WhatsApp for Shopify Stores

#What messages should a Shopify store send on WhatsApp?

Five messages cover most of what a store needs. Chirpoo Commerce ships all five, each as a template Chirpoo submits to Meta for you.

1. Order confirmed. Sent when the order is placed. It carries the order number, items and total, with the product photo once Meta approves the rich version.
2. Shipped, with tracking. Sent when you mark the order fulfilled, with the tracking link.
3. Cart reminder. Two steps by default, for customers who started checkout and left. The full flow is in the abandoned cart guide.
4. Review request. Sent after delivery, asking for a review. See review requests on WhatsApp.
5. COD confirmation. A Yes or No button message for cash-on-delivery orders, with an optional auto-cancel after 24 hours. The detail is in the COD confirmation guide.

The order and shipping messages answer a customer action, so they sit in Meta's utility category. Meta's template categorisation page (checked 26 Oct 2026) gives "Thank you! Your order {{order_number}} is confirmed." as an example. The cart reminder is marketing. The same page says abandoned cart reminders are marketing "even if requested by users".

For the order-update side in more depth, read Shopify order updates on WhatsApp.

#How does Chirpoo connect to Shopify?

You install Chirpoo Commerce on the store and link it to your WhatsApp number. After that, Shopify events start flows. A new order starts the confirmation. A fulfilment starts the shipping message. A checkout that is not completed starts the cart reminder. No code is involved.

Every flow can start on a new message, a tag, an ad click or a Shopify order. You build them with the no-code flow editor, or you use the ready-made store messages. Before a flow talks to a real customer you can run a test run and use shadow mode, so you see how it behaves first.

Chirpoo runs on the official WhatsApp Cloud API through the WhaBuzz gateway. Your WhatsApp number stays yours. If you leave, your contacts and chats stay readable through the API until you close the workspace, and a full export is available on request.

The Shopify App Store listing is coming later. When it lands, Commerce will be $17.49 a month, with $5 per extra number or login and GST included. Until then you pay ₹1,499 a month by invoice link in rupees, with no auto-debit.

#How do the message templates get approved by Meta?

WhatsApp only lets a business start a conversation with an approved template. Meta's template review page says it can take up to 24 hours to decide.

It can take up to 24 hours for an approval decision to be made.

Chirpoo does the paperwork. It drafts each store template to Meta's rules and submits it with your store's details. The product photo goes in the header once Meta approves the rich version, so the first messages you send may be text-only. If Meta rejects a template, Chirpoo redrafts it using Meta's stated reasons, and the "Fix it" button does the same on any reject. Our rejected template fixes post lists the common causes.

Submit on the day you install, not the day of a sale. Then run test mode, described next, while Meta reviews. The wider topic is in the message templates guide.

#What is test mode, and why use it first?

Shopify test mode lets you try the store messages before customers receive them. Place a test order on your store and check the order-confirmed message, then the shipped message when you fulfil it. Look at the real template, the real variables and the real tracking link.

Run it for each of the five messages. Check three things: the name and order number are right, the tracking link opens, and the button text on the COD message reads clearly. Fix wording while the only person reading is you.

Then switch live. Chirpoo only sends marketing messages, such as cart reminders, to people who opted in. Order and shipping messages are utility, not marketing. If a customer replies STOP or "band karo", or uses Meta's own opt-out, marketing sends end for that contact.

#How does consent work with Shopify?

Marketing messages need opt-in. Meta's send messages documentation (checked 26 Oct 2026) says: "Only send messages to WhatsApp users who have opted into receiving messages from your business."

Chirpoo tracks consent on every contact and syncs Shopify marketing consent both ways. A customer Shopify records as subscribed to WhatsApp marketing becomes a contact you can send cart reminders and broadcasts to. Email or SMS consent alone does not count for WhatsApp. A customer who opts out in Chirpoo is reflected back in Shopify.

