What happens when you first connect Shopify
Connecting Shopify does not automatically import your existing customer profiles into charles. Instead, a daily sync imports your Shopify orders, and orders are only saved to charles when they meet the conditions below.
When does a Shopify order sync to charles?
An order is saved to charles only when one of the following is true:
The Shopify customer already exists in charles. This means they previously subscribed through one of your charles Shopify components (thank you page or checkout checkbox). The match is made on the specific Shopify customer ID, not on a loose match of an email or phone number found elsewhere in your account.
The order was placed after interacting with a charles automation component (thank you page or checkout checkbox).
The order used a discount code that matches one of your charles campaign or flow discount codes. In this case the order is saved as an anonymous order. It is recorded for reporting but is not linked to a contact, so it will not trigger any order-based flows (order confirmation or parcel sent).
Orders that meet none of these conditions are skipped.
Opt-in collection via the thank you page or checkout checkbox: single vs. double opt-in
Order automations such as order confirmation or parcel sent support single opt-in by default (opt-in given via the thank you page or checkout checkbox).
Would you like to collect a double opt-in directly from the thank you page or checkout checkbox? We can enable this for you. When it's enabled, end users verify their phone number through a one-time password (OTP) directly in the component before they're subscribed. Note that Meta charges an authentication fee for each verification code sent to your customers, and these fees would apply to you.
Choosing which opt-in to collect via the thank you page or checkout checkbox depends on your own legal and GDPR policies and requirements, and you should select what fits your business best. As a general guide, double opt-in produces cleaner contact data by confirming that each phone number genuinely belongs to the person subscribing. Without that verification step, typos and mistyped numbers can create false profiles over time, which can raise your block and spam-report rates. If you'd like double opt-in enabled, please reach out to our Customer Support team.
Optional flexibility settings
Two optional settings let you broaden how orders are matched and which orders trigger flows. Whether they're appropriate for your business depends on your own policies and on how you originally collected your opt-ins.
Allow stitching for existing contacts
When enabled, an order can be linked to an existing charles contact if the Shopify customer profile carries a phone number or email that already matches a contact in your account. Matching is based on the Shopify customer profile, not the shipping address.
Accept general opt-ins for order flows
By default, order-related flows only trigger for contacts whose opt-in was collected through a charles automation (thank you page or checkout checkbox). So an opt-in collected elsewhere, for example during a welcome flow, will not trigger an order flow on its own.
With this setting enabled, you can nominate an additional set of opt-ins to be accepted. If a contact holds any of the nominated opt-ins, the order flow triggers on the phone number from the Shopify customer profile (again, not the shipping address). If the Shopify profile has no phone number, the trigger is skipped.
This setting carries the most responsibility, for two reasons.
First, whether a nominated opt-in is suitable for order messaging depends on how it was worded when you collected it. A narrowly worded opt-in (for example, "subscribe for discounts") may not cover order updates, whereas a broadly worded one may. Please review this against your own compliance requirements before enabling, and tailor your opt-in wording accordingly.
Second, because matching here relies on the phone number on the Shopify profile, a mistyped or incorrect number means another person could begin receiving that customer's messages, which is why we generally recommend the verified (double opt-in) route for cleaner data.
Please also note that with this setting enabled, a customer who declines the order-updates checkbox at checkout may still receive order messages if they hold one of the nominated opt-ins. It's worth considering how that fits the expectations you've set with your customers.
If you have any questions, our Customer Support team is happy to help.