Gmail Tracking Numbers

February 20th, 2007

I think one of the coolest features of Gmail is its ability to identify tracking numbers in emails and provide me with direct links to track my package. Here’s an example:

Amazon sent me an email with the following text:

If you notice, Amazon wants me to click the link, and login to their page to track my package. They don’t even tell me what shipper is sending it, so the tracking number is pretty useless to me.

Fortunately, Google picked up on it right away. Have a look:

This is just one of the really cool features that makes Gmail my main email client.

As a side note to E-Commerce sites. It’s important to nurture the customer relationship after the sale. Marketing may think it’s a good idea to draw them back to your website, but it’d be much more useful in this case if Amazon provided me with a direct link to track my package instead of forcing me to go through their interface. It may cut down page views, but I’ll be willing to bet it would increase brand loyalty.

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