Confirmation of order receipt

In the case of online contracts German legislation differentiates between confirmation of order receipt and confirmation of the conclusion of a contract.

Operators of online shops must provide their customers with immediate electronic confirmation of receipt of their order, for example in the form of an email confirming order receipt.

The sole purpose of the email is to inform the purchaser that the vendor has received their order and will check it before deciding whether or not to accept the purchase contract. It is important that the vendor’s email does not contain a request for payment, as the courts interpret an email containing such content as an acceptance of the contract and not just a confirmation of order receipt.

A legally binding contract is only deemed to have been concluded when the vendor sends the customer confirmation of the conclusion of the contract, which is generally sent as a separate email.

WooCommerce does not come set up to differentiate between confirmation of order receipt and confirmation of the conclusion of a contract. On the contrary: It generates a single email that constitutes confirmation of the conclusion of a contract.

The German Market module Confirmation of Order Receipt fills this gap by sending an (optional) email confirming order receipt straight after the customer clicks the Buy button. The text included in the email advises the customer that the email simply confirms the receipt of their order and does not constitute a legally binding acceptance of the purchase contract.

The email can be activated and deactivated under WooCommerce → German Market → General → Emails