How to Send Push Notifications from BigCommerce

BigCommerce is known for its ease-of-use, robust features, and scalability, making it a great choice for many retailers.

But no matter how robust the eCommerce platform, driving scalable, affordable traffic and retaining customers will always be a challenge for modern brands.

Luckily there’s a secret weapon you can use to break through the noise, and build a direct line to your customers.

Push notifications.

Read on and we’ll explain why push notifications are so incredible for BigCommerce brands (and any online brands, for that matter), followed by a quick and easy way to start using push notifications for your business.

Why Push Notifications are a Powerful Tool for eCommerce Brands

Push notifications are the most direct way for your brand to reach customers.

Today, brands are crying out for an engagement channel that’s cheap, direct, easy to use, and controllable.

• PPC can be incredibly effective, but it’s also expensive, and a lot of work.
• Email marketing still produces a good ROI, but its effectiveness is in decline.
• Organic social reach is way down, while SEO is becoming more unreliable.

Push notifications are amazing for eCommerce brands - allowing you to:

• Alert customers about sales, promotions, new products, or restocked items.
• recover abandoned carts by reminding customers about their left-behind items.
• Update users about delivery and other important information.

They land directly on your customer’s lock screen, making them difficult to ignore.

You can reach customers at any time, wherever they are, and keep your brand top-of-mind, for a tiny fraction of the cost and effort of other channels.

Best of all, it’s a channel you control. You don’t need to worry about email providers sending your messages to spam or promotional inboxes, social platforms banning your accounts, or your website falling off Google’s first ten pages.

It’s a direct line to your customers, which is invaluable in today’s age of unpredictability.

Web vs Native App Push Notifications for BigCommerce

If you’re just getting up to date with push notifications, understand that there are two different types - web and native app push notifications (aka mobile push notifications).

They’re fundamentally similar, but with some key differences.

For a detailed breakdown, check out this article.

While web push notifications can be useful, the real power of push notifications comes from mobile push notifications.

Mobile push notifications go straight to your user’s mobile device, no matter what they’re doing.

It’s this direct line that’s so valuable.

So, for this article, we’re going to walk you through how to send mobile push notifications from your BigCommerce store - because that’s where the money is.

Sending Native App Push Notifications from a BigCommerce Store

To send native mobile push notifications from your BigCommerce store, you need (funnily enough) a mobile app.

This might seem like a big blocker, but hear us out - it’s not.

Traditionally you’d need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and endure months of headaches to build separate apps for iOS and Android, that integrate with the backend of your BigCommerce store.

To send push notifications would need another layer of tight integration between your BigCommerce store, your apps backends, along APNs, FCM, or both. 

Today, that’s not necessary, because MobiLoud exists.

MobiLoud lets you convert your BigCommerce store into a mobile app.

Your app will be fully synced with your website, so whenever you make a change to your website, your app updates automatically.

It takes zero effort (we do all the work for you), and the cost is less than a day’s sales.

Crucially, MobiLoud apps come equipped with everything you need to start sending push notifications, right out of the box.

BigCommerce Push Notifications with MobiLoud

MobiLoud is the best way to start sending push notifications from BigCommerce.

Since your app is fully linked to your website, you continue to manage everything from your web backend as you usually do.

You can send push notifications to app users through your MobiLoud app. Our apps come with push functionality built in, via OneSignal, one of the industry leading push notification providers.

We also built a dedicated feature for abandoned cart notifications, which are the most straightforward way to start generating revenue from push notifications.

Everything is set up for you, including a high-converting push notification sequence to send when a customer leaves their card abandoned.

Our users have had unbelievable success with this feature, with some recovering as much as $200,000 in revenue in just 30 days.

No additional setup required - once your app is live, your brand will be ready to reap the rewards of push notifications.

Want to know how your brand can achieve similar results? Get in touch and book a free consultation now.

Push Notification Best Practices

To help you get off the ground running, here are some best practices to follow with push notifications for your BigCommerce store.

Push notifications work best when they combine clear, engaging copy with messages that provide value to the recipient. 

Avoid sending notifications without purpose or strategy. Every notification should meet two essential criteria:

• Serve a clear business goal.
• Offer value to the customer.

Copywriting for Push Notifications

Effective notifications can drive sales or engagement, but poorly written ones miss the mark. Follow these best practices:

• Keep it brief. Use 10 words or fewer when possible.
• Use action-oriented language. Choose strong verbs and power words to inspire action.
• Create urgency. Highlight limited-time offers to prompt quick responses.

Treat notifications as calls to action, not simple alerts. A/B test different styles and content to identify what resonates with your audience.

Adding Rich Media

Push notifications can include rich media, such as images, to make them more engaging. Visual elements work especially well in eCommerce, particularly on native apps that integrate with operating systems.

Use images to:

• Announce new products.
• Promote offers or sales.

Adding visuals can significantly increase conversion rates.

Personalization

Personalization improves engagement by tailoring messages to individual users. Native app notifications often allow more personalization due to access to user data, unlike web push notifications.

Try these personalization techniques:

• Address the recipient by name.
• Recommend products based on browsing or purchase history.
• Offer exclusive deals related to user preferences.

Testing personalization strategies can boost engagement as customers see more relevant messages.

Timing and Frequency

Poor timing or excessive notifications can alienate users. Balance is critical:

• Schedule notifications by time zone to ensure relevance.
• Avoid odd hours that might annoy users.
• Set a balanced frequency to keep customers informed without overwhelming them.

Studies suggest sending notifications between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. may yield better results, as users are more relaxed. Conversely, sending more than two notifications daily risks higher opt-out rates.

Monitor campaign performance to find what works for your audience, but always aim to enhance their experience, not clutter it.

Final Note

Push notifications should enrich the user's experience. Every message should inform, engage, or provide value while respecting their time and attention.

Launch Native Push Notifications Now

Native push notifications are one of many benefits of building eCommerce mobile apps, but they’re one of the most important. 

With MobiLoud, all our apps come pre-integrated with OneSignal - the top push notification provider on the market. 

You’ll get unlimited push notifications for both iOS and Android, and you’ll be able to set them up exactly how you need to drive conversions and revenue. 

We also give you all the tools you need to fully leverage push, like abandoned cart notifications and A/B testing.

With a mobile-optimized, conversion-optimized BigCommerce store, and MobiLoud iOS and Android apps to send native app notifications, your brand will be unstoppable. 

To get an idea of what is possible, check out some example apps from fellow MobiLoud users.

We’ve helped thousands of brands launch apps and leverage push notifications to grow their business.

We can do the same for you. Get in touch now and book a free demo to get all your questions answered, and start on the path to owning your customer communications with push notifications.