Shopify integration

Integration overview

Pushwoosh integrates seamlessly with Shopify, a leading e-commerce platform that enables businesses to create, manage, and scale online stores. This guide walks you through installing and configuring the Pushwoosh app in your Shopify store, setting up user identification, and using notifications and automation tools to engage customers across channels like push, email, SMS, and WhatsApp.

Integration type

• Destination: Shopify sends customer data to Pushwoosh, where it is used for targeting and messaging.

Prerequisites

• A Pushwoosh account
• Access to your Shopify admin panel
• Pushwoosh Device API Access Token and Application Code
• A Shopify store with customers and order data available
• Approval of the read_orders, write_pixels, and read_customer_events access scopes the app requests, needed for order/cart events, checkout step tracking, and storefront behavioral events

Already connected? You'll be asked to re-approve access

If you connected the Pushwoosh app before order, cart, and checkout tracking existed, Shopify asks you to approve the new scopes the next time you open the app — this is the expected way Shopify rolls out added permissions, not an error. Approve them to start receiving order, cart, and checkout events.

Synchronized entities

• Customers: Used to assign and identify Pushwoosh UserIDs via Shopify metafields

Note

Customer synchronization approaches in Pushwoosh

Due to technical limitations, Pushwoosh offers several customer synchronization methods, depending on the communication channel used for notifications:

• Email, Web, SMS & WhatsApp: Devices/users are automatically registered in the Pushwoosh application.
• Mobile & Desktop Apps: Devices/users can be synchronized manually via the Pushwoosh and Shopify admin panels.
• Web Platforms (Chrome, Firefox, Safari): Devices/users are managed by the Shopify theme embed itself.

How does it work?

The synchronization process operates as follows:

1. The system attempts to retrieve the current user session to obtain an email or phone number (identifiers that function without additional configuration).
2. If successful, the email or phone number is set as the userID identifier for both Pushwoosh and the pushwoosh_userid property in the customer data.
3. If this is not possible, the default Pushwoosh SDK userID is assigned as the identifier for both Pushwoosh and the pushwoosh_userid property.
4. In any case, a userID will be assigned on both sides, ensuring consistent synchronization.

• Customer segments: Used for group-based targeting and messaging
• Events and triggers (e.g., orders placed, tags applied): Used in Shopify Flow to automate messaging across channels
• Storefront: Used for capturing web push opt-ins through embedded scripts
• Product feed: Your store’s storefront feed (products.json) connects automatically to the Pushwoosh Product Catalog when you connect the app, and disconnects automatically if you uninstall it.
• Orders and carts: Server-to-server events from Shopify’s orders/paid and checkouts/create webhooks. See Track orders, carts, and checkout steps.
• Storefront browsing behavior: Product views and add-to-cart actions, collected by the same theme embed used for web push opt-ins.
• Checkout steps: Contact info entered and payment info submitted, collected via a Shopify Web Pixel.

Glossary (mapping entity names if they are different)

Shopify	Pushwoosh
Customer	UserID
orders/paid webhook	Event PW_OrderCreated — shared with other e-commerce integrations (e.g. Magento)
checkouts/create webhook	Event PW_AbandonedCart — same shared event, also used by the Products block’s Cart source
Product page view	Event PW_ProductViewed

How the integration works

Pushwoosh acts as a messaging destination for Shopify. Once integrated, Shopify sends customer and behavioral data to Pushwoosh, where it powers real-time notifications, customer segmentation, and personalized messaging across channels.

Key components of the integration

1. Customer identification via metafields Each Shopify customer is assigned a unique UserID, stored in a metafield (custom.pushwoosh_userid). This ID allows Pushwoosh to recognize and message users consistently across platforms.

2. Event-driven automation via Shopify Flow Pushwoosh provides Flow actions that allow you to automate messaging (push, email, SMS, WhatsApp) based on Shopify events, such as:

   • New order placed
   • Tag applied to customer
   • Cart abandonment

3. Segment-based targeting Customer segments from Shopify can be used to send group-specific notifications across channels, such as promotions for first-time buyers or reactivation campaigns for dormant users.

