WhatsApp in Shopify Messaging: how to collect consent at checkout and recover carts with automated messages

What Shopify added for WhatsApp in Editions Fall '26

The marketing section of Editions Fall '26 includes two WhatsApp features. The first is a checkbox so customers can opt in to WhatsApp marketing during checkout. The second is automated WhatsApp marketing messages, sent from Shopify Messaging, to recover sales lost at three moments: when someone views products without adding them to the cart, when they leave the cart without starting checkout, and when they start checkout and do not finish it.

Shopify Messaging is the app formerly called Shopify Email. It now brings email, SMS and WhatsApp campaigns and automations together in one place. According to the Help Center, stores on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Shopify Plus plans can use it, and Shopify Network Intelligence must be turned on in your privacy settings.

The Editions page does not list plan or country restrictions for these features. Those conditions are in the Shopify Messaging WhatsApp documentation, which we cover below.

• WhatsApp consent checkbox at checkout
• Abandoned browse automation (viewed a product, did not add it)
• Abandoned cart automation (added to cart, did not start checkout)
• Abandoned checkout automation (started checkout, did not buy)

How Shopify Messaging works with Meta's WhatsApp Business

Shopify does not send the messages on its own: it connects your store to a WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) through Meta's Embedded Signup. That account holds the sender number, the display name and the message templates. Shopify checks your eligibility during onboarding, and you must comply with the WhatsApp Business Solution Terms and its Business Messaging Policy.

On the WhatsApp Business Platform, a business can only message a customer outside the 24-hour customer service window using approved templates. Templates have a category (marketing, utility or authentication) and Meta reviews them before they can be sent. Shopify says approval can take up to 24 hours and that abandonment templates are submitted automatically when you set up WhatsApp, although that automatic submission is not guaranteed.

Messages support a header with an image, text or a product, a text body and buttons (link, call, discount code or quick reply). Shopify does not support video headers or carousels. Every marketing message includes a reply STOP to unsubscribe instruction that cannot be removed or edited.

What to set up, step by step

Order matters: first connect WhatsApp, then turn on consent, and finally create the automations. If your WhatsApp Business Account is already connected to another provider, you need to disconnect it first; and an account with a payment method on file cannot be connected, so in that case you need a new one.

For signup you need your legal business name, its category, access to Facebook and your Meta Business account, and a phone number. You can use a number you already have (for example, your customer service line), one from a third-party provider, or one provided by WhatsApp with just a display name. In that last case Meta reviews the business and the name before you can send, and Shopify notes this can take up to 5 business days.

Business verification with Meta is optional, but Shopify recommends it: it speeds up template approval and helps you move up messaging limits faster. It is done in your Meta Business account, not in the Shopify admin.

• Install Shopify Messaging and go to Apps > Messaging > Settings > WhatsApp > Connect WhatsApp
• Choose a number and display name, and complete signup with Meta
• In Settings > Checkout, under marketing opt-in, set WhatsApp to Checkout only
• If you use SMS and WhatsApp, choose the regions where the WhatsApp checkbox appears
• Import existing consent using the Accepts WhatsApp marketing column in the CSV
• In Apps > Messaging > Automations, create the abandonment ones and pick WhatsApp as the channel

Consent at checkout and what the law asks if you sell in Spain or the EU

When you set WhatsApp to Checkout only, Shopify adds a subscription checkbox to checkout. For it to work you need terms of service and a privacy policy published in the policies section of the admin, and consent is only saved when the customer completes checkout. Shopify only sends WhatsApp campaigns and automations to customers who opted in to that channel, and for abandonment automations this cannot be changed.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. If you sell in Spain, article 21 of the LSSI (Spain's e-commerce law) prohibits sending commercial communications by email or equivalent electronic means unless the recipient requested or expressly authorized them, and INCIBE, Spain's national cybersecurity institute, notes that WhatsApp falls under this rule. The same guide stresses offering a simple, free way to object and telling users who processes their data and why.

In practice, treat WhatsApp consent as separate from email consent: someone who signed up for your newsletter has not authorized you to message them on WhatsApp. Leave the checkbox unticked by default, explain in one sentence what they will receive, and review your privacy policy with your legal advisor before turning the channel on.

What it costs and how it is billed

Meta has charged per message since July 1, 2025, based on the message category and the recipient's country calling code. Service messages, which are replies within the 24-hour window, include 1,000 free per month per number, and since October 1, 2026 Meta charges from the 1,001st message.

If you send from Shopify Messaging, the cost shows up on your Shopify bill as WhatsApp, every month. Automations are charged per message sent at the rate for each recipient's region, and subscription confirmations and automatic keyword replies count as marketing. Shopify publishes the rate table by country on its WhatsApp pricing page; check it before you run numbers, because Meta can update prices at the start of each quarter, with advance notice.

To avoid surprises, Shopify Messaging lets you set a monthly spending threshold that emails you when it is reached, and it shows an estimated cost when you schedule a campaign. You can also send up to 25 test messages per week at no cost.

Frequency and good practices to keep the channel healthy

WhatsApp is a very personal channel and Meta monitors it. Each number has a quality rating (green, yellow or red) based on how customers respond: if they block or report you, it drops. With a poor rating, Meta can lower your messaging limit, pause templates and even restrict the number. WhatsApp may also cap how many marketing messages each person receives based on factors such as how recently they read previous ones.

New accounts start with a cap of 2,000 messages per day until Meta treats them as trusted. That is why it makes sense to start with abandonment automations, which go to people with recent purchase intent, before launching mass campaigns.

• Check that email, SMS and WhatsApp automations do not overlap on the same abandonment
• Use WhatsApp for the most useful reminder, not to repeat what the email already says
• Avoid sending the same promotional template over and over to the same people
• After a large campaign, check the rating in WhatsApp Manager > Account tools > Phone numbers
• If it drops to yellow or red, reduce volume and message only your most engaged customers

How to measure whether WhatsApp is working

The Automations page in Shopify Messaging shows reach, online store sessions, orders, conversion rate and attributed sales for each automation. From each automation's menu you can open its marketing activities report, with order details.

Always measure against cost. Since every message is paid, the question is not whether WhatsApp sells, but whether it sells more than it costs and adds sales that email would not have recovered. Compare automation results with what your Shopify bill shows under WhatsApp, and keep an eye on STOP unsubscribes and the quality rating: a channel that converts but piles up blocks will not last long.

Note that, for now, welcome, post-purchase and customer appreciation automations are not available on WhatsApp; only the three abandonment ones are. If you need a different flow, or one that uses a third-party app, Shopify points you to Shopify Flow.

How Weblineo can help

We have worked only with Shopify since 2016 and we are a Shopify Plus Partner. We can set up WhatsApp end to end: the Meta connection, the consent checkbox at checkout, subscriber import, abandonment automations coordinated with your email and SMS, and copy that passes template review.

If you need something Shopify Messaging does not cover, we build it with Shopify Flow workflows or custom code. We work at a fixed price and training is included, so afterwards you can review metrics, costs and number quality without depending on anyone.