Shopify SMS Integration — Order Notifications & Abandoned Cart Recovery
Send SMS from Shopify with Mobile Message
Mobile Message connects directly to your Shopify store through a free app on the Shopify App Store. Once installed, Mobile Message automatically sends SMS to your customers for order confirmations, shipping updates, and abandoned carts — all sent through Australian routes using your own sender ID, and charged at standard Mobile Message rates from 1.6c per SMS.
What you can do:
- Automatic order notifications — order confirmed, fulfilled (shipped), and cancelled SMS sent the moment each event happens in Shopify
- Abandoned cart recovery — win back customers who started checkout but didn't finish, with SMS sent after a delay you choose
- Customer sync — Shopify customers with Australian mobile numbers sync into Mobile Message as contacts, including list segmentation by customer tag
- Send bulk SMS — use your synced Shopify customer lists to send campaigns and promotions from Mobile Message
- Custom sender ID — messages go out from your business name or dedicated number, not a generic shared pool
- Built-in opt-out handling — marketing messages automatically include an opt-out link, and opt-outs are respected across your whole account
All SMS are sent through the Mobile Message platform at standard rates. The Shopify app is free to install — you only pay for the messages you send. For other ways to integrate, see Getting started with the API.
What You'll Need
- A Mobile Message account — sign up here if you don't have one
- A Shopify store (any plan — Basic, Shopify, Advanced, or Plus)
- An approved sender ID in Mobile Message (your business name or a dedicated number)
- Admin access to your Shopify store
Install the App
- Go to the Mobile Message Australia app on the Shopify App Store
- Click Add app
- Review the permissions and click Install app
Shopify will redirect you to the Mobile Message dashboard inside your Shopify admin. You'll see a short onboarding checklist — follow the next three steps to complete setup.
The app requests read-only access to your orders, checkouts, customers, and fulfilments. It does not modify anything in your store.
Connect Your Mobile Message Account
- In the Shopify admin, open the Mobile Message app
- Go to Settings in the left sidebar
- Enter your API username and API password, then click Verify and save
To create API credentials:
- Log in to Mobile Message at app.mobilemessage.com.au
- Go to Settings > API (the page title is "API Settings")
- Click Create API Key
- Copy the API Username and API Password shown in the popup — the password is only displayed once, so store it somewhere safe
Paste those into the Shopify app. The app verifies them against Mobile Message and, if valid, shows a green "Account connected" banner with your current SMS credit balance.
Choose Your Sender ID
After your credentials are verified, the app loads the sender IDs from your Mobile Message account. Choose the one you'd like to send from:
- Alphanumeric sender — your business name (up to 11 characters, no replies)
- Dedicated number — a real Australian mobile number that can receive replies and auto-handle opt-outs
- Shared number — uses a pool of numbers (no setup required, replies handled via opt-out link)
If you don't have an approved sender yet, add one in Mobile Message first (Settings > Sender IDs), then come back to the Shopify app and select it. Alphanumeric senders are the usual choice for ecommerce, since the business name is what customers recognise in their inbox.
Send a Test Message
Before going live, send yourself a test SMS to confirm everything works:
- On the Home page of the Shopify app, find the Send a test message card
- Enter your Australian mobile number
- Click Send test
You should receive the SMS within a few seconds. If it doesn't arrive, check the SMS Log for the delivery status.
Turn On SMS Notifications
Once your credentials, sender, and test message all look good, flip the main switch:
- On the Home page, toggle Turn on SMS notifications
- The status badge changes to Active
From this point on, Mobile Message listens to Shopify events and sends SMS automatically based on the notification types you've enabled. You can turn notifications off at any time using the same toggle — it pauses sending without uninstalling the app.
Order Notifications
Transactional order notifications are about a customer's own order and do not require SMS marketing consent — they can be sent to any Shopify customer who has a mobile number on file. Go to Notifications in the sidebar to turn each one on or off and edit its template.
Order confirmed
Sent immediately when a new order is placed.
Default template:
Hi {first_name}, your order #{order_number} for {total_price} has been confirmed! We'll let you know when it ships.
Merge tags: {first_name}, {last_name}, {order_number}, {total_price}, {shop_name}
Order fulfilled
Sent when the order is marked as shipped in Shopify. Include a tracking link so customers can follow their parcel.
Default template:
Hi {first_name}, great news! Your order #{order_number} has shipped. Track it here: {tracking_url}
Merge tags: {first_name}, {last_name}, {order_number}, {tracking_url}, {tracking_number}, {shop_name}
Order cancelled
Sent when an order is cancelled — either by your team or by the customer.
Default template:
Hi {first_name}, your order #{order_number} has been cancelled. If you have questions, please contact us.
Merge tags: {first_name}, {last_name}, {order_number}, {shop_name}
Marketing Notifications
Marketing notifications go to customers who have opted in to SMS marketing at checkout. Every marketing SMS automatically includes an opt-out link or reply-stop instruction so your store stays compliant with Spam Act 2003 requirements.
Abandoned cart recovery
When a customer starts checkout but doesn't finish, Mobile Message waits for a delay you configure, then sends a recovery SMS with a direct link back to their cart.
Default template:
Hi {first_name}, you left something in your cart! Complete your purchase here: {checkout_url} Use code {discount_code} for a special offer! {optout}
Merge tags: {first_name}, {checkout_url}, {total_price}, {discount_code}, {shop_name}, {optout}
How the delay works:
- Minimum delay is 30 minutes (to avoid messaging a customer who briefly stepped away mid-checkout)
- Default delay is 60 minutes — a common sweet spot for cart recovery
- You can configure any value from 30 minutes upwards
- If the customer completes the order before the delay expires, no SMS is sent
- Each cart is only messaged once, even if the same customer abandons multiple times
Adding a discount code: When editing the abandoned cart template, you can enter an optional discount code (e.g. COMEBACK10) in the settings. Create the code in Shopify first at Discounts > Create discount, then add it to the template.
