By Running an online store means juggling a lot of tasks. But let’s face it: no one starts an ecommerce business because they’re excited to send countless emails or manually update discount codes for every new customer. That’s where Shopify marketing automation comes in to save the day.
With marketing automation, you can efficiently manage repetitive tasks, leaving you with more time to focus on growing your business. Here’s everything you need to know about how automation can simplify your Shopify store’s marketing efforts.
How Does Shopify Marketing Automation Work?
Shopify marketing automation allows you to set up systems that operate based on customer behavior or activities in your store. Instead of manually managing tasks like sending emails or segmenting your customer base, automation creates predefined workflows that handle it all for you.
Here’s how it works:
- Trigger: This is the event that activates the automation. It could be a customer signing up for your newsletter, abandoning their cart, or making a purchase.
- Condition: Conditions are filters that refine your workflow. For example, you might only want to trigger a workflow if a customer is a first-time buyer or if their total purchase is over a certain amount.
- Action: This is the response, such as sending an email, offering a discount, tagging a customer, or showing a message based on the trigger and condition.
The best part? You don’t need to be a tech expert to set it up. Shopify’s ecosystem has built-in tools and third-party apps that integrate seamlessly into your store. These tools are user-friendly, even for those running smaller stores or those scaling quickly.
Must-Have Shopify Marketing Automation Workflows
Automating certain workflows can drastically improve efficiency, customer engagement, and your bottom line. Here are 13 essential workflows every Shopify store should consider:
- Abandoned Cart Recovery: Send automated reminders to customers who leave products in their cart without completing the purchase. Offer incentives like discounts or free shipping to encourage them to finish the transaction.
- Welcome Email Series: Engage new subscribers with a series of welcome emails introducing your brand, highlighting top products, and offering a discount on their first purchase.
- Post-Purchase Follow-Ups: After a customer makes a purchase, send them a thank-you email, share care instructions, or recommend related products to keep them coming back.
- Customer Re-Engagement: Reach out to customers who haven’t made a purchase in a while with personalized offers or product updates to bring them back to your store.
- Birthday or Anniversary Discounts: Send special offers to customers on their birthday or the anniversary of their first purchase as a way to celebrate and show appreciation.
- Product Review Requests: After delivery, send automated emails asking customers to leave a review for the product they purchased, helping to build trust and improve your reputation.
- Back-in-Stock Alerts: Automatically notify customers when an out-of-stock item they’ve shown interest in becomes available again, capturing lost sales.
- Low Stock Alerts: Set up alerts to notify you when inventory is running low, helping you avoid stockouts and stay on top of your stock levels.
- Product Visibility Management: Automatically hide products from your store when they go out of stock and republish them once they’re back in stock.
- Order Risk Assessment: Flag high-risk orders automatically to prevent fraud and protect your business from chargebacks or other issues.
- Loyalty and VIP Recognition: Use automation to identify your top customers based on spending or purchase frequency and reward them with exclusive offers or early access to new products.
- Upsell and Cross-sell Recommendations: After a purchase, recommend complementary products to encourage additional sales, boosting your average order value (AOV).
- Customer Segmentation for Targeted Marketing: Automatically segment customers based on their behavior or preferences and tailor your marketing efforts for more personalized campaigns.
These workflows not only save time but also play a crucial role in boosting sales and improving customer retention automatically.
How to Set Up Shopify Marketing Automation
Setting up automation for your Shopify store is easier than it sounds. Whether you’re using Shopify’s built-in tools or third-party apps, the process is simple and quick.
Using Shopify’s Built-In Tools:
- Shopify Email:
- Navigate to Marketing > Campaigns in your Shopify admin.
- Click Create Campaign > Email.
- Choose from pre-built templates or create your own email.
- Schedule emails or add them to an automated workflow.
- Shopify Flow:
- Go to Settings > Apps and Sales Channels in your Shopify admin.
- Select Shopify Flow and open the app.
- Click Create Workflow and choose your trigger, conditions, and actions.
- Activate the workflow by clicking Turn On.
Using Third-Party Automation Tools:
For third-party apps:
- Install the app of your choice from the Shopify App Store.
- Follow the onboarding instructions and connect the app to your store.
- Sync your customer and order data for automatic updates.
- Use the app’s visual builder or templates to create custom workflows.
Top Shopify Marketing Automation Tools
With countless apps available, choosing the right automation tool can be overwhelming. Here are some of the best Shopify apps that integrate well with your store and are easy to use:
- Klaviyo
Best for data-driven brands looking for deep customization and predictive analytics. - Omnisend
Ideal for smaller to mid-sized brands, offering easy-to-use email, SMS, and push campaign automation. - Postscript
Great for SMS-first strategies, offering powerful SMS automation and compliance tools. - Shopify Flow
Perfect for automating internal store tasks, such as fraud checks and order processing, without requiring coding skills. - Marsello
Best for loyalty programs, combining automated rewards and customer behavior-based marketing. - Yotpo
An all-in-one platform for reviews, loyalty programs, and SMS, streamlining your customer engagement. - Judge.me
Helps you automate product review requests and showcase reviews seamlessly. - Back in Stock
Sends automated alerts when out-of-stock items are available again, capturing missed sales. - ReConvert
Optimizes your thank-you page with upsell and reorder options, increasing post-purchase sales. - Gorgias
Automates customer support, pulling in order and customer data for faster, more efficient responses.
Conclusion
Shopify marketing automation isn’t just about saving time—it’s about working smarter, not harder. By automating repetitive tasks, you can focus on more strategic efforts to grow your business. Whether you’re recovering abandoned carts, engaging customers post-purchase, or sending birthday discounts, automation helps you deliver a seamless, personalized experience.
Start with one simple workflow, and as you see the results, you can expand your automation system. The key is to start small and build from there. With the right tools and workflows, you’ll improve efficiency, retain more customers, and drive more sales without the extra workload.