AfterShip vs Narvar vs WISMOlabs vs parcelLab

AfterShip vs Narvar vs WISMOlabs vs parcelLab
parcelLab
parcelLab
Published on: May 11, 2023
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One of the most critical factors to ecommerce success lies in ensuring your customers have a smooth and positive shopping experience.

Here's the thing: that experience doesn't end once they click the buy button—in fact, it's only just begun. The post-purchase phase of the customer journey is a make-or-break period where you have the opportunity to foster loyalty, increase brand advocacy, and drive repeat business.

To do that, you need the right tools in your arsenal. That's where post-purchase software comes in.

There are several options on the market, each with its unique features and benefits. In this article, we'll compare four leading post-purchase platforms: AfterShip, Narvar, WISMOlabs, and parcelLab. 

Let's get started.

Narvar overview

Narvar is an ecommerce post-purchase experience platform that enables brands to take control of their customers' "after sale" journey, including order notifications, package tracking, as well as delivery, and returns. Narvar offers everything you'd expect from a post-purchase solution; it has customer communication tools, an order tracking page builder, returns management, and analytics. 

Narvar has offices in ​​San Mateo, CA, the UK, Germany, and India. Brands using the platform include Sonos, Lululemon, and Sephora. 

Learn more by reading our guide on Narvar alternatives

AfterShip overview

AfterShip is a post-purchase solution that provides shipment monitoring, branded tracking pages, return portals, and shipping management tools like label generation and rate calculators. 

Brands like TOMS, Gymshark, and Aesop use the platform. The company has offices in several locations, including Singapore, Austin, Toronto, Barcelona, India, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.

WISMOlabs overview

Founded in 2019, WISMOlabs provides post-purchase software for order tracking, delivery date predictions, customer communication, and data analytics. 

That being said, the platform has yet to support returns, and it currently only operates in the United States, targeting small businesses. Some of its customers are Monoprice, Tecovas, Capezio, and Perdue.

parcelLab overview

parcelLab's award-winning platform empowers brands to optimize every stage of the post-purchase journey with features like white labeled customer comms and brand portals, logistics reporting, and returns management.

parcelLab tracks shipping data from over 350 carriers and helps brands transform mundane touchpoints into unique and personalized moments of joy for consumers.

Used by hundreds of brands worldwide, some of parcelLab's noteworthy customers include IKEA, Chico's, H&M, and Yeti. 


Narvar vs AfterShip

Narvar

AfterShip

Onboarding

High-touch; some users say the process can take up to 6 months

Self-service; the time it takes to get started depends on how long you set up the software

Customer communications

Not white labeled; mentions “Powered by Narvar” at the bottom of each email; emails are sent from Narvar's domain

Customizable to a certain extent, though there are specific parameters to follow; emails are sent from AfterShip’s domain (though there may be an option to white label this)

Order tracking hubs

Not white labeled; mentions “Powered by Narvar” at the bottom of each page; the page is hosted on Narvar's domain

Customizable to a certain extent, though there are specific parameters to follow; pages are hosted on AfterShip’s domain (though there may be an option to remove this) 

Carrier integrations

Integrations with 300+ carriers

Supports 1,000+ carriers, but most of them not through a direct integration; shipping data is scraped 

Returns management

Returns portal is hosted on the brand’s domain

Pages seem to be hosted on AfterShip’s domain

Customer support

Customer success team, online support hub, system status page

Customer success team, online support hub, system status page

Pricing

No public-facing pricing info

Has 4 pricing tiers with the following starting monthly prices: Essentials ($11); Pro ($119); Premium ($239). Additional features come with extra fees

Although Narvar and AfterShip offer similar capabilities (i.e., order notifications, branded tracking pages, returns management, etc.), a key difference between them is the former focuses on larger enterprises, while the latter is suited for small to mid-sized merchants. 

Take, for instance, onboarding. While Narvar’s process is more high-touch and collaborative, AfterShip has a self-service onboarding procedure that encourages users to set up the software independently. 

As such, Narvar may be a better option if you have an ecommerce infrastructure or complex workflows that need to be established properly. On the other hand, if your order fulfillment procedures are easy and straightforward, then AfterShip may be a better choice. 

Narvar and AfterShip both offer customization capabilities to tailor assets like customer emails and branded order tracking pages. AfterShip also allows you to white label these assets for an additional cost. 

