If you've been struggling to keep track of your online shopping emails, Gmail has just launched a solution that could transform how you manage your purchases. Starting today, you'll find a brand new Purchases tab that brings together all your order confirmations and delivery updates in one convenient location.
When you click on this dedicated tab, you'll see only emails related to your shopping activities, creating a streamlined view of your online orders. This means no more searching through your cluttered inbox to find that important shipping notification or order confirmation you need.
The feature is rolling out now to personal Gmail accounts on both mobile devices and web browsers worldwide.
This new feature enhances Gmail's current package-tracking system that you might already be using. You'll still receive those helpful notifications for parcels arriving within the next 24 hours at the top of your main inbox, just as before.
On the left, the new Purchases inbox with three receipt emails and four summary cards of packages arriving soon. Right, how “Purchases” appears in the left-side menu on Gmail
|GOOGLE PRESS OFFICE
What's different is that you now have a comprehensive interface where you can view your entire purchase history and ongoing shipments together. You'll also continue to see those summary cards at the top of individual purchase emails, providing quick information about your orders at a glance.
The Purchases tab essentially creates a dedicated shopping command centre within your email, making it simpler to monitor all your online shopping activity without disrupting your existing email workflow.
Gmail is also preparing to revamp how you interact with promotional emails in the coming weeks. You'll soon be able to arrange your Promotions tab by relevance rather than just chronologically, helping you discover offers from retailers you frequently shop with.
The system will prioritise messages from brands you regularly engage with, ensuring important deals don't get buried amongst less relevant promotions. You'll also receive helpful prompts alerting you to time-sensitive offers and upcoming sales you might otherwise miss.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- iPhone Air squeezes 'MacBook-like power' into the thinnest smartphone
- iPadOS 26 release date: Apple reveals when you'll unlock new features
- Hundreds of dodgy streaming sites BLOCKED in UK
- Best mattress toppers
If you prefer the current chronological layout, you can easily switch back to viewing your newest promotional emails first.
To turn your Gmail back into a chronological list (Default), follow these steps:
- Open Gmail.
- Click the Settings (gear) icon in the top right.
- Select “See all settings.”
- Go to the Inbox tab.
- Under Inbox type, choose Default.
- Make sure “Important first,” “Unread first,” or “Starred first” are not selected.
This update will initially launch on mobile devices for personal Gmail accounts, so you'll see it on your desktops at a later date. These shopping-focused updates arrive at a strategic moment, with the busy holiday retail period approaching.
According to professional service company PCW, their 2025 holiday forecast finds that nearly two-fifths of total planned gift expenditure in the US will occur during the five-day window from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday — the peak of the Black Friday sales.
Google suggests these new Gmail features will help you manage the influx of order confirmations and shipping notifications more efficiently during this peak shopping period. The company specifically designed these tools to handle the increased volume of purchase-related emails you'll likely receive.