a parcel delivered and the customer says it never arrived. Needs an investigation, not an argument about the scan. |
| RTS | Return to sender. A parcel that could not be delivered and is heading back to you, usually from a bad address or a failed attempt. |
| Fulfilment status | Shopify's record of which items are marked fulfilled. It does not prove carrier handover or delivery; check each package and the available carrier events. |
| Delivery status | The carrier's view: label created, in transit, out for delivery, delivered, or an exception. |
| Delivery exception | A carrier flag that something has gone wrong in transit: address problem, failed attempt, damage or a customs hold. |
| Out for delivery | The carrier reports a parcel is on its delivery route. Check the event date and any newer updates; it is not a guarantee of delivery today. |
| In transit | The carrier has recorded movement in its network. Check when the event was recorded; it does not by itself promise a delivery date. |
| Macro | A reusable reply template, usually with variables for the order number, customer name and tracking link. |
| First response time | How long a customer waits for a first human reply. Usually the metric most tied to satisfaction on order questions. |
| Context switching | The cost of leaving one task, doing another and returning. In support it is the hidden cost of opening Shopify for every email. |
| Deterministic reply | A reply selected by fixed rules from available facts. Its wording is predictable, but the merchant must still check the order, policy and draft before sending. |
See these states on your own orders
CaseKit shows the real fulfilment state for the order behind each customer email.