3 Key e-Commerce Notifications Shopify Merchants can Setup on WhatsApp
The use of WhatsApp enables merchants to achieve a new level of engagement, with all tools needed for a personalized, secure, and trustful channel. Learn how to enhance customer engagement with WhatsApp Business using simple notifications.
As the use of WhatsApp Business is quite fresh, most shop owners want to test new waters first. Starting with simple notifications in core areas of customer engagement — order confirmation, order cancellation and shipping confirmation — are primary touch points for a larger WhatsApp-based customer engagement in the future. As one of the largest e-Commerce platforms globally, Shopify is an innovator in the digital space. That’s why we’ve chosen Shopify to explain how to use these key notifications — without the need of a plugin or add-on.
Key Requirements on Your Side
To get started with this tutorial you’ll need to:
- Use Shopify as your eCommerce platform
- Have already an active WhatsApp Business Account (WABA)
For merchants on Shopify, you’ll need a bit of coding work to integrate tyntec’s API for WhatsApp Business in the Shopify Store.
How it Works on Shopify’s Side
To get started with the implementation, you’ll need to set a webhook and develop a basic app in your Shopify Shop. Find more details here
tyntec takes over from here to facilitate the communications piece between the Shopify merchant and their customer
How it Works on tyntec’s Side
You create your account for the WhatsApp Business program and setup your WhatsApp Business Account with tyntec. With a simple process from request access to account activation, tyntec enables merchants on Shopify to leverage WhatsApp for customer notifications for optimal support. Find out more details on how it works here
Notification Use Cases and How to Implement Them
With WhatsApp Business you will be able to send out time-sensitive messages that need to be looked at right away by your customer. Some of them might replace your existing email content, such as order or shipping confirmation. Just be aware, that promotional content is not allowed with WhatsApp, so you should refrain from sending notifications for marketing purposes.
The code outline for notifications is similar for any requests you might have. For the developer in your company it should be easy to adapt the following code examples to your specific use case.
Shopify provides a very good documentation, where you can find all provided webhooks (https://bit.ly/319b5Tp), information on certain Shopify events (https://bit.ly/2LW6W1w), and what data you can get from them.
“Order Confirmation” Message
The “order confirmation” message gives you the chance to thank your customers for buying in your shop. They can check the order details to avoid confusion or mistakes. Also you can provide payment information (relevant for payment in advance) and send automatic notifications when the payment is confirmed.
The webhook “orders/create” will be called and the Shopify app will be able to gather all the information concerning a recently placed order.
| line_items.title | billing_address.* |
|---|---|
| line_items.variant_title | shipping_address.* |
| line_items.price | order.payment_gateway_name |
| line_items.quantity |
Check more details and how to implement the “Order Confirmation” message here
“Order Cancellation” Message
The “order cancellation” notification will be automatically sent when the customer or the shop owner canceled the order. The customer will receive a list of which products will be cancelled, and the message also provides information on how the payment will be refunded. The customer will have the immediate assurance that the cancelation was accepted.
The webhook “orders/canceled” bzw. “refunds/create” will be called and the Shopify app will be able to gather all the information concerning an order that was recently canceled.
| refund_line_items.quantity |
|---|
| line_item.title |
| refund_line_items.presentment_money |
Check more details and how to implement the “Order Cancellation” message here.
“Shipping Confirmation” Message
Let your customers know when their order is dispatched and make it easy for them to track their packages. If there is a problem with the shipment, they will know right away. This feature will lower any concerns to order again in your shop and the customers will always be up to date with their order.
The webhook “fulfillments/create” or “fulfillment_events/create” will be called.
| line_items.title | tracking_url |
|---|---|
| destination.* | tracking_number |
| tracking_company |
Check more details and how to implement the “Shipping Confirmation” message here.
Advanced Use Cases
Click-to-Chat
Do you want to use WhatsApp as a support platform to users the chance to ask questions and give feedback directly?
Make use of “click to chat”, a unique way of connecting Facebook Ads to WhatsApp. Whenever a customer clicks on your Facebook Ad, it immediately creates a conversation on WhatsApp, where the customer can ask questions about your ad and products. With this, you can personalize your customer support with instant advice and product information, tutorial videos, and more.
Create your own link, style it as a button, and use it on your website:
Account Activation Instructions
Give your users and potential buyers immediate instructions on how to activate their account - don’t let time come in between! Keep them engaged by sending a welcome message and the link to confirm the phone number.
For this, the webhook “customers/create” will be called.
Customer Surveys
You might be interested in how your customers like their purchased products or how they found their way around your webshop. Get to know the needs and wishes of your customers better and improve their shopping experience step by step. Send automated messages asking for a product or shop rating, you could later show these ratings and reviews on your product detail page.
For this, the webhook “orders/fulfilled” will be called.
Advanced: Support Messages
With WhatsApp, it’s also possible to support your customers with a 1:1 chat. This feature enables you to be closer to your customers than ever before. Easily help them with WhatsApp’s chat features and your support agent’s advice and expertise. Once you’ve started with the WhatsApp Business solution, you can create more interactive and supportive customer conversations. For these, you can use a plugin associated with you customer engagement system (via Shopify or your existing CRM/contact center system).