The two solutions have similar customer support offerings, including customer success teams and an online knowledge base. In terms of pricing, Narvar doesn’t have any public-facing pricing information. AfterShip has its pricing packages listed on its website. However, it’s worth noting that AfterShip charges extra fees if you want to expand its feature sets.


parcelLab vs AfterShip

parcelLab

AfterShip

Onboarding

High-touch and collaborative; onboarding takes 2 weeks to 30 days max

Self-service; the time it takes to get started depends on how long you set up the software

Customer communications

Flexible, fully customizable, and 100% white labeled; emails are sent from the brand's domain

Customizable to a certain extent, though there are specific parameters to follow; emails are sent from AfterShip’s domain (though there may be an option to white label this)

Order tracking hubs

Flexible, fully customizable, and 100% white labeled; pages are hosted on the brand's domain

Customizable to a certain extent, though there are specific parameters to follow; pages are hosted on AfterShip’s domain (though there may be an option to remove this) 

Carrier integrations

Direct API and easy integrations with 350+ carriers; shipping data is NOT scraped

Supports 1,000+ carriers, but most of them not through a direct integration; shipping data is scraped 

Returns management

Flexible, fully customizable, and 100% white labeled; pages are hosted on the brand's domain

Pages seem to be hosted on AfterShip’s domain

Customer support

Customer success team, online support hub, system status page

Customer success team, online support hub, system status page

Pricing

Bundled pricing with customizable offerings

Has 4 pricing tiers with the following starting monthly prices: Essentials ($11); Pro ($119); Premium ($239). Additional features come with extra fees

Similar to the Narvar vs AfterShip comparison, parcelLab and AfterShip cater to different business needs. 

parcelLab offers high-touch support plus advanced and highly customizable tools for large and enterprise brands prioritizing a personalized experience. Meanwhile, AfterShip is more affordable and self-serve, making it a better fit for smaller brands with basic workflows.

Regarding pricing, parcelLab offers bundles with a set number of offerings. These are:

Convert 

  • parcelLab Promise

Engage 

  • parcelLab Track & Communicate

  • parcelLab Service

  • parcelLab Campaign Manager

Retain

  • parcelLab Returns

Platform

  • parcelLab Insights

  • parcelLab Connect

  • parcelLab Security

As mentioned above, AfterShip uses a tier-based pricing model with three different plans. Just remember that additional costs will apply if you want to add team members or features to your AfterShip account. 

Want to learn more? Dive deeper into the differences between AfterShip vs parcelLab.


parcelLab vs Narvar

parcelLab

Narvar

Onboarding

High-touch and collaborative; onboarding takes 2 weeks to 30 days max

High-touch; some users say the process can take up to 6 months

Customer communications

Flexible, fully customizable, and 100% white labeled; emails are sent from the brand's domain

Not white labeled; mentions “Powered by Narvar” at the bottom of each email; emails are sent from Narvar's domain

Order tracking hubs

Flexible, fully customizable, and 100% white labeled; pages are hosted on the brand's domain

Not white labeled; mentions “Powered by Narvar” at the bottom of each page; the page is hosted on Narvar's domain

Carrier integrations

Direct API and easy integrations with 350+ carriers; shipping data is NOT scraped

Integrations with 300+ carriers

Returns management

Flexible, fully customizable, and 100% white labeled; pages are hosted on the brand's domain

Returns portal is hosted on the brand’s domain

Customer support

Customer success team, online support hub, system status page

Customer success team, online support hub, system status page

Pricing

Bundled pricing with customizable offerings

No public-facing pricing info

parcelLab and Narvar have several similarities. For one, both post-purchase platforms are built with enterprises in mind. The two solutions also offer similar capabilities around customer communications, order portals, self-service returns, analytics, and more. 

That said, parcelLab has a speedier onboarding process, with most clients getting up and running in just a few weeks. Meanwhile, some merchants have reported a more lengthy onboarding procedure with Narvar (sometimes taking up to 6 months). 

parcelLab also has a leg up when it comes to customization. While both programs enable brands to tailor the look and feel of their order portals and customer emails, only parcelLab has a fully white labeled solution.

Further reading: Narvar vs parcelLab: Which is Right For You?


AfterShip vs WISMOlabs

WISMOlabs

AfterShip

Onboarding

Not enough data, though its website suggests a high-touch and collaborative process

Self-service; the time it takes to get started depends on how long you set up the software

Customer communications

Branded and customizable communications; unclear on whether or not customer comms are white labeled

Customizable to a certain extent, though there are specific parameters to follow; emails are sent from AfterShip’s domain (though there may be an option to white label this)

Order tracking hubs

Branded and customizable pages; no mention of white-labeled solutions on its website

Customizable to a certain extent, though there are specific parameters to follow; pages are hosted on AfterShip’s domain (though there may be an option to remove this) 

Carrier integrations

Integration with 200+ carriers

Supports 1,000+ carriers, but most of them not through a direct integration; shipping data is scraped 

Returns management

No specific info on its website

Pages seem to be hosted on AfterShip’s domain

Customer support

No specific info on its website

Customer success team, online support hub, system status page

Pricing

Starts at $99 per month

Has 4 pricing tiers with the following starting monthly prices: Essentials ($11); Pro ($119); Premium ($239). Additional features come with extra fees

AfterShip and WISMOlabs are similar in that they both cater to small to mid-sized ecommerce businesses. That said, WISMOlabs doesn't have detailed documentation on its website, so it's challenging to dig into its capabilities. 

