Email list building on Shopify: how to grow your list with built-in tools

Email list building on Shopify starts with the tools already in your admin. You can collect consent at checkout, add a signup form with Shopify's free Forms app, put a newsletter section in your theme, and give shoppers a clear reason to join. None of it needs code, and most of it takes an afternoon.

This guide shows how to grow your email list on Shopify step by step: where to turn each signup point on, what to offer, how to keep the list clean, and how to check what's working. It also covers what list growth can't fix, so you spend your time on the parts that matter.

Start with consent at checkout

Checkout is where shoppers are already typing their email address, so it's the easiest signup point to switch on. In your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Checkout, find the Marketing opt-in section and select Email. Shoppers then see a consent checkbox.

• Preselection by region. You can let Shopify preselect or leave the box unchecked based on each shopper's local rules (Regions recommended by Shopify), or pick regions yourself. A shopper can always untick a preselected box.
• When consent counts. Shopify records consent when the shopper ticks the box and moves on in checkout, not when they first see it.
• The wording. You can edit the text next to the checkbox in the same section. Shopify points out that if you send abandoned cart reminders, the default text, which talks about news and offers, needs changing.

If you also want text message subscribers, the same section has an SMS option you can set to Checkout only. Shopify asks you to make the shipping phone number field optional or required, and to add terms of service and a privacy policy under Settings > Policies. Shopify's guide to collecting customer contact information has every setting.

Add a signup form with Shopify Forms

Checkout only reaches people who buy. To reach browsers, add a form. Shopify Forms is Shopify's own app and is listed as free. It makes two kinds of form:

• Popup forms, which float above the page. Turn on the Forms app embed first under Online Store > Edit theme > App embeds, then go to Apps > Forms > Create form.
• Inline forms, which sit inside a page. You can create a new landing page for the form from its Placement section, or add it to an existing page template in the theme editor with the Form ID.

New forms start switched off, so preview and click Turn form on when you're ready. A store can have up to 25 forms. Shopify's guide to creating a form walks through each part.

Set when the popup appears

A popup's Behavior settings control Devices, Pages and Trigger. You can show the form on the first, second or third page view, immediately or after a delay, and limit it to desktop, mobile or specific page types. There's also an exit trigger that shows the form when a visitor tries to leave, and Shopify notes it works on desktop only. If a visitor closes the popup, it won't show to them again unless they clear their cookies, so the first impression counts. The details are in Shopify's popup form settings.

A sensible starting point is the second page view after a short delay, so the shopper has already seen a product before you ask.

Use the newsletter section in your theme

Shopify lets you add a newsletter signup section to a page template through your theme's sections, and many themes also have one in the footer. Open the theme editor, add the section where shoppers finish reading (the bottom of the homepage, an About page, a blog post) and write a heading that says what they get, not just "Subscribe". Emails submitted this way land in the Email subscribers segment on your Customers page.

Give shoppers a reason to join

"Join our newsletter" asks for something without saying why. Say what the shopper gets and how often. Some options that suit different brands:

• A first-order discount, delivered on the form's success step. In Shopify Forms, the Success section has a Discount (optional) setting that shows a code once someone signs up.
• Early access to launches, restocks or a Black Friday sale.
• Something useful: a size guide, care tips, a recipe, a buying guide.
• A clear promise about frequency, such as one email a week.

If you're planning holiday offers, you can collect signups now for early access and send the offer when the sale opens. Our welcome message examples show how to word the first message new subscribers see.

Collect consent properly and keep the list clean

A list that grows with real consent is worth more than a big list that ignores email. Shopify's settings help with both.

