How to Send Push Notifications from a Magento Store

Imagine boosting your Magento store's engagement, sales, and revenue with just a few clicks.

You know the struggle to keep your customers coming back for more. All marketing channels can work - but few are as reliable as push notifications.

Push notifications, sent through a web browser and native iOS and Android apps, are eCommerce rocket fuel.

Here at MobiLoud we specialize in building eCommerce mobile apps. We've built thousands of apps, which have sent millions of push notifications.

So we've seen what push notifications can do, first hand.

In this article we're going to show you how to set up both for your Magento store, so you can grab your ideal customer's attention with irresistible alerts and offers.

Why Magento Stores Should Use Push Notifications

Push notifications allow you to go directly to the customer's device, sending your messages to the lock screen which they check 144 times per day.

They're hard to ignore, and deliverability is excellent.

This makes push highly effective for timely communication.

Unlike emails that languish in an inboxes, PPC campaigns that burn through cash, social posts with pathetic reach, and SEO initiatives that take months to move the needle - push notifications will work well, today.

Here are a few benefits we've seen firsthand for eCommerce stores:

• Higher engagement: push notifications command attention, and help eCommerce businesses to nudge users back into your app or site, boosting traffic and session frequency.
• Personalized Experiences: push notifications are relatively simple to personalise based on customer behavior, leading to a better experience overall. Customers appreciate when you recognise their preferences, improving both your brand image and conversion rate.
• Real-Time Communication: push is the perfect channel to announce flash sales, deals, and new arrivals in real-time. Your audience receives updates the moment they're relevant, which can drive FOMO and impulsive purchases.
• Retention boost: Regular, relevant notifications can nurture a habitual interaction with your brand. Over time, this consistency builds loyalty and improves retention rates.

The bottom line for Magento store owners:

Push notifications represent a direct line to your customers without the clutter of competing messages. By connecting where they're most active – their smartphone – you'll stay top-of-mind.

Push Notifications for Magento

Magento these days comes in two distinct flavours:

1. Magento Open Source (formerly Magento Community Edition)
2. Magento Commerce aka Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento Enterprise Edition)

No matter which platform you use, the basic process for sending push notifications from Magento is the same, it is just the details of the implementation that will differ.

There are two kinds of notifications you should be sending:

1. Web push notifications sent from your site via the user's browser
2. Native app notifications sent through a native iOS or Android app installed on the user's device

Both have their strengths and weaknesses.

You can read a detailed comparison here - but let's summarise.

Web notifications are great for building that initial connection with more casual site visitors. As soon as they grant permission, you can start sending them your offers, deals and new products - nudging them back to your site and potentially converting them into a regular customer.

Native app notifications are even more powerful.

When you have iOS and Android eCommerce apps, those who go to the trouble of downloading and installing them are your most loyal and engaged customers.

Native app notifications then give you a direct channel to them.

App notifications let you leverage all the features of the device, and to connect notification sequences to specific in-app events like abandoned carts and new offers tailored to the customer's interests.

Which type of notification should you use?

Both!

Both web and native app notifications work synergistically with each other, you should use both to grow your Magento store. You can use web notifications to build the initial connection with site visitors, then app notifications for deep engagement with loyal customers.

We're going to show you how to set both up, starting with web push notifications.

Web Notifications for Magento Stores

Whether it's a flash sale, a welcome sequence, or an abandoned cart reminder, web notifications are amazing for nudging customers back to your Magento store.

Neither Magento the open source platform nor Adobe Commerce have push notification functionality natively built in though. There are plenty of reliable third party extensions that will get the job done though, here are some that you should consider.

For Magento Open Source, some of the best push notification platforms include:

1. PushAlert
   This well-reviewed extension offers web push notifications for Magento, and is compatible with various browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Safari. It allows store owners to manage and create push notifications from the backend, upload images, redirect to URLs, and more.
2. Webkul
   This extension is designed to work with Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome web browsers and is well integrated with the Magento platform. It allows store owners to send notifications to customers on the browser, manage subscribers, and also create push notifications from the backend.
3. Magenest
   This extension provides web push notifications for Magento 2 and allows store owners to manage and create push notifications from the backend, upload images, and redirect to URLs. It also offers features such as automatic push notifications for registered customers and personalized notification settings.

For Adobe Commerce, some of the best push notification platforms include:

1. Magedelight
   MageDelight is a solid extension for Adobe Commerce, giving you unlimited push notifications, custom templates, and plenty of advanced options for triggering notifications based on various events like abandoned carts and wishlist changes. It's compatible with Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) Services, GraphQL and other tools for more advanced use-cases.
2. Push Pro
   Push Pro has extensions for both Magento open source and Adobe Commerce, and all the features you need to send web notifications to site visitors. Push Pro has solid segmentation features, is easy to install, and has great tools for data analysis and measurement.
3. MageComp
   MageComp allows you to send web notifications from your Magento site via Google FCM. It's another solid platform with all the necessary features and easy set-up.

