Note: This article covers LINE, a messaging platform overwhelmingly popular in Japan but with limited use elsewhere, and related integrations. The information below will not be directly relevant if your customer base does not use LINE.
"RuffRuff 予約販売" helps reduce the lost sales opportunities that arise when items are out of stock, ahead of a new product launch, or awaiting restock.
You can implement pre-orders on your own Shopify store with remarkable ease, registering unlimited pre-order products and accepting unlimited pre-orders. It can also prevent customers from ordering pre-order and regular items together in the same order, and can send back-in-stock notifications when the restock date is unknown.
It also has many unique features not found in other pre-order apps, such as a "deferred payment" function that lets you collect payment before the product ships.
Many Shopify merchants are considering using LINE to strengthen customer communication and boost sales.
In this article, we'll give a comprehensive overview — from the basics of LINE Official Accounts, to real-world use cases, to apps that help you integrate LINE with Shopify.
What Is a LINE Official Account?
A LINE Official Account is a service that lets businesses and stores create an account on LINE and send information directly to users who add them as a friend.
Currently, over 300,000 (*1) businesses and stores use LINE Official Accounts.
On Shopify stores, they're commonly used for handling customer inquiries and sending out coupons and new product announcements.
*1. Source: LINE for Business
LINE Official Account Pricing Plans
| Plan Name | Setup Fee | Monthly Fee (excl. tax) | Free Messages | Additional Messages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communication Plan | ¥0 | ¥0 | 200 messages/month | Not available |
| Light Plan | ¥0 | ¥5,000 | 5,000 messages/month | Not available |
| Standard Plan | ¥0 | ¥15,000 | 30,000 messages/month | ~¥3/message |
[Counted as a message]
- Message broadcasts (including segmented and step campaigns)
- The Messaging API's "Push API," "Multicast API," "Broadcast API," and "Narrowcast API"
[Not counted as a message]
- Sending/receiving LINE chat messages
- Auto-response messages
- AI response messages
- Greeting messages
- The Messaging API's "Reply API"
Types of LINE Official Accounts
There are three types of LINE business accounts available.
- Premium Account
- Verified Account
- Unverified Account
Here's a closer look at each.
Premium Account
A Premium Account carries a green account badge.
Passing LINE Corporation's review process qualifies an account for Premium status, which also makes it more discoverable in in-app search results and expands access to certain features and payment methods.
Verified Account
A Verified Account carries a blue account badge.
As with Premium Accounts, passing LINE Corporation's review process qualifies an account as Verified, which also makes it more discoverable in in-app search results and expands access to certain features and payment methods.
Unverified Account
An Unverified Account carries a gray account badge.
Anyone can obtain this type of account. Its core features are the same as a Verified Account, and it can still be upgraded to a paid plan or purchase a premium ID.
Benefits of Using LINE
The benefits of using LINE include the following.
- Reach a broad range of age groups
- Send many different types of messages
- Collect many different types of data
- Streamline customer support
- Enable 1-on-1 communication
- Broadcast announcements and coupons all at once
Let's look at each in detail.
Reach a broad range of age groups
LINE has 93 million monthly users (as of the end of March 2022), spanning a broad range of age groups from teens through people in their 60s and older.
Instagram skews toward female users, TikTok toward younger users, and Facebook toward middle-aged and older users. If you want to reach a specific audience, other social channels may be a better fit, but since over 70% of people in Japan use LINE, it lets you reach a broad audience without narrowing your target.
Send many different types of messages
The messaging feature of a LINE Official Account lets you send many different types of messages, including video messages, voice messages, and card-format messages.
By connecting your Shopify store with LINE, you can do things like distribute coupons only to users who purchased a specific product, send after-sales follow-up messages such as usage instructions, send catalogs of new products, or use surveys to understand customer needs — it's useful across a wide range of scenarios.
