Top Narvar Alternatives for 2023: 6 Post-Purchase Software to Consider

In today’s ecommerce landscape, providing a seamless post-purchase experience is critical for building customer loyalty and driving repeat business.

One popular tool for achieving this is Narvar, which offers a range of features to help businesses manage their customer communications and delivery tracking.

Narvar is a solid platform that can help brands manage post-purchase communications and order tracking. However, it may not be the best fit for every business, whether due to budget constraints or specific needs that aren’t fully met by Narvar’s offerings.

This article will explore the top Narvar alternatives that ecommerce brands should consider. It’ll shed light on Narvar’s pros and cons, plus offer insights into competitor offerings and differentiators.

Let’s take a look.

Narvar overview

Narvar is a post-purchase software solution designed to help e-commerce businesses manage and optimize their customer communications and delivery tracking. The platform offers a range of features, and Narvar highlights the following key offerings on its website:

• Narvar Concierge, which enables your customers to receive and drop off orders in physical locations
• Narvar Shipping, for facilitating shipping-related communications and providing delivery estimates to customers
• Narvar Track, which enables you to detailing where orders are
• Narvar Notify, which covers Narvar’s order notifications—including email and SMS
• Narvar Returns and Exchange, for managing product returns
• Narvar Monitor, which surfaces data analytics on fulfillment and logistics so that you can gain insights into carrier performance and areas for improvement

Narvar pricing vs competitors: Where is the value?

Narvar pros

One thing that Narvar has going for it is its robust and comprehensive post-purchase offerings. The solution can facilitate every aspect of the post-purchase journey, including , package tracking, customer communications, and returns. Here’s a summary of the platform’s top advantages.

• Allows brands to facilitate the entire journey, from order shipments and tracking to returns
• Has a broad partner network that lets shoppers receive and drop off packages across 200,000 locations
• Caters to multiple industries, including retail, DTC, direct sales, and healthcare
• There’s the Narvar API, which helps you extend the capabilities of the platform

Narvar cons

Narvar has some shortcomings that may make it a poor fit for certain brands. Here are some of the main issues users have with the platform.

• Implementation time can take up to 6 months
• Customer communications, such as order notification emails, aren’t white labeled and contain “Powered by Narvar” at the bottom
• Emails are sent from Narvar’s domain instead of the brand’s own URL
• Order tracking pages aren’t white labeled and contain “Powered by Narvar” at the bottom
• Order tracking pages are hosted on Narvar’s domain
• Some reports of poor customer service
• Some reports of poor data quality that lead to delayed shipment status update

Best Narvar Alternatives and Competitors

Now that we’ve covered Narvar’s key offerings and the solution’s pros and cons, let’s consider some of the top Narvar competitors and alternatives.

1. parcelLab (our top choice)

Narvar vs parcelLab overview

Not to toot our own horn, but parcelLab’s strong features, combined with our high-touch and supportive team make our solution a strong contender against Narvar.

parcelLab is the only truly global enterprise post-purchase software provider, enabling brands to increase top-line revenue, decrease operational costs and complexity, and optimize the customer experience. parcelLab’s key capabilities include:

• Post-purchase communications to keep shoppers in the loop on where their orders are
• that are 100% white labeled and fully customizable
• to facilitate the returns process
• Customer service hub, so you can empower agents with the info they need to support shoppers
• Delivery date promise, which enables you to show delivery estimates on product checkout pages
• parcelLab Platform, so you can analyze and compare carrier performance and gain insights into order logistics

Trusted by over 700 brands, including IKEA, Chico’s, H&M, and Yeti, we actively manage the post-purchase experience across 175 countries and track shipping data from more than 350 carriers worldwide.

parcelLab pricing

parcelLab’s pricing depends on the capabilities you require and the number of shipments and users on the platform. To simplify the pricing process, we offer bundles with a predetermined set of offerings:

Convert

• parcelLab Promise

Engage

• parcelLab Track & Communicate
• parcelLab Service
• parcelLab Campaign Manager

Retain

• parcelLab Returns

Platform

• parcelLab Insights
• parcelLab Connect
• parcelLab Security

parcelLab pros

One of parcelLab’s key differentiators against Narvar is our ability to provide highly customizable post-purchase assets. Your emails and order tracking hub are entirely white labeled, so you have more control over their look and feel.

