Every touchpoint with a shopper — order confirmations, shipping updates, cart recovery messages, promotional campaigns — is managed through a single communication layer. ShopSTAR3 supports email, SMS, WhatsApp, push, and in-app notifications out of the box, with per-store provider configuration and full consent tracking built in.
Channels#
Each channel requires its own provider configuration and can have independent templates and routing rules. The platform ships support for the following built-in channels:
| Channel | Use cases |
|---|---|
| Order confirmations, shipping updates, password reset, marketing campaigns | |
| SMS | Order status alerts, delivery notifications, OTP (where applicable) |
| Order updates, customer support flows, promotional outreach | |
| Push | Mobile and web push notifications for in-session and re-engagement |
| In-app | Notifications displayed within the storefront or customer account area |
Custom channels (for example, Slack or custom webhooks) can be added at the platform level without changes to the core configuration model.
Provider Configuration#
Each channel is backed by a configurable external provider. Multiple providers are available per channel:
| Channel | Available providers |
|---|---|
| SendGrid, AWS SES | |
| SMS | Twilio, Unifonic |
| Twilio, 360dialog | |
| Push | Firebase (FCM), Apple (APNs) |
Provider credentials are configured per store and stored securely in the platform’s secrets vault.
Message Templates#
Every message type (order confirmed, cart recovered, password reset, etc.) has a template per channel and locale. Templates use simple {{variable}} placeholders that are populated at send time with order, customer, and product data.
Template resolution order: store-specific override (matching locale) → store-specific override (default locale) → platform default template.
Routing#
Each store configures which message types are delivered through which channels. For example, order confirmations can be set to go via email and SMS simultaneously, while marketing campaigns are email-only. Platform defaults are applied automatically; store admins can override the routing per message type and per channel.
Consent#
Customer consent is tracked per channel. Marketing messages are only delivered to customers who have explicitly opted in to the target channel. Transactional messages (order confirmations, password reset, GDPR-related) are delivered regardless of marketing consent status.
Message Priority#
The platform routes messages across three priority classes to ensure critical messages are never delayed by marketing volume:
| Priority | Examples |
|---|---|
| Critical | Password reset, GDPR notifications |
| Transactional | Order confirmations, shipping updates, payment receipts |
| Marketing | Cart recovery campaigns, promotional emails, review requests |
Bulk Campaigns#
Create and send targeted campaigns to customer segments. Campaigns can be addressed to a shopper group or a tag-based segment, scheduled for future delivery, and rate-limited to avoid provider throttling. Email is the primary channel for bulk campaigns.