How to Set Up SMS on Shopify with Pulse (Step-by-Step Guide)

If you run a Shopify store and you’re not using SMS yet, you’re leaving money on the table. SMS drives fast open rates, instant engagement, and higher recovery on abandoned carts. In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to set up SMS on Shopify using Pulse, an AI-powered SMS and email marketing platform from Goauto, and get ready to launch your first high-converting automations.

If you don’t already have an account, you can create one here:
Start with AI-powered Shopify SMS and email automation using Pulse: https://pulse.goauto.ai/signup

What Is Pulse and Why Use It for Shopify SMS?

Pulse is a marketing automation platform built around SMS and email. It connects directly to Shopify and lets you:

• Sync customers, orders, carts, and fulfillment events from your Shopify store
• Send 1-way and 2-way SMS using providers like Twilio or SignalWire
• Build visual automations for abandoned carts, order updates, and post-purchase flows
• Use AI to generate high-performing SMS and email copy in seconds
• Segment your audience by order history, engagement, and custom fields

Instead of juggling different tools, Pulse centralizes your Shopify data and messaging in one place, so you can run smarter SMS campaigns and automations without a dev team.

Prerequisites Before You Set Up SMS on Shopify

Before you configure everything, make sure you have:

• An active Shopify store
• A Pulse account and workspace for your brand
• An SMS sending provider (Twilio or SignalWire) you can connect to Pulse
• A clear consent process so customers explicitly opt in to SMS

You can create your Pulse workspace and connect everything in one short onboarding flow:
Create your Pulse workspace for Shopify SMS and email automation: https://pulse.goauto.ai/signup

Step 1: Create Your Pulse Account and Workspace

1. Visit https://pulse.goauto.ai/signup
2. Sign up with your business email and log in.
3. Create a workspace for your Shopify brand (for example: “BrandName – Shopify”).

This workspace will hold your Shopify contacts, SMS/Email campaigns, automations, and reporting. If you manage multiple brands or stores, you can create multiple workspaces and keep everything clean and separated.

Step 2: Connect Shopify to Pulse

Next, you’ll connect your Shopify store to Pulse so data can sync in real time.

Inside Pulse:

1. Go to the Integrations or Settings → Integrations section.
2. Select Shopify as your integration.
3. Enter your Shopify store URL (for example: yourstore.myshopify.com).
4. Approve the Pulse app inside Shopify when prompted.

Once connected, Pulse will start syncing:

• Customers and their contact data
• Orders and order values
• Carts and checkout events
• Fulfillment and shipping status changes

These events are what you’ll use to trigger powerful SMS automations that feel timely and relevant to each customer.

Step 3: Connect Your SMS Number Provider in Pulse

Pulse uses SMS providers like Twilio or SignalWire to send and receive SMS. You just plug your provider into Pulse and it handles the rest.

In Pulse:

1. Go to Settings → Number Provider / SMS Provider.
2. Choose your provider (Twilio or SignalWire).
3. Paste in your API credentials (such as Account SID and Auth Token).
4. Choose or purchase the phone number(s) you want to use for your Shopify SMS.
5. Enable 2-way messaging if you want customers to reply and chat with your brand.

After this step, Pulse can send and receive SMS using your number, and you’ll be able to see inbound and outbound messages in a centralized inbox.

Step 4: Sync and Organize Your Shopify Contacts

With Shopify and your SMS provider connected, your Shopify customers will flow into Pulse automatically. Now you want to structure these contacts for marketing.

In Pulse:

1. Open the Contacts area.
   
2. Confirm that customers from Shopify have synced over.
   
3. Use tags and custom fields to organize contacts, such as:
   • “VIP”
   • “High LTV”
   • “New customer”
   • “No purchase in 90 days”
     
4. Build segments based on:
   • Total spent
   • Number of orders
   • Last purchase date
   • Product categories purchased
   • Abandoned cart behavior

Well-structured segments are essential for Shopify SMS marketing. They let you target your top buyers, re-engage dormant customers, and personalize offers instead of blasting everyone with the same text.

Step 5: Turn On Core Shopify SMS Automations in Pulse

Automations are where Shopify SMS becomes truly powerful. Pulse gives you a visual automation builder so you can create flows based on Shopify events without writing code.

Here are the core flows you should set up first.

Abandoned Cart SMS Automation

Abandoned cart flows consistently deliver some of the highest ROI for Shopify brands.

To build this in Pulse:

1. Go to the Automations or Flows section.
2. Create a new automation.
3. Set the trigger to a Shopify cart or checkout event (for example, “Checkout started but not completed”).
4. Add a wait step of 30–60 minutes so you’re not texting instantly.
5. Add an action to send an SMS.
6. Personalize your message with merge fields like customer first name and a direct link back to their cart.