But here's what we know: like AfterShip, WISMOlabs' platform comes with branded tracking pages, customer notifications, analytics, and post-purchase marketing

WISMOlabs’ pricing starts at $99 per month; according to its website, the solution “has a robust list of features that also includes a personalized marketing engine, a uniquely valuable feature that other post-purchase platforms do not offer.”

You can view AfterShip’s pricing in the sections above.  


Narvar vs WISMOlabs

WISMOlabs

Narvar

Onboarding

Not enough data, though its website suggests a high-touch and collaborative process

High-touch; some users say the process can take up to 6 months

Customer communications

Branded and customizable communications; unclear on whether or not customer comms are white labeled

Not white labeled; mentions “Powered by Narvar” at the bottom of each email; emails are sent from Narvar's domain

Order tracking hubs

Branded and customizable pages; no mention of white labeled solutions on its website

Not white labeled; mentions “Powered by Narvar” at the bottom of each page; the page is hosted on Narvar's domain

Carrier integrations

Integration with 200+ carriers

Integrations with 300+ carriers

Returns management

No specific info on its website

Returns portal is hosted on the brand’s domain

Customer support

No specific info on its website

Customer success team, online support hub, system status page

Pricing

Starts at $99 per month

No public-facing pricing info

Narvar and WISMOlabs differ in their target market, with Narvar catering to larger brands and WISMOlabs focusing on smaller online businesses. 

Narvar also has a deeper and more advanced feature set. For instance, Narvar enables brands to set up pickup and drop off points across 200,00+ locations; meanwhile, WISMOlabs doesn’t provide much detail into its offline post-purchase capabilities. Narvar also has built-in returns capabilities, while WISMOlabs has no information on returns listed on its public-facing assets. 

To that end, it’s reasonable to assume that Narvar’s pricing is higher than Wismolab’s $99 a month.


parcelLab vs WISMOlabs

WISMOlabs

parcelLab

Onboarding

Not enough data, though its website suggests a high-touch and collaborative process

High-touch and collaborative; onboarding takes 2 weeks to 30 days max

Customer communications

Branded and customizable communications; unclear on whether or not customer comms are white labeled

Flexible, fully customizable, and 100% white labeled; emails are sent from the brand's domain

Order tracking hubs

Branded and customizable pages; no mention of white labeled solutions on its website

Flexible, fully customizable, and 100% white labeled; pages are hosted on the brand's domain

Carrier integrations

Integration with 200+ carriers

Direct API and easy integrations with 350+ carriers; shipping data is NOT scraped

Returns management

No specific info on its website

Flexible, fully customizable, and 100% white labeled; pages are hosted on the brand's domain

Customer support

No specific info on its website

Customer success team, online support hub, system status page

Pricing

Starts at $99 per month

Bundled pricing with customizable offerings

What’s the key difference between parcelLab and WISMOlabs? parcelLab is a high-end post-purchase solution built for major brands, whereas WISMOlabs caters to smaller online brands. 

And while deep and detailed information on WISMOlabs’ capabilities are limited, it’s safe to assume that parcelLab offers more advanced capabilities to support complex post-purchase workflows. 

Get an even more detailed comparison by reading our WISMOlabs vs parcelLab guide. 


Narvar vs AfterShip vs WISMOlabs vs parcelLab

parcelLab

Narvar

AfterShip

WISMOlabs

Ratings and review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(4.62 average across G2, Capterra, Featured Customers, and SaaSworthy)  

⭐⭐⭐⭐

(4.2 average across G2, Capterra, Featured Customers, and SaaSworthy)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

(4.2 average across G2, Capterra, Featured Customers, and SaaSworthy)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(4.98 average across G2, Capterra, and Featured Customers)

Onboarding

parcelLab does most of the heavy lifting, with minimal action from the brand; you can get up and running 30 days or less

High-touch; some users say the process can take up to 6 months

Self-service

Not enough data, though its website suggests a high-touch and collaborative process

Email customization

✔️

Can be customized based on your brand’s look and feel

✔️

Can be customized based on your brand’s look and feel

✔️

Can be customized based on your brand’s look and feel

✔️

Can be customized based on your brand’s look and feel

Email white label and branded domain

✔️

Sent from the brand’s domain

Sent from Narvar’s domain

✔️

White label and custom domain features may be available

Unclear; not enough info on its website

Brand-hosted order tracking hubs

✔️

No mention of parcelLab on the page

Says “powered by Narvar” at the bottom of the page

✔️

Hosted and white label features may be available

Unclear; not enough info on its website

Carrier integrations

350+ 

300+ 

Supports 1,000+ carriers, but most of it not through a direct integration; shipping data is scraped 