What’s more, parcelLab’s implementation process is typically smoother than Narvar’s. Here’s a quick summary of parcelLab’s key advantages:

• Implementation time takes 30 days or less, with minimal effort on the brand’s side
• Customer communications, such as order notification emails, are fully white labeled
• Emails are sent from your domain
• Order tracking pages are fully white labeled
• Order tracking pages are hosted on your domain
• Proactive customer support and account management; developer resources are also available

parcelLab cons

As a premium post-purchase platform, parcelLab is a better fit for large and enterprise brands. Further, our pricing packages are customized based on your needs, so we aren’t able to display pricing on public-facing assets.

• Pricing not readily available
• Not a good fit for small businesses

2. AfterShip

Narvar vs AfterShip overview

is a comprehensive platform designed to assist businesses with post-purchase procedures and customer communication management. Its key capabilities include the following:

• Shipment tracking software, which pulls order information from carrier websites
• Estimated delivery prediction solutions for anticipating when orders will arrive
• Shipping protection software for managing claims regarding lost orders
• Carbon footprint accounting software to get CO2 emissions data and improve sustainability
• Returns management software for facilitating the returns process
• Order email parser software that uses AI to personalize customer comms
• Multi-carrier shipping so you can manage fulfillment across different carriers

While headquartered in Singapore, AfterShip has a presence in Austin, Toronto, Barcelona, India, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.

AfterShip pricing

AfterShip has four pricing tiers, including:

• Essentials – starting at $11 per month for 100 shipments
  • Includes features like a customizable tracking page, email notifications, and SMS notifications (for an added fee)
• Pro – starting at $119 per month for 2,000 shipments
  • Includes everything in the Essential plan, plus tracking API and webhooks, customer surveys, product recommendations widgets, etc.
• Premium – starting at $199 per month for 2,000 shipments
  • Includes everything in the two plans above, plus advanced email triggers, delivery date prediction, and the option to remove AfterShip branding
• Enterprise – a customized plan for 300.000+ labels per year
  • Aftership’s enterprise plan is typically all-inclusive

It’s important to note that the above figures are just starting prices. AfterShip has several add-on fees for users who want to extend the software’s capabilities.

For example, if multiple team members need to use the platform, AfterShip adds a monthly fee of $10 per member. There’s also a 20% to 30% added cost if you want access to premium customer and dev support.

AfterShip pros

The platform empowers users to set up the system independently versus relying on AfterShip’s team. Here’s a summary of the pros of working with AfterShip:

• Complete set of features to facilitate the post-purchase experience end-to-end
• Public pricing makes it easy to estimate your costs (just be mindful of add-ons and extra fees)

AfterShip cons

The platform is managed internally by users, with a team available for onboarding and customer support, intended to assist with integration and general inquiries.

• Tracking pages are customizable to a certain extent, as there are specific parameters to follow
• Shipping data for some carriers is subject to potential delays and discrepancies which may affect its accuracy

3. Malomo

Malomo overview

post-purchase experience platform primarily caters to Shopify brands. Although the company is relatively new to the post-purchase experience industry, it has already made a name for itself, working with reputable companies such as Soylent, Magic Spoon, and Rebag.

Notable features include:

• Branded Shopify tracking pages that make it easy for Shopify users to create order hubs for shoppers
• Headless tracking pages, which offer more flexibility for Shopify users
• Automated and personalized shipping notifications to keep customers informed about where their orders are
• Problem orders (beta), so you can proactively notify shoppers about issues with their orders

Malomo pricing

Malomo’s pricing plans are as follows:

• Maalomo Starter, which starts at $83 per month (paid annually) for 4,000 shipments per month.
• Malomo Plus, which starts at $124 per month (paid annually) and includes 4,000 shipments per month.

Brands that need dedicated support and onboarding services must request custom pricing, which will vary depending on each organization’s needs.

