Shopify Flow: Guide to Build Code-Free Automation

How can you save time on your Shopify store and alleviate these burdensome duties?  Shopify Flow is for you.

As a store owner, you juggle numerous responsibilities, ranging from major decisions to minor tasks like identifying valuable customers or updating staff. However, not every task demands your direct attention; automation can handle these processes more efficiently than manual labor. 

Enter Shopify Flow – your virtual assistant for automating mundane tasks. By delegating these chores to the software, you gain precious time to focus on business growth, without sacrificing efficiency.

What is Shopify Flow?

Shopify Flow is an e-commerce automation platform. Shopify developed it to help merchants streamline their business. It does this by automating repetitive tasks and workflows. It allows merchants to make custom automation rules. They do not need coding knowledge. This lets them save time and focus on growing their business.

You create workflows by dragging and dropping. You can use them for activities and processes in your Shopify store. Shopify Flow may talk to installed apps. It triggers actions and sends data as part of the process.

Workflows can also be created directly from your Shopify Admin. This means you can run automation on individual or multiple orders, draft orders, customers, or goods. Furthermore, this capability allows users to run workflows from the past.

Shopify Flow

How much does Shopify Flow cost? You will be pleased to learn that this app is entirely free! Shopify Flow, which was previously exclusively available to Shopify Plus merchants, is now available to all stores on the Shopify, Advanced, and Shopify Plus plans. 

Most Shopify Flow features are available on all plans. Differences between plans include:

• Merchants using the Shopify, Advanced, or Plus plans can use the Send HTTP Request task.
• Plus plan allows merchants to use tasks defined by bespoke partner apps.
• Merchants are assigned varying usage restrictions in Shopify Flow based on the API limits defined by their plan.

How does Shopify Flow work?

Shopify Flow components

To develop the automation, you design a process with components like triggers, conditions, and actions.

Workflow components	Definition	Example
Triggers	A trigger is an event that initiates a workflow, which might occur in your store or within an app.	When an order is placed
Conditions	A condition decides whether an action is performed based on the circumstances you specify.	If the order value is greater than $100
Actions	An action is a modification performed to your store or app when a condition is met.	Send a thank-you email to the customer

Shopify Flow connectors

The Shopify Flow connector is a technology that can be added to your Shopify store’s website. It enables automated workflows and processes for many actions in an eCommerce store. Connectors allow you to connect many apps to Shopify Flow to extract triggers and take action if certain circumstances are satisfied. This connector allows retailers like you to develop custom processes and automate repetitive tasks like order processing, inventory management, and more.  

Here are some examples of Shopify Flow connectors:

• Email marketing platforms have connectors for platforms like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and Constant Contact. They let merchants automate email marketing tasks. The tasks are based on events and conditions in their Shopify store.
• You can integrate with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. These include Salesforce or HubSpot. This allows retailers to sync customer data between their Shopify store and the CRM. This integration can automate processes. For example, it can update client information. It can also segment consumers based on their purchasing habits. And, it can start follow-up actions.
• Analytics and reporting solutions are a key part of this. They automate data analysis and reporting. Merchants can use tools like Google Analytics or Data Studio for this.

So, Shopify Flow and Connectors will help you make your store run better. They will also free up time for other activities.

Step-to-step guide to creating workflows in Shopify Flow

Create workflows in Shopify flow manually

Shopify Flow allows you to construct a workflow on a free-form canvas. Below, we will demonstrate how to design a simple process with a single trigger, condition, and action. Furthermore, you can create more sophisticated workflows by adding more conditions and actions, or by utilizing advanced triggers and actions.

Steps to Follow:

1. In your Shopify admin panel, navigate to Settings > Apps and Sales channels.
2. Select Shopify Flow.
3. Click the Open App button.

4. Select Create workflow.

5. Click Select a trigger, and then choose the one that initiates the workflow.

6. To create a new step, click the Output button. Click Condition, then pick the condition that must be met before any actions can be performed.

7. Click Then to choose the action to do if the condition you specified is true. Click Actions and select the action that executes based on the results of the condition.

8. Click Otherwise to add to your workflow if the condition you specified is untrue. You can add more conditions or actions.

