Guide

Push notifications for Shopify stores: a practical guide

Push notifications are the main reason to give your Shopify customers an app: a message lands on their lock screen without going through an inbox or an ad auction. Used well, they bring shoppers back; used too often, they get your app muted or deleted. Here is what to send and when.

1. Get permission first

On iOS, shoppers must accept notifications before you can reach them, and Android 13 and later asks too. Make the first app session useful — a clear home screen, fast product pages — so the permission prompt feels worth accepting.

2. Automated notifications

Set these up once; they run on their own.

• New products — announce new arrivals as you add them to your catalog. Works best for stores that drop products regularly.
• Abandoned cart reminders — remind shoppers who left items in their cart after a delay you choose. Send one reminder, not a series.
• Scheduled programs — a recurring message every day or every few hours, for example a daily deal. Keep the frequency low and the content different each time.

3. Campaigns

One-off messages you send now or schedule for later: a sale launch, a restock, a limited collection, a shipping cut-off before the holidays. Schedule big moments like Black Friday in advance so you are not writing messages during the rush.

4. Writing a push that gets opened

• Lead with the benefit in the first few words — lock screens cut long titles.
• Be specific: “Linen shirts are back in all sizes” beats “New arrivals!”.
• Keep the promise: if the push mentions a sale, make the sale visible on the home screen when shoppers open the app.
• Mind time zones and avoid sending at night.

5. How often to send

There is no universal number, but most stores do well with a few campaigns a week on top of automated messages, and one or two a day at most during big sales. If uninstalls rise after a campaign, slow down.

6. Measure the results

Compare app orders in your Shopify admin on the days you send campaigns with the days you don’t, and keep the messages that bring sales.

Push notifications with Mobilefy

Mobilefy includes new-product pushes, abandoned-cart reminders, scheduled programs and push campaigns you can send now or schedule, all from the Notifications and Push campaigns pages of your dashboard (check which plans include push). Orders from the app go through your Shopify checkout and are attributed to the Mobilefy sales channel. Start with how to turn your Shopify store into an app.