Malomo pros

Malomo is an excellent solution for Shopify users and merchants using solutions the platform integrates with, including Klayvio, Attentive, and Loop. Here’s a brief overview of Malomo’s advantages:

• Emails and white labeled and sent from the brand’s domain
• Order tracking pages are white labeled and are hosted on the brand’s domain
• The self-serve platform makes Malomo ideal for non-enterprise brands with simple workflows

Malomo cons

Malomo’s shortcomings center around its limited returns capabilities and the fact that the platform heavily caters to Shopify brands.

• Not ideal if you aren’t using Shopify
• No native returns capabilities (returns are handled via a third-party integration with Loop)
• Customer support may not be as high-touch as solutions like parcelLab
• No warehouse integration

4. WISMOlabs

Narvar vs WISMOlabs overview

WISMOlabs is a recent entrant in the post-purchase software market, having been established in 2019. The company provides a range of services, including:

• Tracking pages that are customizable based on the look and feel of your brand
• Shipment notifications, so you can keep shoppers informed
• Reporting and analytics for tracking engagement, logistics, carrier performance, and more
• Delivery date and predictions for forecasting when orders will arrive

Although WISMOlabs has plans to offer returns support, it is not currently available, and there is no set launch date for this capability. The company operates exclusively within the United States and is primarily marketed toward small businesses.

WISMOlabs pricing

WISMOlabs does not publicly disclose its pricing information, though the company emphasizes the flexibility of its pricing model as a benefit to potential customers.

WISMOlabs pros

WISMOlabs’s website is quite general in describing its features and capabilities, but it seems like the platform covers most (not all) aspects of the post-purchase journey.

• The platform offers features to facilitate post-purchase components like order notifications and a tracking page
• Email notifications are customizable, though the depth of these features is unclear
• Order tracking pages are customizable, though the depth of these features is unclear

WISMOlabs cons

There’s not a ton of info on the specific capabilities of WISMOlabs’ software, but here’s a quick summary of what gives us pause:

• Not as established as Narvar or parcelLab
• Unclear if the software offers white labeling capabilities for order notifications and tracking
• Vague on whether or not real-time updates are provided
• Lack of detailed documentation or support articles on its websites

5. Metapack

Metapack overview

Metapack is a technology company that provides e-commerce delivery management software and solutions to retailers, brands, and carriers. Its platform offers a range of products, including:

• Multi-carrier shipping software and API for generating shipping labels and documents
• Delivery options at checkout so you can display cut-off times and estimated delivery dates
• Tracking pages that you can customize with your branding; you can also manage multiple instances of your tracking portals to support regional versions and sub-brands
• E-commerce delivery analytics so you can gather insights into your shipping operations
• Tracking API that you can easily query to monitor any shipment and get “fully sequenced shipment journey data including pre-ship, carrier and returns events”

Metapack pricing

Metapack doesn’t have a public-facing pricing page, and you will have to contact the company to find out your costs.

Metapack pros

Metapack offers solid capabilities and good developer tools for creating branded post-purchase experiences. Let’s look at some of the platform’s advantages.

• Several features facilitate the post-purchase journey, including label printing, order notifications, tracking pages, and more
• It seems to have a good API for developers who want to integrate and build solutions on the Metapack platform
• Ability to display delivery options such as “order by” and delivery estimates right on the checkout page

Metapack cons

No company is perfect, and like other platforms, there are some downsides to using Metapack. Reviewers on G2.com report the following issues:

• Difficulties finding the right team members to offer support
• Lengthy onboarding, particularly for brands with unique requirements
• The core focus & business is in physical shipping, the post-purchase experience has no focus
• Post-purchase experience functionalities are very limited

Wrapping up on Narvar alternatives

In a nutshell: Narvar is a good solution that covers all your post-purchase needs. However, its lack of white label capabilities, along with lengthy implementation and lackluster customer support, gives us pause. Depending on your needs, it’s a good idea to look into Narvar’s competitors to truly determine which post-purchase solution to use.

Written by

parcelLab

The whole parcelLab Crew

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