Apple’s Online Store was down for several hours early this morning, and as CultofMac notes, it had a brand new feature when it came back up: Text message shipping notifications! Apple now offers to send text message notifications to customers whenever their order status is updated.
The new feature appears on the homepage, and is also described on the Shipping & Delivery help page in the Apple Online Store:
Apple Notifications is a text-message-based alerts service designed to keep you up-to-date on your shipment and/or pickup notification status. In addition to standard email notifications, you can also request text message updates when you’re in Checkout. The number of messages you’ll receive will vary depending on the orders you placed.
If users choose the new option, they’ll receive a text message once their order ships. The message will contain the order number and a link to Apple’s Order Status page. At the moment, text notifications are only available in the U.S. and Canada.