Edit Templates
Every notification template is fully editable:
- Go to Notifications in the sidebar
- Click Edit template next to the notification you want to change
- Rewrite the message — the editor shows a live character count and validates any merge tags you use
- Click Save
Tips for templates:
- Keep under 160 characters where possible to stay in a single SMS segment
- Use
{first_name}to personalise — if a customer has no first name on file, it falls back to "there" - The
{optout}tag on marketing messages is required — it expands to an opt-out link or "Reply STOP" depending on your sender type - Always test with the Send a test message feature after editing a template
Contact Sync
Beyond the automatic order messaging, you can sync your Shopify customers into Mobile Message as contacts. This lets you send bulk SMS campaigns (sales, promotions, back-in-stock alerts) directly from Mobile Message to your whole customer base or a segment.
- Go to Contact Sync in the sidebar
- Turn on the Contact sync toggle
- Click Run full sync to import your existing customers
What syncs:
- First name and last name
- Mobile phone number (Australian numbers only)
- Shopify customer tags
Customers without an Australian mobile number are skipped. When a customer is added, updated, or removed in Shopify, the change syncs to Mobile Message automatically.
Tag-based lists: Every Shopify customer tag automatically becomes a contact list in Mobile Message, named shopify-tag-{tagname} — for example shopify-tag-vip or shopify-tag-wholesale. As customers are tagged or untagged in Shopify, their list membership in Mobile Message updates to match.
Sending to synced contacts: Log in to Mobile Message, go to Send Messages, and select one of your synced Shopify lists as the recipients. You can personalise with first name, schedule for later, and track delivery — all the usual Mobile Message features.
Collect Mobile Numbers at Checkout
For any of this to work, your customers need to have a mobile number on their Shopify record. To maximise coverage:
- In Shopify admin, go to Settings > Checkout
- Under Customer contact method, select Phone number or email (so customers can enter a phone at checkout)
- Still in the Checkout settings, under Marketing consent, enable SMS marketing — this lets customers opt in to marketing SMS at checkout, which is required for abandoned cart recovery
If you haven't set this up yet, the Home page of the Mobile Message app shows a reminder banner with the same instructions.
SMS Log and Analytics
SMS Log — Go to SMS Log in the sidebar to see every SMS sent through the app. Each entry shows the customer, phone number (masked for privacy), notification type, Shopify order number, delivery status, and message content. Filter by event type, status, or search by order number to find a specific message.
Analytics — The Analytics page shows a 30-day view of your SMS activity: total sent, success rate, breakdown by notification type, daily volume chart, and credits consumed. Use it to see which notifications are driving the most engagement.
Uninstall
If you need to remove the app:
- In Shopify admin, go to Settings > Apps and sales channels
- Find Mobile Message Australia and click Uninstall
When you uninstall, the app receives an uninstall webhook from Shopify and permanently deletes all store data — message history, synced contacts, abandoned cart records, and notification settings. Your Mobile Message account itself is unaffected: your contacts, messages, credits, and history outside Shopify all remain.
If you only want to pause sending without removing data, turn off SMS notifications on the Home page instead of uninstalling.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost? The app is free to install. SMS is charged through your Mobile Message account at standard rates from 1.6c per message. There's no monthly subscription and no markup on messages sent through the Shopify app.
Which Shopify plans are supported? All plans — Basic, Shopify, Advanced, and Shopify Plus. The integration uses standard Shopify APIs that are available on every plan.
Does this work with orders placed outside the online store? Any order that Shopify creates an orders/create webhook for — including POS sales — triggers the order-confirmed SMS, provided the order has a mobile number attached. If you're unsure whether a particular sales channel fires, place a test order and check the SMS Log.
Will my customers get double messages from another SMS app? If you have another SMS app connected to your store that also sends order confirmation, shipping, or abandoned cart SMS, customers can receive two messages per event. To avoid duplicates, either turn off the equivalent notifications in the other app or in Mobile Message — you only need one source.
Can I send SMS to international customers? The app sends to Australian mobile numbers only. International customers placing orders on your Australian store won't receive an SMS — they'll still get the standard Shopify email notifications.
What happens if I run out of SMS credits? The message won't send, and the failure is recorded in the SMS Log. Top up your credits in Mobile Message and future messages will resume automatically.
How do I comply with SMS marketing rules? Mobile Message handles the technical side — every marketing SMS includes an opt-out instruction, and opt-outs are honoured across your whole account. On your side, make sure you've enabled SMS marketing consent at Shopify checkout so only customers who've opted in receive abandoned cart messages.
Can I customise when abandoned cart SMS are sent? Yes. The default delay is 60 minutes after checkout abandonment, with a 30-minute minimum. You can set any value from 30 minutes upwards in the abandoned cart notification settings.
What happens if a customer unsubscribes? Opt-outs recorded in Mobile Message apply across all sending, including the Shopify app. A customer who replies STOP (or clicks the opt-out link) won't receive any further marketing SMS — though transactional order confirmations, fulfilment, and cancellation messages still send, as they're about the customer's own order.
Can I use this with a Mobile Message account that has a dedicated number? Yes. When you choose your sender ID in the Shopify app, dedicated numbers appear in the list alongside alphanumeric senders. Using a dedicated number lets customers reply to your SMS, and replies show up in the Mobile Message inbox.