Executive summary
- What: Shopify checkout can now present a WhatsApp marketing opt-in checkbox alongside the existing SMS option, capturing consent when a customer submits an order.
- Why: Purchase is the highest intent moment you get, and in many markets WhatsApp is the messaging app shoppers actually use. An SMS checkbox there asks permission on a channel they rarely open.
- Who: Merchants selling into regions where WhatsApp dominates, and any team running an SMS program that wants a region aware equivalent.
What changed
Under Settings then Checkout, the Marketing opt-in section now carries a WhatsApp row with the same Checkout only choice SMS has. Turning it on places a consent checkbox in checkout, and the preference saves when the customer submits the order, not when they tick the box.
The region control is the part worth reading twice. If both are active, you choose which regions see which checkbox, starting from Shopify recommendations or a list you select. The SMS column then fills automatically with every region you did not assign to WhatsApp, so the two are mutually exclusive per region. A shopper sees one messaging checkbox, never both.
Two prerequisites apply. The SMS checkout option must be active in your notification settings, and the store needs a published terms of service and privacy policy. Phone number collection is governed by the shipping address phone number setting, which only applies when checkout includes a shipping address step.
Why it matters
For Plus merchants running international storefronts, this closes a gap that previously needed an app. Collecting WhatsApp consent used to mean a third party form or a custom checkout extension, each holding its own consent record to reconcile. Native consent lands on the customer record, so segmentation, suppression logic, and the export to your messaging platform read from one source. That is a real reduction in compliance surface, not just a convenience.
The commercial case is regional, and the default recommendations are a starting point rather than an answer for your market mix. The follow through matters more than the capture: a consented audience with no sending program attached is a liability, not an asset. If you are planning what happens after the opt-in, our notes on Flow and Klaviyo automation triggers cover the sequencing.
Role-specific impact
- Marketers: You gain a consented audience only if the program behind it exists. Set the region split deliberately rather than accepting defaults, and have a welcome sequence ready before the checkbox goes live.
- Developers: Consent lands on the customer record and moves through the customer APIs. Confirm your ESP or CDP sync reads WhatsApp consent separately from SMS consent, since one combined phone marketing flag will send on the wrong channel.
- Store admins: Verify the terms of service and privacy policy are published before enabling, and check the checkout phone number setting matches what carriers and payment providers require.
Use-case example
Real-world scenario
A Plus merchant selling personal care across Spain, Mexico, and the United States runs one SMS program for all three markets. Spanish and Mexican shoppers opt in at a visibly lower rate than US shoppers, and the messages that do send see weak engagement, because that audience lives in WhatsApp.
The team sets WhatsApp as the checkout checkbox for Spain and Mexico and leaves SMS for the United States. Over the following quarter, opt-in across the two WhatsApp regions moves from roughly 6 percent of orders to 19 percent, and the welcome flow recovers second orders email alone had been carrying. One settings change and a short flow, not a replatform.
Implementation checklist
- Publish a terms of service and privacy policy under Settings then Policies if not already live.
- Activate the SMS checkout option in notification settings, since it gates the marketing opt-in controls.
- Set the shipping address phone number field to optional or required based on carrier and payment provider needs.
- In the Marketing opt-in section, set WhatsApp to Checkout only.
- Assign regions deliberately, adjusting the Shopify recommendations to your real market mix.
- Confirm your messaging platform distinguishes WhatsApp consent from SMS consent before the first send.
- Place a test order in a WhatsApp region and verify consent reaches the customer record after submission.
- Build the welcome and post purchase flows before opt-in volume accumulates.
FAQ
Q: Can a shopper see the SMS and WhatsApp checkboxes at the same time?
A: No. Regions are divided between them: the SMS column takes every region not assigned to WhatsApp, so a shopper sees a single messaging opt-in.
Q: When is consent actually recorded?
A: When the customer submits the checkout. Ticking the box then abandoning the order does not create a subscriber, worth remembering when you reconcile opt-in counts against checkout analytics.
Resources
Shopify covers the setup steps and region controls in Collecting customer contact information.
Need guidance? Talk to Makro.