In this article, you'll learn:
- How to schedule and send a manual push notification.
- How to enable and customize automatic push notifications.
- How to send a push notification when you post an item to your mobile app.
- How to send a push notification when you start a live sale.
About Push Notifications
A push notification is a message from your shop's mobile app that pops up on a shopper's mobile device. Shops can send push notifications anytime, and shoppers don't have to be in the app or even using their device to receive the notification.
With push notifications, shops can notify shoppers of sales, new product drops, live sales on the app, and more. While push notifications can be a powerful tool, shops should be strategic when choosing when to send a push notification. Too many notifications can cause a shopper to disable notifications.
How Push Notifications Benefit Your Shop
- Keep your shoppers engaged with updates on live sales, promotions, and new product drops in the app.
- Enable automatic push notifications that will send without you or your team having to create them each time.
Send or Schedule a Manual Push Notification
With a manual push notification, you can specify which segment to send a notification to and whether to send that notification immediately or at a future date.
- Select Mobile App in the side menu of your CommentSold dashboard.
- Select Notifications from the menu at the top of the page.
- In the Send To section, select the segment of registered shoppers to whom you wish to send the push notification.
- All Customers. Send the push notification to all registered shoppers who have enabled push notifications.
- VIP Customers. Send the push notification to all registered VIP shoppers who have enabled push notifications. You can define the VIP dollar amount (i.e., the amount a shopper has spent in the last 30 days to qualify them as a VIP shopper) on the Shop tab of your Setup page.
- Customers with items in their carts. Send a push notification to all shoppers who currently have items in their cart. For example, after a live sale, you can send a push notification reminder for those shoppers to complete their checkout process.
- Enter a Notification Title for your push notification. Aim for something short and attention-grabbing as it'll be the emphasized text in the notification copy.
- Enter the Notification Body for your push notification. Here you can give a little more information such as elaborating on items or collections included in a sale, new markdowns in your shop, and more.
- In the Schedule Timing section, choose when you wish to send the push notification.
- Send Immediately. Sends the push notification to shoppers with push notifications enabled right away.
- Schedule Later. Allows you to schedule the push notification to send at a future date and time. Time of day is based on the time zone you set for your shop on the Shop tab of your Settings page.
- Select Send Notification or Schedule Notification depending on the option you selected.
Enable Automatic Push Notifications
Automatic push notifications will automatically send to individual shoppers when the shopper meets specific criteria. It's a great way to keep shoppers engaged as they browse and purchase with your shop.
- Select Mobile App in the side menu of your CommentSold dashboard.
- Select Notification Templates from the menu at the top of the page.
- Locate the notification you wish to activate and select the Enabled/Disabled toggle on the right side of the notification box so it appears Enabled.
- Customize the push notification message as desired.
An Added to Cart push notification sends when the shopper adds an item to their cart via a social media channel (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, etc.). The push notification will include a small image of the added product.
If you enabled First Paid First Served, you'll want to enable the Added to Cart (First Paid First Served) option.
You can use the variable tags (e.g., {productTitle} and {expiryTime}) to fill the notification with a product name and countdown unique to the shopper. The {expiryTime} tag is not available with the First Paid First Served automation as CommentSold does not hold items for purchase with this setting.
An Expiry Reminder sends shortly before products in a shopper's cart will expire. The push notification will include a small image of a product included in the cart.
If you enabled First Paid First Served, you'll want to enable the Expiry Reminder (First Paid First Served) option.
When shoppers tap on the push notification, they'll be taken directly to their cart page in your mobile app.
A First Purchase Discount notification sends to new customers seven days after they register with your shop, and every seven days until they place their first order. CommentSold will stop delivering after one month regardless of whether or not a purchase has been made.
You can customize your Offer Type by selecting one of the available options. If selecting Percentage, you can enter the desired discount in the corresponding field.
A Win Back Inactive Customers notification sends to customers who have not made a purchase in the last X days. You can define your preferred amount of time. CommentSold will continue to send every X days until either the customer places an order or one year passes.
You can customize your Offer Type by selecting one of the available options. If selecting Percentage, you can enter the desired discount in the corresponding field.
An Order Ready Local Pickup notification sends to customers who selected "Local Pickup" as their delivery method once their order is ready for pickup at your shop or warehouse.
You can enable Local Pickup on the Shipping tab of your Setup page.
You can use the variable address tags to include the dynamic address for the specific pickup location unique to the customer order.
Send Push Notification for New Product Post
When you're ready to post a new product to your mobile app, you can send out a push notification to those shoppers who have downloaded your mobile app and have push notifications enabled.
- Select Products in the side menu of your CommentSold dashboard.
- Locate the product you wish to publish to your mobile app, then select the three-dot icon on the far right of the product row.
- Select Post to App from the options listed.
- Enter a title for your push notification in the App Notification Title field.
- Aim for something short and attention-grabbing as it'll be the emphasized text in the notification copy.
- We recommend including your shop name in the title so shoppers know who is sending the notification.
- Enter the body of your push notification in the App Notification Body field. Here you can give a little more information about the product if desired.
- Select the Send the notification? checkbox.
- From the Schedule Timing drop-down, choose when you wish to send the push notification.
- Send Immediately. Sends the push notification to shoppers with push notifications enabled right away.
- Schedule Later. Allows you to schedule the push notification to send at a future date and time. Time of day is based on the time zone you set for your shop on the Shop tab of your Settings page.
- Select Save Post.
Once you post an item to your app, you can manage the post on the App Posts tab of your Posts section in CommentSold.
Send Live Sale Push Notification
When you are getting ready to go live, you have the option to stream your live sale to your mobile app. You can also send a push notification to all shoppers with notifications enabled to let them know your shop is live! When they select the notification, shoppers are taken directly to your app and your live sale feed.
- When you choose where to go live, you can select Live in the App.
- Select the Send Mobile App Notifications checkbox.
- Enter the App Notification Title for your push notification. Aim for something short and attention-grabbing as it'll be the emphasized text in the notification copy.
- Enter the App Notification Description for your push notification. Here you can give a little more detail on the live sale, such as featured collections, sales, or promotions.
- Select Go Live to start your live sale and send the push notifications.
Learn More
- View Push Notifications Log. Learn how to view performance data for your last 30 push notifications.
- Create Your Mobile App with CommentSold. Learn how to create a branded mobile app where shoppers can view products, watch live sales, make purchases, and more.
- Going Live with CommentSold. Learn how to go live on your webstore, mobile app, and social platforms simultaneously.