Shopify's Admin API keeps a WhatsApp marketing consent state on the customer's phone number, alongside email and SMS consent, and that WhatsApp state is the one Chirpoo reads and writes. The Shopify marketing consent post explains how it behaves. The practical rule: ask clearly for WhatsApp consent, and never message people who did not say yes.

Order and shipping updates are different. They are utility messages about a purchase the customer just made, not marketing, so Chirpoo does not hold them back for marketing consent.

#Why is Shopify's built-in messaging not enough for Indian stores?

Shopify's built-in notifications are email and SMS. Shopify's customer notifications help page (checked 26 Oct 2026) says: "Customer notifications are automated emails and SMS messages", and WhatsApp is not mentioned on it.

Shopify's abandoned checkout recovery is also email. Its abandoned checkouts help page (checked 26 Oct 2026) says no recovery email is sent if "the customer entered a phone number instead of an email address". In India, where many shoppers check out with a phone number, that is a real gap, and a WhatsApp reminder fills it.

The inbox row matters most. Customers reply to a WhatsApp message with a question. Without a shared inbox the reply lands on one person's phone. Chirpoo gives your team one inbox with assignment, notes and the 24-hour reply timer, which Chirpoo vs Shopify Inbox covers in full.

#How much does it cost to run?

Two bills, kept apart. Chirpoo Commerce is ₹1,499 a month, excluding 18% GST, with 5 team logins and one WhatsApp number. An extra number or login is ₹250 a month, excluding 18% GST.

Meta bills you directly for delivered messages. Utility messages, such as order confirmed and shipped, are ₹0.115 each in India, and marketing messages, such as cart reminders, are ₹0.8631, per Meta's rate card as read in WhaBuzz's India pricing post (checked 17 Oct 2026). Meta's pricing page (checked 26 Oct 2026) says utility messages in an open window are charged from 1 Oct 2026.

For 2,000 order messages and 1,000 reminders in a month, Meta's total is ₹1,093.10. The full worked example, and what other tools charge, is in the WhatsApp pricing guide.

#How do you set up Chirpoo Commerce on your store?

Setup is short, and the only wait is Meta's review time.

1. Sign in at app.chirpoo.com with an email code. The trial is 14 days, every feature, no card.
2. Connect your WhatsApp number. If you use the free WhatsApp Business app today, read moving from the WhatsApp Business app first.
3. Add a payment method to your Meta account, so Meta can bill you for messages.
4. Install Chirpoo Commerce on the store and switch on the five store messages. Chirpoo submits the templates.
5. Add the WhatsApp chat button to your store theme. See the chat button post.
6. Run test mode on one order of each type, then go live.

Pick the Commerce plan if you want the store messages and the button. If you only need the inbox, flows and broadcasts, the plan is ₹999 a month. A wider look at the field is in best WhatsApp apps for Shopify in India.

Pick one store, one number and one afternoon. Start free, place a test order, and check the confirmation before any customer sees one.

Frequently asked questions about Chirpoo and this topic

Does Chirpoo work with Shopify stores in India?

Yes. Chirpoo Commerce at ₹1,499 a month, excluding 18% GST, sends order confirmed, shipped, cart reminder, review request and COD confirmation messages from a Shopify store. It uses the official WhatsApp Cloud API, and Meta bills you directly for messages.

Do I need to write the WhatsApp templates myself?

No. Chirpoo drafts each store template to Meta's rules and submits it to Meta for you. Meta decides within 24 hours. If a template is rejected, Chirpoo redrafts it using Meta's reasons, and the Fix it button repeats that on any reject.

Can I test before customers get messages?

Yes. Chirpoo has a Shopify test mode for the store messages, plus a test run and shadow mode for flows, so you can check wording, variables and links before any customer is messaged.

Is the Shopify App Store listing available?

Not yet. It is coming later, with Commerce at $17.49 a month, $5 per extra number or login, and GST included. Today you pay ₹1,499 a month, excluding 18% GST, by invoice link in rupees, with no auto-debit.