9. Select New Workflow and input a title for your workflow.

10. To activate your workflow, click Turn on Workflow.

Create workflows with a template

To use a trigger or action from an app, you must first install the connector, as many templates have app-based triggers and actions.

1. In your Shopify admin panel, navigate to Settings > Apps and Sales channels.
2. Select Shopify Flow.
3. Click the Open App button.

4. Select Create workflow.

5. Click Browse Templates, then choose a template.

6. Check to see if the template suits your requirements.

7. Select Install.

8. You can customize the template however you wish. Optional: Click the workflow’s name and update it.

9. To begin using your process, click Turn on workflow.

Shopify Flow examples

Abandoned cart recovery

Shopify Flow enables merchants to automate the process of recovering abandoned carts effortlessly. When a customer adds items to their cart but does not buy them, Shopify Flow can send a follow-up email. It reminds them of their pending order. You can personalize this email with incentives. These can be discounts or free shipping. They encourage the customer to complete their purchase. 

Merchants can use this automated workflow. It helps them reconnect with customers who showed interest in their products. This increases conversion rates and recovers lost revenue.

Merchandising

The platform is a valuable resource for accelerating your store’s merchandising process. When new items are added to your store, Shopify Flow can apply tags based on their title, SKU, variations, or kind, and place them in the relevant collections.

Customer segmentation

Segmenting customers is key for targeted marketing. Shopify Flow can make this process easier. When a customer purchases in a category, Shopify Flow can tag them as a “luxury buyer”. It does this based on predefined criteria. Then, they can be added to a segmented email list for luxury buyers. 

This allows merchants to send targeted marketing campaigns. They can send promotions and product recommendations. These match the preferences and buying behavior of luxury buyers. This increases the odds of conversion and customer satisfaction.

Product promotions

For product promotions, Shopify Flow offers seamless automation. Upon adding a new product, it triggers the automatic creation of promotional campaigns on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. This ensures immediate exposure to potential customers, maximizing visibility and sales opportunities.

Similarly, when a seasonal sale commences, Shopify Flow dynamically updates product prices and generates banners on the website to emphasize the sale. This ensures that customers are promptly informed about the discount offerings, driving traffic and conversions during the promotional period.

Creating urgency for low-inventory items

Consumers are often driven to act by a sense of urgency or significance. Words, after all, are powerful.

You can easily track inventory changes using Shopify Flow. Not only that, but when a product’s supply runs low, you may quickly add the goods to a “Last Chance” collection (or whatever name you like). You can even identify it as “low in stock” to let shoppers know they only have a limited time to act.

Shopify also lets you filter by tags, making it easy for your employees to know which products are running low.

Benefits and drawbacks of Shopify Flow

Benefits

Drawbacks

Shopify Flow saves time. It does this by automating tasks and workflows. This frees up time for merchants. You can reinvest this time in crucial areas.  Automation increases accuracy. This reduces human error. It improves order processing, inventory management, and customer communications.  As businesses expand, manual tasks become increasingly cumbersome. Shopify Flow helps merchants scale their operations.  Shopify Flow gives retailers the ability to design unique automated processes.  Integration is seamless. It works with many Shopify apps, services, and third-party platforms.

Shopify Flow offers a user-friendly interface. But, making complex workflows may still need a learning curve.  Certain Shopify Flow advanced features may come at an additional cost. These include certain connectors or premium automation capabilities.  Shopify Flow’s effectiveness depends heavily on third-party integrations. It needs them to be available and reliable.  Over-automation can have unintended consequences. It can lead to sending too many irrelevant customer messages.

Wrap-up

Although the Shopify Plus plan requires a monthly commitment of at least $2000, it is worthwhile. Shopify Flow, in particular, is designed to assign an assistant to assist you with these repetitive tasks, freeing up your time to focus on the growth of your business.

To be honest, far too many entrepreneurs and their teams waste far too much time dealing with issues that could be resolved more quickly and effectively using Shopify flow automation. Why put in the effort when you don’t need to?

With Shopify Flow, you can monitor reviews and respond to specific negative feedback. You can arrange and segment consumers based on key indicators such as client lifetime value or current expenditure. Shopify can also be used for inventory control. It is good for marketing, customer loyalty, and retention. It also enables offering discounts on specific orders.