New Email Subscribers from Facebook Instagram Shops Not Receiving Shopify Welcome Flow

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Topic summary

A Shopify store owner is experiencing issues with their Welcome Series automation not triggering for email subscribers acquired through Facebook and Instagram Shops, despite these subscribers being added to Shopify’s subscriber list. The automation works correctly for direct website signups.

Root Cause:
The “Customer subscribed to email marketing” trigger in Shopify Email is incompatible with third-party subscription sources like Facebook and Instagram Shops. It only fires for signups directly on the Shopify store.

Proposed Solutions:

  1. Alternative Shopify Flow trigger: Use the “Customer Created” trigger combined with a condition checking if customers agreed to marketing emails
  2. Third-party email apps: Consider tools like Klaviyo that better handle multi-channel subscriber syncing and automation
  3. Manual retroactive fix: Export the subscriber list, filter for Facebook/Instagram sources, and manually send Welcome emails or add them to the flow
  4. Settings verification: Confirm “Accepts Marketing” status is properly enabled for affected subscribers

The discussion remains open regarding the best implementation approach and whether bulk processing existing subscribers is feasible.

Summarized with AI on November 2. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
2

Hi @arenhc

From what I’ve personally experienced with Shopify, the “Customer subscribed to email marketing” trigger only fires when someone signs up for your emails on your actual online store (like a form on your website). Because Facebook and Instagram Shops are considered third-party channels, their subscription data doesn’t start that specific Shopify trigger. So, your welcome series never gets triggered for those subscribers.

To handle this, here’s what you can do:

1. Use Shopify Flow Workarounds

You can set up a different trigger to capture these customers. For example:

  • Use the “Customer Created” trigger in Shopify Flow, which activates when a new customer profile is created.
  • Combine this with a condition to check if the customer has agreed to marketing emails.
  • This should work for Facebook and Instagram subscribers because they are added to the customer list, even if the default trigger doesn’t work.

2. Sync Subscribers via Third-Party Apps

Tools like Klaviyo are often better for email marketing automation and integration with third-party sources. These apps allow you to sync email signups from Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms, ensuring all subscribers get included in your Welcome Series.

3. Manually Add Existing Subscribers to the Flow

To address existing subscribers who didn’t receive the Welcome emails:

  • Export your email subscriber list from Shopify.
  • Filter for those added from Facebook or Instagram (check the “Marketing status” and “Source” fields).
  • Import them into your email tool (Shopify Email, Klaviyo, etc.) and manually send a Welcome email or trigger them into the flow.

4. Double-Check Settings

If using Shopify Email:

  • Verify that your customers’ “Accepts Marketing” status is enabled. Sometimes, even minor toggles like unchecking/rechecking the box won’t update unless saved properly.
  • You might need to bulk edit these settings for accuracy

If you need any other assistance, I am willing to help.

Best regards,
Daisy