Web Push Notifications: Your Ecommerce’s Secret Weapon
How to reduce your dependence on email marketing and maximize your Shopify site revenue.
*As with all articles, this post may contain affiliate links.*
Congratulations on launching your ecommerce website on Shopify! Now that you’re here, let’s talk about an underrated gem that can take your online business to new heights – web push notifications. If you don’t know what web push notifications are, no worries, we’ll cover that and a whole lot more.
In this article, we’re going to delve into how push notifications can transform your Shopify store from a leaky bucket into a site conversion all star. So buckle up, put on your virtual cape, and let’s fly into the fascinating realm of web push notifications! (so cheesy)
What in the World Are Web Push Notifications?
Put simply, web push notifications are another earned channel to communicate with your site visitors. The cool part is that they allow you, the website owner, to send messages directly to your users’ devices, even when they are not actively browsing the website. These notifications appear as small pop-up messages on desktop or mobile devices, typically in the corner of the screen or as a banner.
Web push notifications have gained popularity as an effective tool for user engagement and retention. They offer several advantages over other communication methods, such as email or SMS. Here are a few points of note…
Instantaneous delivery
Web push notifications provide real-time communication, allowing website owners to instantly reach their users with important updates or time-sensitive information. A study conducted by OneSignal, a popular web push notification service provider, found that web push notifications had a median delivery time of just 40 milliseconds, demonstrating their near-instantaneous delivery capability.
Increased engagement
Web push notifications have shown to significantly increase user engagement by delivering personalized and relevant content, driving users back to the website. In fact, a case study by PushCrew (now VWO Engage), a web push notification platform, web push notifications increased click-through rates (CTR) by 40% compared to email marketing. The study also reported a 30% higher subscription rate for web push notifications compared to email.
Opt-in rates and subscriptions
Web push notifications allow users to opt-in to receive notifications from a website, enabling a direct and permission-based communication channel. The customer engagement platform, MoEngage, analyzed the opt-in rates for various channels. Web push notifications had the highest average opt-in rate of 5.9% across all industries, surpassing email (1.5%) and in-app notifications (2.3%).
Retention and re-engagement
Web push notifications can serve as an effective tool for re-engaging users who have visited the website before but have not returned recently. They can be used to send reminders, updates, or offers to encourage users to revisit the website.
Research: According to a study by Accengage, a mobile customer engagement company, web push notifications had a 50% higher retention rate compared to apps without push notifications. Additionally, users who received push notifications were found to have 3x higher average session lengths.
As with all permission based channels… effectiveness of web push notifications may vary depending on factors such as the quality of content, timing, frequency, and the user’s preferences. Therefore, it’s important for site owners to carefully craft and strategize their web push notification campaigns to maximize user engagement and achieve their desired goals.
Catch Their Attention, Again!
Picture this: your potential customer is sitting on their couch watching the latest episode of The Bachelorette, when suddenly ding! – a push notification appears on their screen. Their curiosity is piqued, and they click on it, landing back on your website. It’s like a virtual tap on all of your subscriber’s shoulders.
With web push notifications, you can announce exciting sales, limited-time offers, restocks, or new product launches to your customers in real-time. It’s the perfect way to keep your audience engaged and ensure they don’t forget about your amazing deals. Your business is out of sight & out of mind… until it’s not.
Public Service Announcement: Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. When deciding if you should send a push notification, you should always ask yourself “If I were a customer, would I want this message?”
Personalization: The Spice of Ecommerce Life
One-size-fits-all may work for stretchy pants, but when it comes to marketing, personalization is key. Web push notifications allow you to tailor your messages to individual customers based on their browsing behavior and preferences. It’s like having a fortune teller knowing exactly what your customers want, but without the crystal ball and questionable fashion sense.
By sending targeted push notifications, you can recommend products similar to those your customers have shown interest in or remind them about items they’ve left lingering in their carts. This level of personalization in your marketing not only reduces your unsub and churn rates… it builds trust that you’re not just hocking everything in your store to anyone who will listen.
How to Setup Push Notifications on Your Shopify Site
For the purposes of this post, I’m going to use PushOwl as the tool enabling the push notifications. I chose them simply because of their 5.0 stars rating from over 2,600 people, but they also have a free option, which is great if you’re just getting started and don’t have a lot of capital to invest.
NOTE: After publishing this post, PushOwl provided a special discount code for my readers… Simply use the code JOSH60 when signing up, and you can try PushOwl free for 60 days!
There are lots of great tools. Beyond PushOwl, you may also want to take a look at SendOwl, FirePush (includes SMS), and Fomo, which incorporates social proof onto your site.
Install the App and Getting Started
Instead of writing a step-by-step guide of the process, I can save you (and me) some time. I found a great 5 minute video that shows the entire process.
Invest Your Time on Building Automations
When I managed communications for Kirkland’s, the home decor retailer… not Costco :), I grew revenue mostly through thoughtful, personalized, and automated systems to re-engage subscribers. The beauty of automations, aside from the fact that you’re basically printing money is the fact that you don’t live and die by the success of a weekly or daily campaign. It’s the marketing version of diversifying your income.
So, when you see the Back-In-Stock alerts or Prices Drop alerts in the PushOwl interface… pay attention. We built an automated price drop alert while at Kirkland’s and it drove $4.6 million in incremental revenue in the first year we launched it. Also, shoutout to a wonderful partnership with Listrak, who enabled that success.
Remember to Balance Short-Term and Long-Term Goals
Anytime you get a new shinny marketing tool, the temptation is to overdo it….
Please don’t!
Unless you’re selling vasectomies, return customers are critical to your success. Keep this in mind as you build out your automations and campaigns. Overwhelming your customers is the fastest way to kill your LTV numbers.
I love learning about new marketing technologies. If you’re using a push notification tool that you love, please comment below and tell me all about it!