200+

Built-in returns management

✔️

✔️

✔️

Account or customer success manager

✔️

✔️

✔️

Online knowledge base

✔️

✔️

✔️

System status page

✔️

✔️

✔️

Pricing

Bundled pricing with customizable offerings

No public-facing pricing info

Has 4 pricing tiers with the following starting monthly prices: Essentials ($11); Pro ($119); Premium ($239). Additional features come with extra fees

Starts at $99 per month

An easy way to compare Navar vs AfterShip vs WISMOlabs vs parcelLab is to separate these solutions into two buckets: on one side (let's call it Group A) we have parcelLab and Narvar; and on the other (Group B), there's AfterShip and WISMOlabs. 

The solutions in Group A are the high-end platforms that serve large ecommerce merchants with advanced requirements. Both Narvar and parcelLab support the end-to-end purchase experience and offer features like offline pickup, drop off, and returns.

Group B has WISMOlabs and AfterShip, which serve the SMB market. Their post-purchase capabilities are relatively basic compared to Group A, and they have a lower price point. 

That said, some key distinctions set these companies apart. 

Let's start with parcelLab. Thanks to its strong focus on CX, parcelLab has positioned itself as a leading tech partner in the post-purchase landscape. Its fast and collaborative onboarding process allows brands to get up and running in record speed. Its white labeling capabilities also empower companies to provide a seamless and on-brand "after sale" experience. 

Narvar, on the other hand, stands out due to the breadth of its offerings. Its robust platform caters to retailers and healthcare companies alike, so it has the advantage of serving diverse industries. Additionally, Narvar recently acquired Lumi, a platform that connects direct-to-consumer brands with package and print suppliers. This means Narvar customers can also use the platform to purchase shipping supplies. 

Regarding customer reviews, parcelLab has a higher star rating, clocking in at 4.6 compared to Narvar's 4.2.

Moving on to AfterShip and WISMOlabs, these solutions are best for small to medium businesses that don't need fancy post-purchase capabilities. Both these solutions publicly disclose their pricing, making it easier to calculate costs before signing up. 

WISMOlabs doesn't have a lot of detailed info on its website, but it looks like merchants using the platform are pretty happy with it. WISMOlabs has an average score of 4.98 across G2, Capterra, and FeaturedCustomers.com. AfterShip, on the other hand, has an average rating of 4.2 stars out of 5. 


Bringing it all together: which is the best platform?

Choosing the right post-purchase platform can make all the difference in delivering exceptional customer experiences. After exploring the features, benefits, and target markets of four leading post-purchase platforms—AfterShip, Narvar, WISMOlabs, and parcelLab—it's clear that each has its unique strengths and weaknesses.  

When making a decision, consider your business' size, post-purchase workflow complexity, and desired level of customer support. Larger brands may benefit from premium platforms like Narvar and parcelLab, while smaller companies may find more value in affordable options like AfterShip and WISMOlabs. 

Ultimately, the right post-purchase platform for your business is the one that fits your needs and helps you craft customer journeys that drive business growth.

FAQ

Platforms with direct API carrier integrations typically have more accurate and up-to-date tracking information. We can't speak for other companies, but at parcelLab, we have a direct integration with over 350 carriers, and this enables us to offer near real time order and package tracking.

The best way to increase the accuracy of your shipping updates is to partner with a tech provider that has direct integrations with your preferred carriers. So, when evaluating solutions, see to it that the software you choose can connect with your existing shipping partners.

We can't speak for other post-purchase platforms. But at parcelLab, we can confidently say that we're trusted by hundreds of leading brands, including H&M, Bose, Yeti, LIDL, Farfetch, Chico's, and more. Check out our customer stories and see why top ecommerce companies choose parcelLab to power their post-purchase initiatives.

The process for handling lost packages will depend on the policies of each retailer. Generally speaking, these providers may help retailers and customers locate lost packages by surfacing available tracking data and communicating with carriers.

If the software has built-in returns management features (like parcelLab), retailers can streamline the refund process through the platform itself.

This may depend on the retailer's specific returns policies. That said, Narvar, AfterShip, and parcelLab have returns management capabilities built into the platforms, so these solutions can help make the process easier for both retailers and consumers.

The solutions we compare in this guide all seem to be platform-agnostic, and they should work with leading ecommerce solutions like Shopify and Woocommerce.

The best way to determine which software will work best with your existing tech stack is to get in touch with each vendor and take a demo of their solution.

Written by

parcelLab

Create new reasons for people to love your brand. Build standout post-sales experiences tailored to your customers. Deliver personalized touch points that grab attention and spark loyalty.

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