Shopify handles the basics of ecommerce communication, but when it comes to emails that match how your business actually runs, the built-in options fall short. Most stores need more control over when emails go out, what they say, and who they reach.
Let’s take a look at what Shopify can (and can’t) do out of the box for emails, how to build smarter email workflows, and where automation tools give you more flexibility.
What automated emails does Shopify send by default?
Shopify sends a core set of transactional emails for your store. These include:
- Order confirmations
- Shipping and delivery updates
- Account creation and password resets
- Refund and cancellation notices
They’re helpful and reliable — but they’re rigid. These emails follow a set format and can only be lightly edited. There’s no way to include dynamic content based on order details, customer tags, or product-specific logic. They also can’t be delayed, filtered, or split by segment.
For most merchants, that means the most important post-purchase and customer engagement emails need to happen elsewhere.
What can’t you do with Shopify’s built-in emails?
Shopify’s default email system isn’t built for marketing, personalization, or logic-based automation. It works for universal notifications, but it doesn’t give you the tools to tailor messaging to how customers behave or what they buy.
Here are some examples of what you can’t do out of the box:
- Send a different email if the order contains a fragile or pre-order item
- Notify a vendor when a specific product is sold
- Personalize messages with fallback logic for customer name, location, or product notes
- Customize layouts beyond the basic template editor
These limitations create friction for stores that want to deliver a more thoughtful, branded experience — or who need to keep operations in sync across teams.
How to build custom email workflows in Shopify
To send better automated emails, you’ll need to use a workflow automation app like Arigato. These tools let you define your own logic, triggers, and conditions — and then send emails to customers, team members, or partners when specific events happen in your store.
With Arigato, you can build workflows that:
- Email the customer when their order includes a certain tag
- Send your shipping manager an alert if a VIP places an order with express delivery
- Email your vendor when a wholesale-only product is purchased
- Trigger a follow-up email a week after an order is fulfilled
- Send formatted HTML messages that match your brand — not just the Shopify default layout
You get access to full Twig support, so you can add filters, fallback values, loops, and formatting logic inside your messages. The automation workflow template library includes dozens of email-specific workflows you can install, test, and customize without writing everything from scratch.
Explore email automation templates for faster setup
Arigato’s templates cover many of the most common Shopify email automations. You’ll find examples for:
- Notifying your team about large or high-risk orders
- Emailing customers when specific products are purchased
- Sending summaries or reminders based on order status
- Alerting staff or suppliers when certain SKUs are included in an order
- Following up based on loyalty behavior or tag conditions
Each template can be edited to match your specific use case. You define the rules — Arigato takes care of the timing, logic, and delivery.
Templates are also a good way to see what’s possible, even if your end goal is a custom workflow. They can serve as a starting point, shortcut, or safety net when you’re launching something new.
Automated emails for Shopify TL;DR
Shopify automated emails are great for the basics — but once you need more than a single-format confirmation, you’re better off with a tool that gives you full control.
Custom email workflows help you deliver timely, useful, and relevant messages that feel personal and on-brand. Whether it’s alerting your team, following up with a customer, or syncing operations across tools, email should be as flexible as the rest of your store.
If you’re ready to go beyond default templates, Arigato Automation gives you the power to create, test, and scale automated emails that actually match your business logic — not just Shopify’s defaults.