How to Add SMS Opt-in to Shopify Checkout

SMS is an incredible marketing tool. Text messages get opened at a rate of 98%, which means your marketing messages get into the literal hands of your customers. When brands use this highly personal channel correctly, they can see increased customer loyalty, customer lifetime value, and ultimately more revenue.  

The start of a successful text message campaign is growing your SMS subscriber list. While this can be a daunting task, there are some natural places to add SMS opt-ins throughout your customer journey that will make it easy to grow your list. 

For Shopify merchants, using your checkout forms is a perfect place to ask customers to opt-in for SMS.

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How to Add SMS Opt-in to Shopify Checkout

Giving customers the option to opt-in to SMS at checkout is a perfect opportunity to add new or returning customers to your SMS list. By the time a customer arrives at checkout, you know they are enjoying your brand and products enough to buy. This energy translates into high engagement and commitment at purchase. 

So let’s get down to the how-to. 

Note: Don’t forget to stay compliant. With the methods we describe in this post, a double opt-in flow is required for compliance purposes. We’ll also go over how to add disclaimer copy to your checkout later in this article. 

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How to Edit the Settings Within Shopify

You'll need to have admin permissions within Shopify to perform the following actions. Most of the Shopify changes we discuss in this article will take place inside Shopify's main admin area, under Settings [1] then under Checkout [2]. We'll refer back to this Checkout section frequently:

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Collect Phone Numbers at the Beginning of Shopify’s Checkout Form

You can set up your Shopify checkout form to ask for an email or phone number as the customer’s Contact Information. If the customer enters a phone number as opposed to an email address, the "Email me with news and offers" checkbox will disappear. 

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While you are collecting their phone number at this point, you will still need to get their consent in order to send them text messages. The good news is the phone number will populate in the other areas making it easy to opt-in later on. 

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To set this up, go to the Settings > Checkout area of the Shopify admin panel as described above.

Scroll down to the section 'Customer contact method' [1]. Under Select what contact method customers use to check out, select the radio button titled 'Phone number or email' [2]:

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Then scroll to the very bottom of the page and click on Save.

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Offer an Opt-in Option at the End of the “Contact Information” Checkout Form

Adding an opt-in option at the end of the Contact Information checkout form, just before going on to shipping, is another seamless place to add SMS opt-in. Your customer will see this option during checkout:

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To make this change, again go to the Settings > Checkout area of the Shopify admin panel as described above.

This time you are looking for a section titled, Consent for marketing [1]. Check the SMS marketing box [2]. You can also collect their email addresses here [3] for marketing purposes. Note for SMS collection you'll also need to fill in the terms of service and privacy policy in Shopify's legal settings [4]:

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Then at the very bottom of the page, click Save.

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Collect Phone Numbers Under The Shipping Address Form Section

Another location to request a phone number is under the shipping details at the bottom of your checkout page, such as:

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To add an opt-in here, go to the Shopify Settings > Checkout section as described above, and this time scroll down until you see Form options [1]. Under Shipping address phone number [2] make your selection of either Optional [3] (recommended) or Required [4]:

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Remember to scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save.

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How to Edit or Add SMS Disclaimer Copy to Shopify Checkout

As we mentioned above, the method we went over in this post requires a double opt-in flow for compliance purposes.

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Double Opt-In: A soft requirement for SMS marketing where a customer opts-in to receive text messages or emails, providing consent twice. For example, the first consent can be clicking a button on a modal window, and the second consent is replying ‘Y’ to join the text list. Double opt-in can apply to subscribing for an email list as well. It is meant to add another step to the opt-in process to confirm consumer interest and verify contact information. Note: other than via custom keyed entry, single opt-in is an acceptable form of opt-in compliance.

Check out Voyage SMS Glossary for More Terms and Insights

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Adding Disclaimer Copy With Checkbox 

You can modify the disclaimer copy that appears with your SMS opt-in checkbox under the Contact information section of the checkout form. 

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To edit this copy, head to the same Settings > Checkout page of Shopify's admin area as described above, you are looking for a section called Checkout language [1]. Click on the Manage checkout language button [2]:

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You can scroll to find the Checkout marketing section [1], but this page is very large so it will be easier to hit CTRL-F in your browser to perform a search operation. Search for the term "accept marketing" [2] to be taken directly to the field we want to modify [3]:

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Then put your disclaimer copy into the Accept marketing checkbox label field. 

Your disclaimer copy can read along the lines of: 

“I agree to receive emails or SMS messages from [your name]. By joining via text messages, I agree to receive recurring marketing messages (e.g. cart abandon) from [your name] at the mobile number used to send the join text message. Msg & data rates may apply. Msg frequency varies. Consent is not a condition of any purchase. STOP to unsubscribe, HELP for help. View our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for details.”

Note: This post is informational and is not providing legal advice so please contact your legal counsel to obtain advice for your brand’s needs. 

Then scroll all the way to the top of the page (or hit CTRL-HOME), and click on Save in the top right corner. 

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Adding Disclaimer Copy to Phone Tip Tool

The tool-tip under the Shipping address section of the checkout form can also be modified to suit your specific branding and compliance standards. 

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In the Shopify Settings > Checkout section as described above, scroll down to Checkout language [1] and click on the Manage checkout language button [2]:

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Scroll down to Phone tooltip [1], or in your browser perform a CTRL-F search for "phone tooltip" [2] to quickly find the field we want to edit [3]:

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Then copy and paste your disclaimer copy. It should read something like: 

“By joining via text messages, I agree to receive recurring marketing messages (e.g. cart abandon) from [your name] at the mobile number used to send the join text message. Msg & data rates may apply. Msg frequency varies. Consent is not a condition of purchase. STOP to unsubscribe, HELP for help. View our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy for details.”

Note: This post is informational and is not providing legal advice so please contact your legal counsel to obtain advice for your brand’s needs. 

Then scroll to the top of the page (or hit CTRL-HOME), and click on Save in the top right corner.

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How to Start Sending SMS for Shopify Brands

Now that you have successfully set up your Shopify checkout to grow your SMS subscriber list, you need to right SMS platform to successfully engage and convert your subscribers. 

Voyage is the perfect SMS platform for any Shopify brand. Voyage seamlessly integrates with Shopify allowing you to take advantage of a wealth of data to create a delightful and personalized experience for your customers. 

Discover how to get your SMS marketing initiative up and running and set up for success. In our SMS Marketing Guide for Shopify Stores, we'll cover everything your Shopify store needs from stern to bow. Download the guide today!

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