Collect many different types of data
The dashboard feature of a LINE Official Account lets you check a wide range of data, including changes in your friend count, block count, number of messages sent, number of messages sent/received, timeline post views, coupon and shop card usage, and survey results.
By connecting your Shopify store with LINE, you can access data that Shopify's customer management features alone can't provide.
Streamline customer support
A LINE Official Account lets you use a chatbot feature to set up automated responses to questions. By setting up auto-responses in advance for frequently asked questions, you can reduce the time spent handling inquiries.
It's also a good idea to add a link to your LINE Official Account on your Shopify store, consolidating your inquiry channel into LINE.
Using a Shopify app such as Channel Talk lets you centrally manage inquiries that come in through your LINE Official Account and respond to questions individually.
Enable 1-on-1 communication
One strength of a physical store is 1-on-1 customer service. If you run an apparel store, you probably know from experience that 1-on-1 service can dramatically increase purchase rates.
Using a LINE Official Account lets you offer that same kind of 1-on-1 customer service through chat.
Broadcast announcements and coupons all at once
A LINE Official Account has a broadcast messaging feature that lets you send announcements, coupons, sale information, and more all at once to your registered users.
Segmented messaging is also possible, letting you send only to customers who purchased a specific product, or only to female customers, for example.
Alongside LINE, email newsletters are another effective way to broadcast announcements and coupons to customers. The article below covers the benefits of email marketing on Shopify and recommends apps for sending newsletters. Take a look.
Drawbacks of Using LINE
The drawbacks of using LINE include the following
- Cost
- Being blocked by friends
Let's look at each in detail.
Cost
A LINE Official Account can be started for free, but costs are incurred once your monthly message volume exceeds a certain threshold. If you use a Shopify app or external service to connect with your Shopify store, you'll also incur the monthly fee for that app or service.
Being blocked by friends
LINE makes it easy for users to block a friend. Once blocked, you can no longer deliver messages to them. Sending messages too frequently increases the risk of being blocked, so it's worth optimizing your send frequency, using segmented messaging, and otherwise keeping your messaging to the necessary minimum.
LINE Use Cases at E-Commerce Stores
Video messaging tripled sales of an original product
Video has the advantage of conveying more information and having more impact than a still image, making it easier to spark users' interest in a product. As Mr. Matayoshi puts it, "video pairs well with LINE's immediacy" — and indeed, after distributing a promotional video for an original mattress through their LINE Official Account, the number of units sold per month rose to three times what it was before the video was sent.
Inquiries up 20% year over year on average
As more people use overseas shopping sites, some feel anxious about purchasing and paying in an environment that doesn't support Japanese. This business accepts requests and consultations for import-proxy services through LINE chat to address that concern. To reach more people, they used a discount coupon to encourage friend adds on their LINE Official Account. After opening the account, inquiries increased by about 20% year over year on average.
Source: https://www.linebiz.com/jp/service/line-official-account/case-study/ec/
Recommended Features for Using LINE with Shopify
Buy Button
The Buy Button is a native Shopify feature that lets you publish products you manage in Shopify not just on your Shopify store, but anywhere on the web, so they can be purchased from any page.
The Buy Button is free to use. Copy the embed code it generates and embed it in a LINE message, and users will be able to add the product to their cart directly from that message.
It's a great option if you want to try out LINE without spending anything.
Recommended Shopify Apps for Using and Integrating LINE
StoreCRM
StoreCRM connects seamlessly with your Shopify store's customer information and purchase data to enable effective email and LINE marketing. It comes packed with marketing automation (MA) features, letting you easily set up automated messaging scenarios such as checkout-abandonment notifications and birthday emails.
It also offers deep integration with LINE Official Accounts, including tab-style rich menu design customization and a login feature that lets customers log in to your Shopify store using their LINE account — letting you make full use of LINE's powerful capabilities.
StoreCRM strongly supports repeat-customer acquisition and sales growth through personalized communication that combines email and LINE.