• Pick a consent option on every form. Shopify Forms offers On form submission, On form submission if a box is checked, and Don't subscribe customers to marketing for contact forms. Add a short consent disclaimer that explains how you use the email.
• Consider double opt-in. Under Settings > Notifications > Customer notifications, the Marketing double opt-in section sends new subscribers a confirmation email with a link to click. Shopify says the confirmation email shouldn't contain marketing.
• Never buy a list. Shopify's guide to managing your subscriber list says buying lists is prohibited and harms your sender reputation.
• Remove role addresses. Shopify recommends removing addresses like info@ or support@ by hand. Addresses that bounce because of an address problem are suppressed automatically.

Shopify also notes that its consent settings aren't legal advice, so check the rules for the countries you sell to.

Add signups inside the store's feed

Atomato's NotiEmail adds a signup card inside your store's notification feed. It can include a question step, reward signups with a Shopify discount code, and send each new address to Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend or Drip. It runs alongside your checkout opt-in and your Forms popup rather than replacing them, and it needs the Enterprise+ plan. On Atomato's on-site messaging benchmarks, NotiEmail messages had a 23.87% click rate on the 13 stores that ran them, from 11 April to 8 October 2026, test stores excluded. See how NotiEmail works.

A worked example

Say you sell handmade candles, and your only signup point today is a footer form with the heading "Newsletter". This is a hypothetical example, not a real store.

Before: no checkout opt-in, a footer form with no reason to join, and no welcome email.

After one afternoon:

1. Email opt-in switched on at checkout, with the consent text rewritten to mention order updates and new scents.
2. A Shopify Forms popup on the second page view after a short delay, offering a first-order code on the success step and tagging each signup with "popup-signup".
3. The footer heading changed to "New scents first, one email a week".
4. A landing page with an inline form linked from the brand's social profiles, for early access to the holiday collection.
5. Double opt-in turned on, and the form confirmation message updated to tell shoppers to check their inbox.

Each signup point now says what the shopper gets, and the tags show which one is doing the work.

Measure what's working

The Forms overview page shows total views, submissions and average completion rate, plus the same numbers for each form. Use them to compare offers and triggers one change at a time. Tags show which form each subscriber came from, and you can open a form and click View segment to see who submitted it, then save that segment to send an email or offer.

Check the Email subscribers segment each month too. If new signups are followed by lots of unsubscribes or bounces, check whether the offer and the emails you send match what the form promised.

Common mistakes and what this won't fix

• Asking on the first second of the first visit. Give shoppers a moment to see what you sell.
• Promising one thing and sending another. If the form says weekly tips, don't send daily discounts.
• Forgetting mobile. Exit triggers don't fire on phones, so mobile shoppers need a page-view trigger or an inline form.
• Collecting emails and sending nothing. Set up a welcome email before you switch the forms on.

A bigger list won't fix weak products, slow pages or a confusing checkout, and it won't replace good emails. List growth only pays off when what you send is worth opening.

Quick checklist

• Email opt-in on at checkout, with consent text that matches what you send
• One Shopify Forms popup with a clear offer and a sensible trigger
• An inline or footer form with a specific heading
• A consent option and disclaimer on every form
• Double opt-in considered for the countries you sell to
• A welcome email ready before launch
• Tags on each form, and a monthly look at the Email subscribers segment

Common questions

How do I see my email subscribers on Shopify?

Go to Customers in your admin and open the Email subscribers segment. It lists customers who agreed to receive marketing emails.

Is Shopify Forms free?

Yes. Shopify Forms is made by Shopify and is listed as free on the Shopify App Store.

Should I preselect the checkout marketing checkbox?

It depends on where you sell. With Regions recommended by Shopify, the box is preselected or left unchecked based on each shopper's local jurisdiction, or you can choose regions yourself. If you're unsure, leave it unchecked and check the rules for your markets.

How fast should my email list grow?

There's no single right number, because it depends on your traffic and offer. Track your form completion rate and new subscribers each month, and compare against your own past results.

Next step

Pick one signup point you don't have yet, switch it on today, and give it a reason to join. Once it's running, add the next one. If you're preparing for the holidays, our Black Friday Cyber Monday guide covers what to plan on-site.

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