10 Shopify Flow Examples to Automate Your Store

Running an e-commerce involves juggling multiple aspects - everything from marketing and logistics to maintaining an online store and ensuring product quality.

With the constant evolution of technology in 2024, you have more opportunities than ever to streamline operations and reduce human error.

Shopify Flow is a powerful automation tool designed to simplify and optimize your business processes.

Whether it’s managing inventory, automating email marketing campaigns, or running loyalty programs, Shopify Flow can handle it all, allowing you to focus on growing your business.

This article will guide you through practical Shopify Flow examples and explain how to use this robust automation solution.

• Shopify Flow automates eCommerce tasks like inventory management, and customer follow-ups, so you don’t have to and don’t make mistakes.
  
  

• You can custom-build your workflows or use pre-built templates of Shopify Flow's extensive library without coding knowledge.
  
  

• Shopify Flow integrates with your existing Shopify apps.
  
  

• Shopify Flow operates using a simple three-step process.
  
  

• Triggers to initiate workflows, Conditions to specify criteria, and Actions to execute tasks.

Seeing is believing and there’s no better way to understand the power of Shopify Flow than through real-life examples.

These examples will help you set up your own rules based on your Shopify store.

To encourage repeat purchases, reward your customers based on the number of purchases they make.

To get started, you need to have an active loyalty program in place.

In our example, the workflow checks the customer’s order count and organizes them into tiers.

Based on their tier, the customer receives loyalty points and an email discount.

You can use Shopify’s built-in template and connect it with your marketing tools, or customize it to fit your specific needs.

Rewarding your customers with incentives will build long-term loyalty and increase repeat purchases.

craftberry built this Loyalty & Rewards program for Pepper and boosted customer retention by 17%. See how we can do this for your store too.

Shopify Flow integrates seamlessly with customer loyalty apps, making it easy to award loyalty points based on customers’ spending and activity.

In this example, we created a workflow that tags customers according to their order amounts.

This workflow is integrated with a loyalty app and automatically adds loyalty points to the customer account based on these tags.

Pre-orders are a great way to generate buzz and gauge interest in your products.

Shopify Flow offers a workflow specifically designed to track pre-orders and integrate with your email marketing, helping you keep customers engaged and excited about upcoming releases.

This workflow automatically tracks any purchases that include a pre-order item, enabling you to start a nurture campaign that maintains customer excitement and anticipation.

You can implement this by including keywords in the product title (such as “pre-order” or “coming soon”) or by tagging the product as “pre-order,” as shown in our example.

Effective communication with your logistics team is essential for handling expedited shipping requests.

Shopify Flow simplifies this process by automatically notifying your logistics team whenever a customer selects expedited shipping at checkout.

When expedited shipping is chosen, Shopify Flow sends a notification to your logistics or fulfillment team via email or through integrated communication tools like Slack.

This notification includes all relevant order details: customer name, order number, shipping address, and the chosen expedited shipping method.

This allows your logistics team to prioritize these orders, ensuring they are processed and dispatched as quickly as possible.

Additionally, you can set up automatic checks within the workflow to confirm product availability before the order is sent to the logistics team

Shopify Flow automates inventory management by sending your team alerts when product inventory is low using email, communication apps, and task management tools.

This workflow checks inventory levels and if not critically low will send an internal email or add product tags.

You can also set the workflow to email your vendor to reorder products, ensuring you never run into out-of-stock items

Segmenting customers allows you to personalize your marketing strategy, making it more relevant and effective.

With Shopify Flow, you can automatically add tags to customers based on their interactions and behaviors.

For example, you can segment customers by their purchase history or subscription status.

For instance, in a beauty Shopify store, you can set up a workflow to automatically segment customers who purchase products tagged with “vegan” or “cruelty-free.”

Once segmented, you can use your marketing tool to set up personalized email campaigns, sending tailored messages to each customer segment to enhance engagement and drive sales.

Personal touches can significantly impact how customers view your brand. Merchants use different ways to utilize this proven strategy and make their customer's day special.

Shopify Flow allows you to send customers a discount email on their birthday, making them feel valued and appreciated.

You can implement this workflow quickly, using a birthday app or use your integrated email marketing tool.

To set up this workflow you must collect birthday information when a customer creates an account.

You can also advertise birthday gifts and discounts as a members-only perk to get the most out of this strategy.

Shopify Flow allows you to set up a win-back email sequence for at-risk customers, identifying those who haven’t made a purchase recently and re-engaging them with personalized emails.

Start by configuring an at-risk segment in LoyaltyLion to categorize customers who haven’t shopped from your store for a specific period (e.g., 90 days).