The blog article below covers StoreCRM's features, pricing plans, and setup process. Take a look.
StoreCRM Pricing Plans
| Plan | Monthly Fee | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Test Mode | Free | ・Try all features ・Test emails only (cannot send to your real store) |
| Standard Plan | $30/month – $90/month | ・Core marketing features (LINE integration, welcome email, checkout abandonment, etc.) ・Email support ・Up to 5,500 active users ・Up to 60,500 emails sent per month |
| Pro Plan | $100/month – $195/month | ・All Standard Plan features ・Email support ・Birthday notification feature ・Favorites and restock notification features ・Subscription integration feature ・Up to 15,000 active users ・Up to 165,000 emails sent per month |
| Plus Plan | $200/month – $570/month | ・All Pro Plan features ・Email support ・Flow editor feature ・Up to 65,000 active users ・Up to 60,500 emails sent per month |
| Enterprise | From $605/month | ・All Plus Plan features ・Account creation and role management ・Domestic-server email delivery (AWS SES [domestic server]) ・Per-account operation logs ・Dedicated support channel (Slack / Chatwork) ・Up to 200,000 active users ・Up to 2,200,000 emails sent per month |
CRM PLUS on LINE
CRM PLUS on LINE is an app that enables LINE integration and LINE messaging on your Shopify site. Since it's a Japan-made app, it's fully supported in Japanese, and combining it with Shopify Flow also enables step-based messaging sequences on LINE.
It's also only available on the Shopify Plus plan, but it lets you add social login (letting customers log in with a Facebook, Twitter, or Google account) to your Shopify store.
By using CRM PLUS on LINE together with RuffRuff 予約販売, you can run "exclusive sales for LINE-connected members" on your own Shopify store.
The blog article below covers CRM PLUS on LINE's features, pricing plans, and setup process in detail. Please take a look.
The blog article below covers how to run an exclusive sale for LINE-connected members. Take a look.
CRM PLUS on LINE Pricing Plans
| Plan | Monthly Fee | LINE ID Connections | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | Free | 100 |
Connect member ID with LINE ID Checkout reminders Back-in-stock notifications via Back in Stock integration Segmented messaging based on customer tags Step messaging triggered by LINE connection or shipment completion Automated messaging via Shopify Flow Tab-style rich menu Customer support |
| Entry Plan | $10 | 300 | All Free Plan features |
| Growth Plan | $30 | 1,000 | All Free Plan features |
| Standard Plan | $50 | 2,000 | All Free Plan features |
| Pro Plan | $100 | 20,000 |
All Free Plan features Reminder messaging for viewed products LINE notification messages (purchase/shipment notifications based on phone number) |
| Expert Plan | $200〜 | Unlimited | All Pro Plan features |
| Advanced Plan | $200〜 | Unlimited |
All Expert Plan features 6 types of social login including LINE login (Shopify Plus only) LINE mini-app membership card (Shopify Plus only) |
Lipify
Lipify is a Shopify app that connects your Shopify store with LINE, letting you send LINE messages based on a customer's purchase history, behavior, and registered information on your Shopify store. As with "CRM PLUS on LINE," the number of LINE IDs you can connect depends on your pricing plan.
By using Lipify together with RuffRuff 予約販売, you can run "exclusive sales for LINE-connected members" on your own Shopify store.
The blog article below covers how to run an exclusive sale for LINE-connected members. Take a look.
Lipify Pricing Plans
| Plan | Monthly Fee | LINE ID Connections | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| FREE Plan | Free | 120 |
Connect Shopify ID with LINE ID Step messaging such as purchase and shipment completion notifications Shopify POS integration, in-store user account creation Automated messaging via Shopify Flow Cart abandonment and back-in-stock notifications Image and carousel messaging Segmented messaging based on customer tags |
| Starter Plan | $9 | 350 | All FREE Plan features |
| Standard Plan | $27 | 1,100 | All FREE Plan features |
| Business Plan | $45 | 2,200 | All FREE Plan features |
| Premium Plan | $90 | 11,000 | All FREE Plan features |
| Plus Plan | $180〜 | Unlimited |
All FREE Plan features LINE login feature (* additional fee applies) |
Omise Connect
Omise Connect is a Shopify app that automatically links your store's customers with LINE accounts and sends automated LINE messages tailored to customer behavior — product views, cart abandonment, purchases, shipping, and more.
