This year, Google celebrated 18 years of Gmail by giving it a new look and tighter integration. Now, just in time for the busy shopping season, the service is going to make it even easier to track your holiday packages. The simple tracking feature will be rolling out in the coming weeks, giving users the ability to check package statuses without leaving the inbox.

Google will improve the interface, making it easier to spot emails with tracking information. When in list view, there will be a green text field showing the delivery status of your package. If you want more information, you can head into the email, where there will be a card present at the top, giving you more tracking details. Google states that this should work with most major shipping carriers, and it will be able to provide important details at a glance with labels like “Label created, Arriving tomorrow, and Delivered today.”

Gmail Email

For packages that don't arrive, Google will also have that covered with a delay label. Furthermore, it will bring that email to the top of the list to bring it to the user's attention. Now, this feature will be rolling out over the coming weeks, but in order to gain access to it, you will need to opt in. You can do this by selecting "allow" when the card prompt arrives in your inbox.

The choice is completely yours whether you want to allow or deny this feature, but if you're a heavy shopper and like to keep things simple, this new feature might become your best friend. For those who have Gmail installed, you don't need to do anything, you can wait for an update coming in the next few weeks. Just remember to opt in if you want to use the feature. If you aren't a Gmail user, this might be a good time to start.

Source: Google Blog