Example structure:

• Trigger: Checkout started but order not completed
• Wait: 1 hour
• Action: Send SMS reminder
• Condition: If order is completed → end flow
• Else: Wait 24 hours, send a second reminder with a limited-time offer

Pulse’s AI tools can help you quickly generate different abandoned cart SMS variations tailored to your brand’s tone and offers.

Order Confirmation SMS

Customers expect instant confirmation after they buy from your Shopify store. SMS makes that confirmation feel immediate.

In Pulse:

1. Create a new automation.
2. Trigger: Shopify order created / order paid.
3. Action: Send SMS including:
   • Thank-you message
   • Order number
   • Link to their order status or tracking page

You can also add an email step in the same flow so customers get both an email and SMS confirmation.

Shipping and Delivery SMS Updates

Shipping notifications via SMS reduce support tickets and keep customers happy.

In Pulse:

1. Create a new automation.
2. Trigger: Shopify fulfillment status updated (for example “Shipped” or “Delivered”).
3. Action: Send SMS with:
   • Carrier and tracking link (if available)
   • Estimated arrival information
   • A friendly message about watching for their package

Post-Purchase Upsell and Review Requests

After an order is delivered, you can use SMS to drive repeat sales and collect valuable reviews.

In Pulse:

1. Create a new automation.
2. Trigger: Order fulfillment / delivery event.
3. Add a wait step of 7–14 days, depending on your product.
4. Action: Send SMS that:
   • Asks for a product review or rating
   • Suggests complementary products
   • Offers a small incentive for the next order

Again, Pulse’s AI can help generate upsell and review request copy that matches your brand voice.

Step 6: Launch Your First Shopify SMS Campaign

Automations run in the background, but campaigns (also called broadcasts) are one-time or scheduled messages you send to a segment.

To launch your first SMS campaign in Pulse:

1. Go to the SMS Campaign / Broadcast section.
2. Choose your target segment, such as:
   • All customers who purchased in the last 60 days
   • Customers who bought a specific collection
   • Inactive customers with no purchase in 90 days
3. Draft your SMS message, and include:
   • Personalization (for example, first name)
   • A clear offer or value proposition
   • A strong call-to-action with a trackable link
4. Use Pulse’s AI features to generate multiple versions and pick the best one.
5. Schedule the campaign for your best-performing send times, or send immediately.

Pulse will track deliveries, failures, and responses so you can see how your Shopify SMS campaigns perform.

Step 7: Keep Your Shopify SMS Compliant

SMS marketing is regulated, so it’s essential to stay compliant while you scale.

Best practices include:

• Only texting customers who have explicitly opted in to SMS
• Clearly explaining what type of messages they’ll receive and how often
• Honoring opt-outs immediately
• Including instructions for opting out when required

Pulse helps manage opt-outs and suppression for you. When a customer replies with standard opt-out keywords like “STOP,” Pulse will automatically ensure they no longer receive SMS from your campaigns and automations.

Step 8: Track Performance and Optimize Your SMS Strategy

Once your Shopify SMS setup is live with Pulse, review performance regularly so you can optimize.

Monitor:

• Delivery rate: Are your messages reaching customers?
• Click-throughs: Which offers and messages drive the most traffic?
• Response and reply rate: Are customers engaging with you via SMS?
• Failures: Are there issues like invalid numbers or carrier filtering?
• Cost usage: How your SMS spend compares to revenue from campaigns and flows

Use these insights to:

• Test different send times and days
• Refine your segments (for example, separate first-time buyers from repeat customers)
• Adjust copy and offers based on actual results
• Expand winning flows to more products or collections

Why Use Pulse Instead of a Basic Shopify SMS App?

Many Shopify SMS tools can send a simple text, but Pulse is built for brands that want advanced automation and AI:

• Unified email and SMS in a single workspace
• Deep Shopify sync for smarter triggers and segmentation
• AI-assisted copywriting to speed up campaign creation
• Multi-workspace support for agencies and multi-brand setups
• 2-way SMS, so you can have real conversations with customers

If you’re serious about growing your Shopify revenue with SMS and email, Pulse gives you an automation-first, AI-powered setup rather than a basic broadcasting tool.

Get Started with Shopify SMS and Pulse

To recap, here’s the full checklist to set up SMS on Shopify with Pulse:

1. Create your Pulse account and workspace.
2. Connect your Shopify store to Pulse.
3. Plug in your SMS provider (Twilio or SignalWire) and choose a number.
4. Sync and organize your Shopify customers into tags and segments.
5. Turn on core flows: abandoned cart, order confirmation, shipping updates, post-purchase.
6. Launch targeted SMS campaigns for key segments.
7. Stay compliant and continuously optimize your messaging.

When you’re ready to plug AI-powered SMS and email into your Shopify store, start here:
Launch AI-driven Shopify SMS and email marketing with Pulse: https://pulse.goauto.ai/signup