Checkout triggers, step by step

Three triggers around the moment of purchase. Two come from the shopper's browser during checkout and tell you that checkout is failing before a support ticket does. The third is an ordinary order trigger for a customer's very first order.

On this page: Checkout Error Shown, Checkout Discount Code Rejected, First-Time Customer Order

Checkout Error Shown

Fires when checkout shows an error or a warning to a shopper: an address that does not validate, a declined payment, a field that rejects its input. It carries the message, its type and the field it belongs to.

Fires from	The app's storefront pixel, in the shopper's browser
Permission	Storefront Behaviour Access
Switched on	Turning on a Flow workflow that uses it switches it on. Its own switch is on the app's Triggers page

Use it for

• Find out that checkout is failing without waiting for complaints.
• Spot a broken shipping or payment rule after a change.

What Checkout Error Shown sends to your workflow

Variable in Flow	Type	What it holds
checkoutAlert	Object	The message shown and where it appeared
checkoutAlert.message	Text	What the shopper was told, in their language.
checkoutAlert.type	Text	The kind of alert, e.g. INPUT_INVALID.
checkoutAlert.target	Text	The field that failed, e.g. cart.discountCode.
eventId	Text	The id of this event. Search for it in the app's Event History to see exactly what was sent.

Example: Collect checkout errors in a channel

1. Pick Checkout Error Shown as the trigger.
2. Add a Condition to skip the noise: checkoutAlert.target Not equal to cart.discountCode (rejected codes have their own trigger).
3. Add Send HTTP request to Slack: {{checkoutAlert.type}} on {{checkoutAlert.target}}: {{checkoutAlert.message}}.
4. Turn the workflow on and watch for a sudden rise rather than for single events.

Checkout Discount Code Rejected

Fires when checkout refuses a discount code. Shopify does not tell apps which code was typed, so the event carries the reason and nothing else.

Fires from	The app's storefront pixel, in the shopper's browser
Permission	Storefront Behaviour Access
Switched on	Turning on a Flow workflow that uses it switches it on. Its own switch is on the app's Triggers page

Use it for

• Notice an expired or mistyped campaign code within minutes of an email going out.

What Checkout Discount Code Rejected sends to your workflow

Variable in Flow	Type	What it holds
discountAttempt	Object	Why the code was not applied, in the shopper's language
discountAttempt.reason	Text
eventId	Text	The id of this event. Search for it in the app's Event History to see exactly what was sent.

Example: Warn marketing about a rise in rejected codes

1. Pick Checkout Discount Code Rejected as the trigger.
2. Add Send HTTP request to a channel or a counter: A discount code was rejected: {{discountAttempt.reason}}.
3. Turn the workflow on. Right after sending a campaign, a burst of these means the code in the email does not work.

First-Time Customer Order

Fires when an order is placed by a customer who has never ordered before. It is an order trigger, not a browser one: it arrives reliably and carries the order and the customer as references.

Fires from	Shopify webhook
Permission	Order Data Access + Customer Data Access
Switched on	Turning on a Flow workflow that uses it switches it on. Its own switch is on the app's Triggers page

Use it for

• Welcome series, a thank-you note or a small gift for first orders.
• Tag first-time buyers for later segmentation.

What First-Time Customer Order sends to your workflow

Variable in Flow	Type	What it holds
order	Order (Shopify)	The customer's first order. A full Shopify order, so all of its fields and Flow's own order actions are available.
customer	Customer (Shopify)	The first-time customer. A full Shopify customer, so all of its fields and Flow's own customer actions are available.
eventId	Text	The id of this event. Search for it in the app's Event History to see exactly what was sent.

Example: Tag and welcome first-time buyers

1. Pick First-Time Customer Order as the trigger.
2. Add Add customer tags first-order and Add order tags first-order.
3. Add Send internal email to the packing team: {{order.name}} is {{customer.displayName}}'s first order - add the welcome card.
4. Turn the workflow on.

Next steps

• Complete trigger reference - every trigger on one page.
• Choosing the right trigger - which one fits your case.
• Custom triggers - when no built-in trigger fits, write your own.
• Event history and troubleshooting - see what fired and what it carried.