RuffRuff 予約販売 helps reduce lost sales opportunities that occur when items are out of stock, before a new product launches, or while waiting for restock.
You can set up pre-orders on your own Shopify store with surprising ease, registering unlimited pre-order products and accepting unlimited pre-orders. You can also restrict customers from ordering pre-order and regular products together in the same order, and send back-in-stock notifications when the restock date is undetermined.
It also offers many unique features not found in other pre-order apps, such as "deferred payment," which lets you collect payment before the product ships.
Are you using Shopify Flow, Shopify's own native app? Making good use of Shopify Flow can help reduce the workload of running your e-commerce operations.
This article covers the benefits and drawbacks of Shopify Flow, along with how to set it up.
What Is Shopify Flow?
Shopify Flow is Shopify's own native app that automates all kinds of tasks and processes that come up in running a store.
It was previously only available on the Premium plan and above, but as of July 2023 it's now available starting on the Basic plan. Shopify Flow can be installed for free from the Shopify App Store. It's a service similar to automation tools like Zapier or IFTTT.
Terms Worth Knowing When Working With Shopify Flow
Workflow
"Workflow" combines "work" and "flow," meaning "the flow of a task, or a diagram of that flow." In Shopify Flow, a workflow refers to a defined flow of an automated task, made up of a trigger, conditions, and actions.
Trigger
A trigger refers to the condition that kicks off an automated process. Examples include "run when inventory changes" or "run when an order is cancelled."
For a list of available triggers, please see "A List of Shopify Flow Triggers｜A Complete Rundown of Shopify's Native Triggers."
Condition
A condition in Shopify Flow is a branching point within the automated process. It lets you configure things like "send an email notification if inventory drops to 20 or below, and republish the product once stock is replenished."
Action
An action is the task or process that's actually carried out. Examples include "tag a product or customer" or "send an email notification."
For a list of available actions, please see "A List of Shopify Flow Actions｜A Complete Rundown of Shopify's Native Actions."
Connector
A connector is an integration tool that connects external services such as Slack, Google Sheets, or Klaviyo to Shopify Flow so you can use their functionality. Using a connector enables automated integrations across multiple applications, such as sending a message to Slack or recording data to Google Sheets.
Benefits of Shopify Flow
You Can Expect to Reduce Workload
Shopify Flow can automate all kinds of tasks that previously had to be done manually. This can lead to a major reduction in workload.
Free to Use
Shopify Flow is free on the Basic plan and above. Following "Shopify Editions Summer '23," held on July 27, 2023, this feature — previously available only on the Premium plan — became available starting on the Basic plan.
Reference: Shopify Editions Summer '23
Integrates With Shopify Apps
Shopify Flow can integrate with any Shopify app that provides triggers or actions. For example, integrating with Klaviyo or Omnisend lets you do things like "automatically send an email to a customer when a specific condition is met."
Combine With Other Shopify Apps for Advanced Strategies
Combining Shopify Flow with RuffRuff 予約販売 (or RuffRuff Order Limits) lets you implement complex strategies such as "limit one per customer" or "limit purchases to 3 times per month."
See here for an example of limiting sales to one item per customer using an app plus Flow
See here for an example of limiting purchases to 3 times per month using an app plus Flow
Drawbacks of Shopify Flow
High Setup Barrier
Among Shopify's admin features, Shopify Flow has one of the steeper learning curves. You need to understand the available triggers and actions as well as Shopify's data structure, and it takes time to become proficient.
The Setup Screen Is in English
Since most of the task items, such as triggers and actions, are in English, this can be a barrier to adoption for those who aren't comfortable with English.
It's Not All-Powerful
It's easy to assume Shopify Flow can do "anything," but there are many strategies it can't achieve on its own. That said, even if something can't be achieved with Shopify's native features alone, it's often possible by integrating with a compatible Shopify app, so it's worth trying before giving up.
Use Cases and Implementation Examples for Shopify Flow
Using Shopify Flow, you can automate strategies like the following.