4. Manual and real-time messaging From the Shopify customer or segment view, you can manually trigger notifications using the Pushwoosh Extensions:

   • Notification by Customer: For personal follow-ups or testing
   • Notification by Segment: For campaign-based messages

Web push notifications via storefront embed

By enabling the Pushwoosh embed in your Shopify theme, you can prompt website visitors to opt in to browser-based push notifications—no mobile app required.

Data flow overview

Shopify Customer & Event Data
         ↓
Pushwoosh API (via App)
         ↓
UserID → Segmentation → Triggered or Manual Notifications

This integration empowers you to deliver timely, relevant messages that improve user retention, boost conversions, and enhance the customer experience—automatically or on demand.

Part 1. Installation

Log into Shopify

1. Go to Shopify Admin
2. Select your store from the dashboard

Note

This guide assumes that you already have a Pushwoosh account. If not, create one

Install the Pushwoosh app

1. Visit the Pushwoosh App Store page
2. Click Install
3. Confirm installation in the Shopify dialog

Connect your Pushwoosh app

After installation, you will be redirected to the Pushwoosh app inside Shopify.

1. Click Connect.

2. Enter the Application Code and Device API Access Token, which you can find in the Pushwoosh Control Panel → Settings → API Access.

When connected, a success message will appear: “Pushwoosh app connected.”

Automatic product catalog connection

Connecting the app also connects your store’s storefront feed to the Pushwoosh Product Catalog automatically — no separate feed setup needed. Your store’s currency is captured at the same time, and updates automatically if you change your store’s currency afterward.

Subscribe to a plan

1. Click Upgrade Subscription
2. A single usage-based plan will be shown.
3. Confirm the billing.

Note

Billing is required to use message delivery and segmentation features.

Part 2. Setup: Customer User ID via metafields

To deliver notifications to identified users across channels (push, email, SMS, WhatsApp), Pushwoosh uses a unique User ID per customer. Shopify stores this value inside Shopify’s Customer metafields.

1. Go to Settings → Metafields and metaobjects → Customers

2. Click Add definition and use these values:

Field	Value
Namespace and key	custom.pushwoosh_userid
Namespace	custom
Type	Single line text
Validation	None
Customer Account Access	Read and Write
Storefront API Access	Enabled

Why this matters

This metafield is a persistent user identifier across mobile/web devices for notifications and segmentation.

Part 3. Using Pushwoosh extensions

Pushwoosh includes Shopify Extensions for segment targeting, automation (Flow), and customer-specific notifications.

Extension 1. Send notification by customer

Use case

Manually send personalized messages or test notifications to a specific user.

Steps

1. Open Customers → Select a customer
2. Click More actions → Notification by customer
   
3. Select the messaging platform (e.g., Email) and a content preset.
4. Click Send

Tip

Use this for post-purchase reminders, personal thank-yous, or reactivation prompts.

Extension 2. Notification by segment

Use case

Target groups of customers—abandoned carts, first-time buyers, high spenders.

Steps

1. Go to Customers → Segments

2. Choose a segment → Click Use Segment

3. Select Notification by Segment
4. Select the desired communication channel and message preset. Click Send.

Tip

Segments can be created based on purchase history, location, activity, or tags.

Extension 3. Pushwoosh in Shopify Flow

Use case

Automate messaging in customer journeys using triggers like orders, tags, or behavior.

Steps

1. Create a new Flow in Shopify Flow
2. Add action → Choose Pushwoosh notifications

3. Configure message and dynamic fields

For example:

• Send a message after order placed

• Remind user when cart is abandoned

• Send reactivation push after 30 days of inactivity

Part 4. Enable web push (optional but recommended)

To support browser-based web push notifications on your storefront, do the following:

1. Go to Online Store → Themes → Customize
   
2. Open App Embeds from the left menu
3. Toggle Push Init Embed ON

Note

Now your store can prompt users to opt-in to web push directly from the storefront.

Part 5. Track orders, carts, and checkout steps

Once you approve the read_orders, write_pixels, and read_customer_events scopes (see Prerequisites), Pushwoosh starts receiving three kinds of commerce events from your store. They come from different places and stop independently of each other — don’t treat them as one feed.

