I totally get how frustrating this can be, especially when you're counting on your Mailchimp journeys to work smoothly for marketing. Based on what you're describing, it sounds like the issue is related to how Shopify (or your payment portal) is sending customer email data to Mailchimp.
Understanding the Issue
When a customer checks out and enters their email at the payment portal, Shopify records it, but that doesn’t always mean they’re automatically added as subscribers in Mailchimp. Shopify only sends over customers as "subscribed" if they explicitly opt-in to marketing during checkout. If they don’t check the marketing box, Mailchimp will mark them as non-subscribed or transactional-only, meaning they won’t go through your email automation (which seems to be what’s happening to you).
How to Fix This
1. Check Shopify's Marketing Opt-In Settings
- Go to your Shopify Admin > Settings > Checkout
- Scroll to the Marketing Consent section
- Make sure the email marketing checkbox is enabled so customers can opt-in
- If you want this to be pre-checked (so users have to uncheck if they don’t want emails), Shopify doesn’t allow it by default due to privacy rules. However, you can customize the checkout language to make it more appealing.
2. Verify Your Mailchimp Integration
- In Mailchimp, go to Audience > All contacts
- Check if these missing contacts are listed under "Non-Subscribed" or "Transactional"
- If so, that means they were imported from Shopify but without explicit marketing permission
3. Add an Email Collection Step Before Checkout
A workaround is to collect emails before the checkout process (for example, with a pop-up or signup form). That way, Mailchimp will get them as "subscribed" before they even reach the payment page.
4. Use Mailchimp's API or Automation Rules
If you’re comfortable with a bit of coding or using Zapier:
- You can set up a Mailchimp automation that moves non-subscribed contacts to your journey once they make a purchase
- Alternatively, Mailchimp's API allows you to manually update subscription statuses when an order is completed
5. Consider a Shopify Email App Instead
If this issue keeps causing problems, you might want to check out Shopify Email or another email marketing app that integrates more seamlessly with Shopify’s checkout data. Mailchimp sometimes has quirks with how it syncs subscriber statuses.
Final Thoughts
Yes, what Mailchimp support told you is correct—emails from the payment portal aren’t always marked as subscribers. But you can fix this by adjusting Shopify’s settings, collecting emails earlier, or using automation tools to ensure your Mailchimp journeys work properly.
Hope that helps! If you need extra help, just let me know asap. Thanks!
Daisy