Fundamentally all these extensions have similar features, so we'd recommend you research each option yourself and see which one best fits your requirements and budget (most cost $100-$300 one-time).

Setup for each extension is slightly different, but will be some variation of:

1. Installation: Install the push notification extension from the marketplace or a third-party provider
2. Configuration: Configure the extension settings, including setting up the push notification content, templates, images and other necessary pieces
3. Permissions: Set up permission prompts to get user consent
4. Advanced Setup: Configure advanced push notification settings, such as welcome notifications, campaign types, targeting options,
5. Testing: Test the push notification functionality to ensure that it works as expected on both desktop and mobile devices, as well as on different browsers

You should be able to get set up with web notifications in just a couple of hours, although refining and optimising them will take some real time and work.

Now let's move onto the next piece of the push puzzle - native app notifications.

How to Send Native App Notifications from a Magento Store

Native app notifications are sent directly from iOS or Android apps.

They're more powerful than web notifications because they harness the full capabilities of mobile operating systems, and can be tightly personalised according to in-app data and events.

They're a direct line to your most loyal customers.

But to send native app notifications from Magento you need....... a native app.

Only by building iOS and Android apps for your Magento store can you really use push to its full potential. Luckily, this isn't as hard as you think.

Traditionally there are two broad options for building native eCommerce apps.

The first was to build them natively from scratch - potentially a great result but costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and takes months of stressful work.

The second was to use cheap, templated app builder platforms that let you minimally brand and personalise a cookie-cutter interface that hooks up to your data via API.

The first option is inefficient and often impractical, the second is ineffective.

MobiLoud overcomes the limitations of each.

MobiLoud is a full service for converting your web store into native iOS and Android apps. In the case of Magento we take your site, then translate that into native eCommerce apps that sync with all your site features, workflows, and product catalogue.

Everything that you built for the web you can reuse in the apps.

On top of that we layer on all the native app features needed for an ideal mobile shopping experience - including push notifications.

Through our deep integration with push market leader OneSignal, every MobiLoud app comes with unlimited push notifications that you can start sending right away.

We also built our own special feature for abandoned cart notifications that puts them on autopilot for you. It detects when the app has been closed with items in the cart then sends a series of notifications prompting cart recovery. Our team handle the entire thing for you using CRO best practices and crafted copy.

MobiLoud gets you so much more than push notifications - but they're a major requirement for our thousands of users, including successful eCommerce brands like:

• Rainbow Apparel
• Bestseller
• Jack & Jones

Tips for Sending Magento Push Notifications

Here are a few best practices for succeeding with push notifications.

You need to take a thoughtful approach to messaging, segmentation and personalisation. You need to make sure you don't send too many notifications, fatiguing your customers.

You need to send them at the exact right moments to keep your audience engaged and informed - and every message should be timely, relevant, and actionable.

Balance is key.

Excessive notifications risk turning off users and leading to an increase in opt-outs. On the other hand, go too sporadic might cause you to slip from the customer's mind.

Discovering the perfect cadence requires attention to feedback, attention to data, and an agile approach to adjusting tactics.

One key tip: send notifications with intent.

Whether it's cart abandonment reminders, exclusive offers, or a product recommendation, every message should have a clear purpose.

Clarity and succinctness will make everything about your messages more engaging - while random and poorly thought-out messages can lead to notification fatigue or worse, opt-outs.

You'll want to test different messages and timings to find the sweet spot that drives traffic and sales - often by leveraging the A/B testing features of the push platform you choose.

Start Sending Push Notifications from Magento Today

So we've covered the essentials of sending web and native app notifications from Magento.

There's more to it of course, but you know what you need to get started.

Push will be a huge unlock for your business, and could well become your best marketing channel once you get going.

All you need to do is:

1. Choose a web push extension and set it up
2. Build MobiLoud apps and start sending push notifications on iOS and Android

Our team of app experts are ready to get your brand on the App Store and Google Play in just weeks - with top quality eCommerce apps at a fraction of the usual cost.

Before you know it you'll have an entire new sales channel, and a direct line to your most valuable customers to grow your business to the next level. MobiLoud already works for thousands of brands, including multi billion dollar retailers.\

Read more in our case studies.

Check out some of our previous apps, read more about our eCommerce features and even better - talk to one of our app experts to get all your questions answered.

We'll set up a personalized demo at any time that works for you and go through the entire process.

Let's get your brand on the app store.