Automate Email Notifications
You can receive automatic email notifications at various times, such as when a product runs out of stock or is restocked, or when a payment deadline is exceeded. For example, you can configure something like "detect orders with an overdue payment every day at 10:00 AM and send an email notification."
See here for the actual setup steps
Automatically Send Order Notifications to Slack
You can automatically send order notifications to Slack, enabling real-time information sharing with your team.
See here for the actual setup steps
Automate a Membership Tier System
By setting up customer segments based on purchase amount, a customer tag showing the member's tier (Normal/Bronze/Silver/Gold) can be automatically applied based on segment entry and exit. This can be implemented for free, with no app required.
See here for the actual setup steps
Automate Tagging Based on Specific Product Purchases
You can automatically apply order tags and customer tags to customers who purchase a specific product.
See here for the actual setup steps
Change a Product's Status
You can automatically switch a product to draft status when out of stock, and back to active status when restocked.
Automatically Capture Payment on Orders
Some merchants configure manual payment capture to avoid automatically capturing payment on fraudulent orders. With Shopify Flow, you can automatically capture payment on orders that carry a low fraud risk.
Automatically Add a Free Gift
You can automatically add a free gift item to orders that meet a specific condition.
See here for the actual setup steps
Limit Purchase Frequency
Combining Shopify Flow with a purchase-restriction app lets you limit how many times a customer can purchase (for example, one per customer, or up to 3 times per month).
See here for how to set up a one-per-customer limit
See here for how to set up a limit of 3 purchases per month
Automate Tagging by Discount Type
Order and customer tags can be automatically applied based on the coupon code or automatic discount used. This lets you handle complex customer management tasks — like "email customers who used this coupon" or "automatically group customers who purchased during a sale" — without any manual work.
See here for the actual setup steps
How to Use Shopify Flow
Create a New Workflow
(1) Go to Flow > Workflows
(2) Click "Create workflow"
(3) Configure the trigger
In the attached image, we've configured the trigger "Inventory quantity changed," which fires when inventory changes.
(4) (Optional) Configure a condition
In the attached image, we've configured it to run the action when the inventory quantity changes from 21 or more to 20 or fewer.
(5) Configure the action
In the attached image, we've configured an action that sends an email notification to test9999@tsun.ec stating that inventory is running low.
(6) Click "Turn on workflow"
Export a Workflow
(1) Go to Flow > Workflows
(2) Select the workflow you want to export
(3) Click "Export workflow"
* A file named "filename.flow" will be exported
Import a Workflow
(1) Go to Flow > Workflows
(2) Click "Import"
(3) Select a file with the ".flow" file format
(4) Click "Import"
If You Get Stuck Building a Shopify Flow Workflow
Use a Template
Shopify Flow comes with a large number of pre-built workflow templates. First, check whether the process you're trying to achieve is already available as a template. Starting from a template can significantly reduce the effort required to set things up.
Ask the Shopify Community
If no existing template fits and it's too difficult to configure on your own, we recommend asking the Shopify Community. When asking your question, providing specifics on "what you're trying to achieve" and "where you're stuck" makes it easier to get a helpful answer.
See here for more on the Shopify Community
Ask Sidekick
Shopify Sidekick is an AI assistant feature that supports store operations, and it can give you real-time, specific advice on how to configure Shopify Flow or achieve a particular strategy. If no template fits and you don't have time to wait for an answer from the Shopify Community, it's well worth using, since it can quickly give you a tailored suggestion.
By asking Sidekick something specific, like "I want to achieve X — how should I set it up?", you can quickly figure out the right direction for your setup.
See here for more on Sidekick
In Closing
Shopify Flow has a high setup barrier, but it's an extremely useful Shopify app once you master it. Best of all, being free to use is a major benefit. Be sure to make use of Shopify Flow to streamline your e-commerce operations.
Beyond Shopify Flow, there are many other Shopify apps that support streamlining your operations. If you'd like to further improve efficiency in running your store, check out our list of recommended apps as well.