Server-side order and cart events

Shopify sends order paid (orders/paid webhook, event PW_OrderCreated) and checkout created (checkouts/create webhook, event PW_AbandonedCart) events to Pushwoosh directly, server-to-server. Both are shared with other e-commerce integrations — Magento uses the same two event names. Like other inbound-webhook events (Stripe works the same way), they appear in the Event dropdown when you create a segment or set up a Customer Journey trigger, and you can map either one as a source for conversion events to bring Shopify revenue into RFM segmentation, journey attribution, and the Product blocks statistics you send in emails.

Because these come from Shopify’s server, not the shopper’s browser, they keep arriving even for shoppers who block trackers or use an ad blocker.

Cart abandonment means three different things here

• The Cart abandonment trigger in Shopify Flow (see Event-driven automation via Shopify Flow) is a native Shopify condition, unrelated to Pushwoosh events.
• The checkouts/create webhook above only means a checkout was started — Shopify hasn’t decided it’s “abandoned,” and no order has been confirmed either.
• The Products block’s Cart source reads the recipient’s cart via the PW_AbandonedCartID tag, independently of these events.

Pick the one that matches what you’re actually building, not the name that sounds closest.

Storefront browsing events

Product views (event PW_ProductViewed) and add-to-cart actions are collected by the same theme embed you already installed for web push opt-ins — there’s nothing new to add to your theme, but the embed has to be toggled ON (see Enable web push) for these events to arrive. If you skipped that toggle, you get neither web push opt-ins nor storefront events.

Storefront events need the theme embed enabled

Product views and add-to-cart events come from the shopper’s browser. If a shopper blocks the embed’s script, or you leave the theme embed off, you stop getting these two events — but order paid and checkout created keep arriving regardless, since those come from Shopify’s server. Don’t assume a disabled theme embed pauses order tracking too.

PW_ProductViewed has no deduplication

PW_ProductViewed fires on every product page load — repeat visits in the same session, page reloads, and bot or crawler traffic included. There’s no deduplication or throttling. Since strategies like Based on what they viewed build from this event, noisy traffic feeds into those recommendations too.

Checkout step events

A Shopify Web Pixel reports two checkout milestones as the shopper fills out the checkout form:

• PW_CheckoutContactInfo: the shopper entered their contact information.
• PW_PaymentInfoSubmitted: the shopper submitted their payment details.

The completed purchase isn't part of this pixel

The Web Pixel intentionally doesn’t track the completed purchase — that’s the server-side order paid event above. Use the Web Pixel events to see where shoppers drop off during checkout, and the order event to know that a sale actually happened.

Part 6. Data compliance

Shopify requires every public app to respond to its mandatory GDPR/CCPA webhooks. Pushwoosh handles them as follows:

• customers/redact: When a shopper asks the store to erase their data, Pushwoosh erases the matching Pushwoosh records by whichever identifiers Shopify sends — email, phone, and Shopify customer ID.
• customers/data_request: When a shopper requests a copy of their data, Pushwoosh posts a notification to support’s internal channel, and a person handles the request manually. Shopify requires apps to respond to these within 30 days.
• shop/redact: Shopify sends this 48 hours after a store uninstalls the app, asking to erase the store’s data. Pushwoosh has no separate handler for it by design — uninstalling already deletes the store’s entire integration record (device API key, application code, and billing IDs included), so there’s nothing left for this webhook to erase by the time it arrives.

Use cases summary

Scenario	Tool used
Personalized follow-up	Notification by Customer
Cart abandonment reminder	Shopify Flow + Pushwoosh action
Segment-based promotion	Notification by Segment
Welcome message after signing up	Flow + Metafield tracking
Push opt-in	Theme Embed + Push Init Toggle
Revenue attribution and RFM segmentation	Order/checkout events mapped to conversion events
Checkout drop-off analysis	PW_CheckoutContactInfo / PW_PaymentInfoSubmitted events
Browse or cart abandonment segments	Storefront product view / add-to-cart events