Ecommerce businesses mainly focus on email marketing exclusively, but how big is the opportunity to show a short notification with a catchy image even when the customer is not browsing your store?
Let's explore the power of Push Notifications to boost sales and connect with customers in new and exciting ways.
Contents
Upcoming Changes to Push Notifications Logic
Setup Process
Managing Your Push Notifications Subscribers
Push Notifications Campaigns
Push Notifications in Automation
Images in Push Notifications
Before You Begin
This feature is available for Omnisend users with Shopify, BigCommerce, and API integrations (WooCommerce is considered API integration).
Push notifications are not available for WIX users;
Push notifications can be used on all the Omnisend plans.
Push notifications have unlimited sends on the Standard and Pro plans. Also, 500 push notification credits are available monthly on the Free plan.
Your website must have an SSL certificate (HTTPS) to connect Push Notifications.
Push notifications are available for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera browsers. The table below shows browsers vs. operational systems that support (green) and don't support (red) Push Notifications:
Each opt-in record is counted per browser that your visitor is using.
If your customers, who were previously manually imported to your Audience, subscribe to the push channel, their data won't match the initial contact. To properly subscribe,e they need to have our unique omnisendContactID cookie. This cookie can be obtained by submitting a form or clicking on a sent campaign. It helps identify the contact for a push channel subscription.
There is a default timing of notification display of 2-3s, and all new visitors will be targeted.
Re-installing the browser to the default settings will clean all previously collected data. Meaning that if your client re-installs, the opt-in will be lost.
Important! Your previous push notifications contact lists cannot be imported as subscribed to the push channel to your Omnisend audience.
Upcoming Changes to Push Notifications Logic
Effective June 1st, 2023, we will be implementing changes to our push notifications logic in order to improve your experience with Omnisend. Please take note of the following important details:
For New Customers (Since June 1st): Customers who started using Omnisend on or after June 1st, 2023, will be subject to the new push notifications logic. Now, when a customer subscribes to the push channel, a standalone push contact will be automatically created.
Additionally, any orders resulting from push messages will be attributed to sales in Omnisend. This means that your customers no longer need to be subscribed to another marketing channel for proper order attribution.
For Existing Customers (Before June 1st): For customers who started using Omnisend before June 1st, 2023, the changes to push notifications logic will be implemented on July 3rd, 2023.
Previously, your customers had to subscribe to both the push channel and provide their email or SMS during the same browsing session to be considered a push subscriber. If a customer subscribed to the push channel alone, they would be dropped at the end of the session, and their contact on Omnisend wouldn't be created. This limited the growth of the push subscriber list and only allowed order attribution when the customer subscribed to both email/SMS and the push channel.
With the new push notifications logic, customers subscribing to the push channel will have a standalone push contact created automatically. When a customer receives a push message that leads to placing an order, the order will be attributed to Omnisend. This eliminates the requirement for customers to be subscribed to another marketing channel for proper order attribution.
Important Notes:
Merging Email/SMS with Push Contact: During the checkout process, the email/SMS provided by the customer will be merged with their push contact. This ensures that the customer's information is consolidated into a single contact on our platform, avoiding the creation of duplicate contacts.
API integration will not have a push channel attributed to order information. Attributed orders logic will be currently available only for Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce stores.
Signup events will not trigger when a push subscription happens and a new contact is created. This means that welcome automation for push channels will not work in this case.
We hope that these changes will enhance your experience with Omnisend's push notifications feature. If you have any questions or concerns, please refer to our support documentation or contact our support team.
Setup process
If your store is on the BigCommerce platform, check this guide. Otherwise, proceed with the steps below.
Step 1. Connect Push Notifications App. Click on your store name in the top right corner → open the Apps tab:
Step 2. Find the Push Notifications app and click the 'Connect now' button:
Step 3. If connected successfully, you will be redirected to the Success page.
Be aware that if your store is connected via API, you need to take an extra step and Download a file and upload it to your store's root folder.
You will also see an error message if your store does not have the HTTPS certificate. Just add the certificates and try to reconnect again.
Managing your Push Notifications subscribers
Unlike other channels, where your contacts may be subscribed, non-subscribed, and unsubscribed, the Push Notifications channel has only two statuses:
Subscribed;
Unsubscribed.
There are two ways for your contacts to subscribe to the Push Notifications channel: clicking on the Allow button or manually choosing this option in the Browser notifications settings.
If your store visitors select Block Push Notifications, their status will be unsubscribed.
Push Notifications Campaigns
When you go to the Campaigns Tab, click New Campaign → Find Push notification → click Create notification.
As the next step, you will be able to edit the Content of your notification.
You can edit your campaign's title, text, logo, and image here. You can send a test notification once your content is finalized.
On the right side, you will see how your notification looks on Windows, macOS, and Android devices.
Next, you'll land at the Recipients step. Select to whom you want to show your notifications. Select All Subscribers or a specific segment that you have created.
At the Send step, you can review and confirm your selections. Just hit Send Now, and your push notification campaign will be sent.
Push Notifications in Automations
Push Notifications are not a separate workflow in automation. It is an additional step within your available workflows:
Once added to the flow, you will be able to edit the Content of your notification:
Hit Send a test to see how your notification looks on the device.
Images in Push Notifications
You can add icons or images to your push notification. An icon may be used to add your business logo, while the image can add more content to the message and make it visible to the customer. These features are available for campaign and automation push notifications on Windows and Android.
To add an image for campaigns, click Select Icon Image → Select from Computer or Use Image from URL → Open, and your selected image will start showing for your notification. Repeat the same process if you wish to add an icon:
After clicking the Select file button, you'll be brought to the Image library, where all your images are stored.
Please note: the image will not show on MacOS.
Push Campaign Report
Under the push campaign report, you can access two tabs that offer a detailed and comprehensive overview of the campaign's performance. These tabs provide valuable insights that can help you assess the effectiveness of your campaign and make informed decisions to optimize its outcomes.
The first tab is the Overview, which presents essential metrics such as the total number of push notifications sent, the view rate, the click rate, and the revenue generated from the campaign. Additionally, this tab offers a real-time hourly performance report for the first 24 hours of the campaign, allowing you to monitor its performance as it progresses. You can also track the views and clicks your campaign has received over time and gain insight into which specific messages resonate with your audience. Moreover, this tab provides device reports, allowing you to assess the campaign's effectiveness across different devices and tailor your marketing efforts accordingly.
The second tab is the Contact Activity, which provides detailed information about the actions performed by each contact. This feature allows you to analyze the behavior of your target audience and gain insights into their preferences and interests. By identifying which contacts engage with your campaign and which do not, you can segment your audience and create personalized marketing strategies that resonate with specific groups.
FAQ
What happens if the recipient won't open their browser after sending the push notification?
The browser should be opened for the push notification to be delivered. After the push is sent out, the recipient's browser is monitored. The moment it's opened, the push notification is delivered. If the customer won't open their browser within 24 hours after a push has been sent, the push notification will expire and won't be shown. There's no option to edit the Push Notifications TTL (Time-To-Live). It works the same way for campaigns and automations.
Have more questions? Feel free to contact us at [email protected].
