Customer conversations

When you respond to messages in Shopify Inbox, the responses send through the original messaging service, so that your customers receive replies to their original message.

You can mark messages as read or unread from the Home screen in the Shopify Inbox app.

If a customer adds or removes a product from their cart, then the event is shown to you, the merchant, in the conversation. If the product name is fewer than 41 characters long, then the name of the product is included in the event description. You're also shown the customer's cart subtotal, and the quantities of the products in the cart, at a per-item level.

Responding to a message from a customer

Desktop

1. In Shopify Inbox, click the Customers tab.
2. Select the customer that you want to respond to.
3. Type your message and select Send.

iPhone

1. From the Shopify Inbox app, tap Customers.
2. Select the conversation that you want to respond to.
3. Type your message and tap the Send icon.

Android

1. From the Shopify Inbox app, tap Customers.
2. Select the customer that you want to respond to.
3. Type your message and tap the Send icon.

Assign a conversation to staff

You can assign a chat conversation to a staff member with online store chat permissions.

Steps:

Desktop

1. In Shopify Inbox, click the Customers tab.
2. Select the conversation that you want to assign to a staff member.
3. Click Assign staff.
4. In the Assign Staff window, enter a search term or click on a staff member to assign the conversation to. The staff member will see a badge on each conversation that has been assigned to them in the Shopify Inbox conversation sidebar.
5. To unassign a conversation, click the "Assigned to " link in the conversation window, and then click Unassign.

iPhone

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, tap Customers.
2. Tap the conversation that you want to assign to a staff member.
3. Tap Assign staff.
4. In the Assign Staff window, enter a search term or tap on a staff member to assign the conversation to. The staff member will see a badge on each conversation that has been assigned to them in the Shopify Inbox conversation sidebar.
5. To unassign a conversation, tap the "Assigned to " link in the conversation window, and then tap Unassign.

Android

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, tap Customers.
2. Tap the conversation that you want to assign to a staff member.
3. Tap Assign staff.
4. In the Assign Staff window, enter a search term or tap on a staff member to assign the conversation to. The staff member will see a badge on each conversation that has been assigned to them in the Shopify Inbox conversation sidebar.
5. To unassign a conversation, tap the "Assigned to " link in the conversation window, and then tap Unassign.

Send a link to a product in a conversation

You can share products that are available in your online store in the Shopify Inbox app. Learn more about sales channel availability for products.

Steps:

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, tap Customers.
2. Tap the conversation that you want to open.
3. If you don't see any options next to the text field where you write a message, then tap the + icon to expand the conversation options.
4. Tap the price tag icon to open a list of your store's products.
5. Tap a product to select it, or enter a search term to locate a specific product and tap to select it. You can select a maximum of three products to send to your customer in online store chat.
6. Tap Share product to send the product information to the customer.

Note

Sending product links and discount codes can only be done in the Shopify Inbox app, and not on the desktop site.

Send a discount code in a conversation

You can share discount codes in the Shopify Inbox app. When a customer clicks the discount code, it's automatically applied to their cart. The discount code needs to be created before it can be shared. Refer to Creating discount codes for more information.

Steps:

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, tap Customers.
2. Tap the conversation that you want to open.
3. If you don't see any options next to the text field where you write a message, then tap the + icon to expand the conversation options.
4. Tap the discount to open a list of your store's discount codes.
5. Tap a discount to select it, or enter a search term to locate a specific discount and tap to select it. If the discount is invalid, then an error message will appear asking you to update the code in the Shopify app.
6. Tap Share discount to send the discount code to the customer. The discount code is stored in the online chat session and is applied to the customer's cart at checkout.

Send an image in a conversation

You can send images to customers in Shopify Inbox. Customers can't send images to you.

Steps:

Desktop

1. In Shopify Inbox, click the Customers tab.
2. Select the conversation that you want to open.
3. Click the image icon in the message bar, and then select an image from your computer to send.

iPhone

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, click the Customers tab.
2. Select the conversation that you want to open.
3. If you don't see any options next to the text field where you write a message, then tap the + icon to expand the conversation options and select the image icon.
4. You can send a picture from your device's photo library, or take a new photo. If it's the first time you're sending an image in the Inbox app, then you'll be prompted to give Shopify Inbox access to your photo library before you're able to select any images.
5. Tap the image that you want to send to the customer.

Android

1. In the Shopify Inbox app, click the Customers tab.
2. Select the conversation that you want to open.
3. If you don't see any options next to the text field where you write a message, then tap the + icon to expand the conversation options and select the image icon.
4. You can send a picture from your device's photo library, or take a new photo. If it's the first time you're sending an image in the Inbox app, then you'll be prompted to give Shopify Inbox access to your photo library before you're able to select any images.
5. Tap the image that you want to send to the customer.

Conversation details

You can view conversation details in the Shopify Inbox mobile app. From the conversation details screen, you can set a topic, manage the status of the conversation, or assign the conversation to a staff member.

Access conversation details

1. In the Shopify Inbox mobile app, tap the Customers tab.
2. Tap a conversation to open it.
3. On the conversation screen, tap the ⓘ icon.
4. Optional: set a topic for the conversation so you can easily find it again in your conversation list. Tap the Topic field and give the conversation a name or brief message. The topic is only ever visible to staff members with the appropriate messaging permissions.

Manage conversation status

Conversations can't be deleted, but they can be archived. You can archive messages using the Shopify Inbox iOS or Android app. Archiving conversations is not yet available on shopifyinbox.com.

Steps:

1. In the Shopify Inbox iOS or Android app, tap the Customers tab.
2. Set a conversation as inactive in one of the following ways:
   • On the Customers tab, swipe right on a conversation and tap the Inactive button that appears
   • Tap a conversation to open it, and then tap the ⓘ icon in the upper right corner. Under Manage, tap the active label and then tap Inactive. Tap Done to exit the conversation details screen.

Assign a conversation to a staff member

1. In the Shopify Inbox iOS or Android app, tap the Customers tab.
2. Tap a conversation to open it, and then tap the ⓘ icon in the upper right corner.
3. Under Manage, tap the Assignment line.
4. Use the search field to locate a staff member, or tap the staff member's name to assign or unassign the conversation.

If you don't see the appropriate staff member's name on the Assign Staff screen, then the staff member may not have the required permissions for online store chat. For more details, refer to online store chat permissions.