Triggered by a friend-add banner or a visit to your store from a broadcast message, it can automatically link a customer's smartphone browser with their LINE account — without requiring member registration or login — and also link that to their purchase history, enabling more advanced segmented and triggered messaging.
The blog article below covers "Omise Connect"'s features, pricing plans, and setup process in detail. Please take a look.
Omise Connect Pricing Plans
| Plan | Monthly Fee | LINE ID Connections | Transaction Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | Free | 50 | 0% |
| Basic Plan | Free | Unlimited | 3% |
Shopify Flow
Shopify Flow is Shopify's own native app that lets you easily automate tasks and processes. Using Shopify Flow can significantly reduce the time spent on administrative work.
Combining Shopify Flow with a LINE integration app enables scenario-based LINE messaging, such as "send after-sales follow-up content to anyone who purchased a specific product."
This is also free to use, but it's only available on Shopify's Grow plan or higher.
Price: Free
For more on Shopify's pricing plans, see the article below.
Channel Talk
Channel Talk is a customer-engagement tool for Shopify that displays a web chat widget on your store and can use a chatbot feature to automatically respond to inquiries.
Since it lets you centrally manage messages from customers across LINE, email, Instagram DM, and more, it's worth considering if you want to expand into LINE while keeping email as an inquiry channel too.
Price: Free and up
* LINE integration is free to use. See the Shopify App Store listing for detailed pricing.
Recommended External Services for Using and Integrating LINE with Shopify
Kisuke
Kisuke is a LINE integration service built for e-commerce stores. It offers customer segmentation, a keyword search feature that lets users search for products directly on LINE, and rich menu customization.
It also offers many other features useful for e-commerce stores, such as showing different customized rich menus for new versus existing users, and letting users add items to their cart directly from LINE.
DMM Chat Boost
DMM Chat Boost connects LINE with your Shopify Official Account for centralized customer data management, and offers features to automate LINE-based customer support and marketing. It's on the pricier side, but with its rich feature set, it's a good fit if you want to make full use of LINE.
Price: Setup fee: roughly tens of thousands of yen; monthly fee: from tens of thousands of yen
Bonus: Shopify Apps That Help Drive LINE Sign-Ups
Simply connecting Shopify with LINE won't grow your LINE Official Account's friend count on its own. What matters is designing a conversion flow that makes customers want to add you as a friend on LINE, and choosing the right tools to do it.
Here are some Shopify apps that can effectively grow your LINE friend count.
Key LINE-Follow Apps
- Obakec — Add customizable add-friend buttons and pop-ups
- Omise Connect — An all-in-one app that manages everything from LINE sign-ups to messaging
- LINE Kantan Setchi — Add a simple LINE button in as little as 5 minutes
- Smartarget Line — Use LINE as an inquiry channel
- Handy Social Media Icons — Add multiple social icons, including LINE, all at once
The blog article below covers these key LINE-follow apps in detail. Use it as a reference when choosing an app.
In Closing
LINE is a major communication tool used by over 93 million people in Japan. Integrating it with your Shopify store can bring many benefits, including closer customer communication, efficient information distribution, and increased sales. That said, be sure to pay careful attention to cost and message frequency.
We hope the tools and services introduced in this article help you find the best way to use LINE for your business.
Lastly, the blog article below introduces a variety of recommended Shopify apps beyond those for LINE, organized by category — including "customer acquisition," "sales growth," and "blog content expansion." Take a look.