Next, install Shopify’s win-back template and set up your campaign with an automated email sequence.

These emails can include reminders of previous purchases, personalized product suggestions, or special offers to encourage customers to return.

Positive reviews are invaluable for building trust and attracting new customers. Shopify Flow can automate the process of sending “thank you” emails to customers who leave a review with at least four stars.

There’s a pre-built workflow template that integrates with Reviews.io, making this process seamless.

You can use this template and add an action with your email marketing tool, or create a custom workflow with the review app you use.

After setting it up, you can automatically add loyalty points to the customer’s account and connect your marketing tool to send a personalized thank-you email.

Shopify Flow allows you to automatically export sales, inventory, and customer data to Google Sheets, enabling you to create customizable dashboards that display key metrics.

You can modify this Flow based on the specific data you need, such as abandoned carts, canceled orders, refunds, and more.

Shopify Flow is a built-in tool for eCommerce automation that requires no coding experience.

Flow allows you to use off-the-shelf templates or easily build custom workflows.

Before starting with Shopify flow examples, let's clarify some terms you will be seeing frequently:

• Triggers - A trigger is an event that initiates a workflow. It can be an event that happens in your store or in an integrated app (e.g. a customer placing a new order).

• Conditions - Conditions are rules you set when the trigger happens. They ensure that actions happen only if certain circumstances are met (e.g. purchasing two items from a new collection).

• Actions - Action happens if the conditions are met. An action in this situation can be receiving a gift with the purchase or sending an email with a discount code.

Utilizing these aspects of Shopify Flow will allow you to tailor the automation to your eCommerce business and customize every template you want.

One of the best features of Shopify Flow is the ability to integrate with apps, so you don’t have to spend time on manual tasks and reduce human error.

For example, a Shopify Flow connector can link multiple apps and services, making your business more efficient and your e-commerce store more agile.

1. Go to the Shopify App Store, search for Shopify Flow, and install it.

2. Go to the Shopify admin panel, click Apps, and then Shopify Flow.

3. Click on "create workflow" and select a custom trigger or click on browse templates.

4. Define the conditions.

5. Select the actions that will be performed when the conditions are met.

• Compatible Apps - See which apps are compatible with Shopify Flow. Popular ones are email marketing apps like Klaviyo, customer service apps like Gorgias, and inventory management apps.

• Set up app connections - Use Shopify Flow connectors to connect these apps. Set custom triggers and actions that span across different platforms to supercharge your store’s automation.

Once you’ve set up your workflows, make sure to test and monitor them. You can leverage the data and tweak your workflows.

If you need help with comprehensive analysis and tailored strategy to leverage Shopify's ecosystem, see our support and maintenance service for Shopify and Shopify Plus.

Shopify Flow has proven to be an invaluable tool for automating a wide range of processes within Shopify stores.

From managing inventory and enhancing customer experiences to optimizing fulfillment and integrating with existing apps, Shopify Flow offers endless possibilities for improving efficiency and boosting your business.

By leveraging the automation capabilities of Shopify Flow, you can save time, reduce errors, and streamline your business processes.

Read more about: Best Loyalty and Reward Apps for Shopify

Shopify Flow, which was once only available for Shopify Plus merchants, is now accessible for stores using the Shopify, Advanced Shopify, or Shopify Plus plan.

Currently, Shopify Flow supports only the English language.

Shopify Flow enhances customer experience by automating personalized interactions like email sequences and discount codes, making each customer feel valued and engaged.

This seamless approach truly elevates their shopping journey.

The primary benefit of Shopify Flow is its ability to automate various tasks, which helps you save time and reduces the likelihood of errors.

• Reduced Workload: Automates repetitive tasks, freeing up time for staff to focus on more strategic activities.

• Enhanced Customer Experience: Automates personalized customer interactions, leading to a more consistent and positive experience.

• Consistency: Ensures uniformity in processes and communications across your store.

• Cross-Channel Marketing: Facilitates coordinated marketing efforts across different channels.

• Recovery of Lost Sales: Helps win back customers and recover potential lost sales through targeted email campaigns.

Shopify Flow provides straightforward, step-by-step instructions for setting up automation workflows in your store.

To begin creating your workflow, first, determine the events that will act as triggers and identify the corresponding actions that need to be executed in response.

Once you have defined these elements, use the flow connector to link the triggers to the appropriate actions, enabling seamless automation across your store or app.

You can boost customer engagement on Shopify by texting discount codes after a second order, creating loyalty reward programs, tracking pre-orders, and sending thank you emails for positive reviews.