How to add WhatsApp to a post-purchase flow

Learn how to add WhatsApp messages to your thank you or order confirmation flow.

Adding WhatsApp to your post-purchase flow lets you reach customers immediately after they buy. You can confirm their order, set expectations, and strengthen engagement using a different channel than email.

What is a post-purchase flow?

A post-purchase flow sends after someone makes a purchase. This is a broad category that includes:

• Thank you
• Order confirmation
• Cross-sell
• Up-sell
• Product review
• Replenishment

Before you begin

Before adding WhatsApp to a flow:

• Make sure WhatsApp is set up in your account.
• Create a thank you or order confirmation flow if you do not already have one. The examples below use your ecommerce integration’s Placed Order metric as the flow trigger.
• Collect WhatsApp consent before sending messages. Email or SMS consent does not count as WhatsApp consent.
• Create a WhatsApp template for your thank you or order confirmation message and submit it for Meta approval before sending.

The consent split below routes WhatsApp marketing subscribers to WhatsApp. It excludes customers who have only transactional WhatsApp consent. For order confirmations sent to those customers, follow the guidance on transactional WhatsApp messages.

Add a WhatsApp message to an existing flow

Follow these steps to add WhatsApp to your post-purchase flow without restructuring your email path.

1. Navigate to the Flows tab.
2. Click the name of the thank you or order confirmation flow where you want to include WhatsApp.
3. In the flow builder, drag Split from the sidebar and place it before the first email, after the first time delay (if there is one) or directly after the trigger. If your sidebar shows Conditional split instead, use that.
4. For Split, click Add path criteria on Path #1. For Conditional split, click the split to open its details.
5. Set If someone can or cannot receive marketing > cannot receive > WhatsApp marketing. Click Save. If the button says Apply, click it, then click Save in Split details. This keeps the existing email path for customers who cannot receive WhatsApp marketing.
6. Drag a WhatsApp message onto Everyone else for Split, or the No path for Conditional split.
7. Click the WhatsApp message, then click Use template in its details panel.
8. Click the template you want to use, then click Use template. Your selection is saved automatically. For example, your template could say:
   
   “Hey {{ first_name|title|default:'there' }}, thank you for your purchase. We hope you're getting excited for your order to arrive.”
9. Drag the rejoin icon below the WhatsApp message onto the email path after the first email and before the delay for the next email. Customers on the WhatsApp path skip the first email and continue to later emails. Add a time delay before the next email if needed to avoid sending both channels at once.
10. After confirming that Meta has approved the template, select Live from the WhatsApp message’s status dropdown and click Save.

Best practices for thank you and order confirmation flows

Message content

Keep your WhatsApp messages short and clear. Thank the customer directly and include relevant order information.

Avoid overusing emojis. 1 or 2 emojis can work well, but repeated emojis are often associated with spam.

Number of WhatsApp messages

For thank you and order confirmation flows, use only 1 WhatsApp message. Typically, a single message per recipient is enough.

If you want to send multiple follow-ups, send WhatsApp first and then use email for additional messages.

Message timing

Send the first WhatsApp message immediately after the purchase. To avoid an initial delay, place the consent split directly after the trigger, before any time delay.

If you plan to send a follow-up email, use this timing:

• Message 1 (WhatsApp): No delay
• Message 2 (email): 3 days after the first message

Do not send email and WhatsApp messages at the same time. Too many messages at once can overwhelm customers and increase unsubscribes. Alternate between channels instead.

Enhance your WhatsApp post-purchase flow

You can customize your flow using splits to tailor messaging.

When using Split for the examples below, click Add path criteria on Path #1 to configure its condition. Save each condition before adding messages. If you see Apply, click it, then click Save in Split details.

Order value split

1. Add Split and choose Properties of Placed Order for the path condition. If your sidebar shows Trigger split instead, add that. Set $value > is at least > 100 and save. Replace 100 with your preferred threshold.
2. On both resulting paths, add the WhatsApp consent split described above. Keep email on the path that matches cannot receive WhatsApp marketing, and add WhatsApp to the other path.

Order collection split

1. If your Placed Order event includes Collections, add Split and choose Properties of Placed Order for the path condition. If your sidebar shows Trigger split instead, add that. Set Collections > contains > CollectionName and save. Replace “CollectionName” with the collection you want to target. You can add multiple splits for different collections.
2. On both resulting paths, add the WhatsApp consent split described above. Keep email on the path that matches cannot receive WhatsApp marketing, and add WhatsApp to the other path.

New vs. returning customers

1. Add Split (or Conditional split, if that is the option in your sidebar). Set What someone has done (or not done) > Placed Order > equals > 1 > over all time, using the same Placed Order metric that triggers the flow, and save. Customers with 1 recorded order take Path #1 (or Yes); returning customers take Everyone else (or No). The purchase that triggered the flow counts toward this total.
2. On both resulting paths, add the WhatsApp consent split described above. Keep email on the path that matches cannot receive WhatsApp marketing, and add WhatsApp to the other path.

Next steps

After adding WhatsApp to your post-purchase flow:

1. Test the flow to confirm messages send as expected.
2. Review timing and spacing between WhatsApp and email messages.
3. Personalize your WhatsApp content using profile properties to improve engagement.