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Where to find this: Inside any workflow, click + between two nodes and pick WhatsApp.

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Introduction

The WhatsApp node sends a single approved WhatsApp template message when the workflow reaches it. The message is personalised with shortcodes that Yuko substitutes at send time — {{first_name}}, {{points_balance}}, {{coupon_code}}, etc. The node uses whichever WhatsApp provider you have connected as an integration — there’s no separate setup at the node level beyond picking provider, template and shortcode bindings.

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What the node does

  1. Selects an approved template from your connected WhatsApp provider.
  2. Substitutes shortcode tokens with the customer’s live data.
  3. Sends the message via the provider’s Business API to the customer’s phone number.
  4. Logs the result as pending / completed / failed on the node.

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When to use

  • Inside any workflow where you want a high-open-rate channel for a moment that matters.
  • Tier upgrade celebrations, streak-at-risk reminders, points-expiring warnings.
  • Last-call urgency on Booster Campaign windows.
  • Friend-reward-claimed notifications inside a referral flow.

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Overview

  • One template message per node execution.
  • Switch providers per node (useful if you’ve connected more than one).
  • 14 shortcodes covering customer profile, order context and loyalty state.
  • Real-time Connected / Disconnected badge on the node so you can see whether your provider config is still live.
  • Failures don’t block the workflow — the next node still fires.

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Before you start

Yuko app is installed on your Shopify store — see Install Yuko on Shopify.
The Yuko Theme App Embed is enabled in your active theme.
Your loyalty program is enabled at Shopify admin → Apps → Yuko Loyalty → Loyalty → Settings.
Points label and currency are configured.
At least one WhatsApp provider is connected — see the WhatsApp integration overview.
At least one approved template exists in your provider’s dashboard.

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How to add and configure the node

1

Open a workflow

Go to Apps → Yuko Loyalty → Workflows and open an existing workflow or create a new one.
2

Add the WhatsApp node

Click + between two nodes (or after the trigger) and pick WhatsApp from the action-node picker.
3

Pick the provider

The node’s provider dropdown shows every WhatsApp provider you’ve connected. Pick the one whose template you want to send.
4

Pick the template

Yuko fetches your approved templates from the provider and lists them. Pick one.
5

Map template variables to shortcodes

For every variable in the template (the \{\{1\}\}, \{\{2\}\} placeholders WhatsApp uses), pick the Yuko shortcode it should resolve to — e.g., map \{\{1\}\} to {{first_name}} and \{\{2\}\} to {{points_balance}}.
6

Save and activate

Save the node, then activate the workflow.
Watch the connection badge. The node shows a real-time Connected or Disconnected badge depending on whether your provider credentials are still valid. If it flips to Disconnected after a credential rotation, the workflow will start failing — reconnect the provider integration to fix it.

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Available shortcodes

Wrap tokens as {{token_name}} inside any template variable. Yuko substitutes the value at send time. The catalogue is shared across all 7 providers.

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Profile

ShortcodeDescription
{{first_name}}Customer’s first name.
{{last_name}}Customer’s last name.
{{full_name}}Customer’s full name.
{{email}}Customer’s email address.
{{phone_number}}Customer’s phone number.

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Order

ShortcodeDescription
{{order_number}}The order’s reference number.
{{order_count}}Customer’s total number of orders.
{{product_names}}Names of products in the order.
{{order_total}}The order’s total amount.
{{currency}}Store currency code.

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Loyalty

ShortcodeDescription
{{points_balance}}Customer’s current points balance.
{{total_earned_points}}Lifetime points earned.
{{current_tier_name}}Customer’s current VIP tier.
{{coupon_code}}Reward / discount code.
The catalogue is shared across providers today. Some providers may expose additional native variables in their own dashboard — those won’t appear in this list because Yuko doesn’t pass them through.

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How it works

  1. The workflow reaches the WhatsApp node.
  2. Yuko looks up the customer’s phone number from their Shopify record. If no phone number is on file, the action is logged as failed and the workflow continues.
  3. Yuko resolves every shortcode in the template variables against the live customer / order / loyalty state.
  4. Yuko sends the message via the provider’s Business API.
  5. The action is logged as completed or failed. Counts increment on the node.

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Decision guidance

  • Reserve WhatsApp for moments that warrant it. Not every loyalty event needs a WhatsApp copy of the email. Pick tier changes, streak risk, last-call campaign reminders, friend-reward unlocks.
  • Use shortcodes liberally — personalised templates outperform generic ones by a wide margin.
  • Pair with a Wait node if the message would otherwise fire instantly after another channel. Customers receiving an email and a WhatsApp within seconds feels spammy; 60–120 seconds apart reads as deliberate.

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Limitations

  • One template per node execution. To send a second message, add a second WhatsApp node downstream (with a Wait node between if needed).
  • Templates must be approved in the provider’s dashboard before they’re available to pick.
  • No delivery / read / reply tracking inside Yuko — the node tracks pending / completed / failed only.
  • Customer must have a phone number on their Shopify customer record.
  • No support for unstructured (non-template) messages; transactional WhatsApp Business API requires templates.

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Examples

1. Tier upgrade celebration Trigger: VIP tier changed (to Diamond). → WhatsApp node → template “Welcome to Diamond, {{first_name}} — your new balance is {{points_balance}} points.” Sent via the merchant’s chosen provider (e.g., Zoko). 2. Streak-at-risk reminder Trigger: Customer inactive for N days during a streak campaign → Wait 1 day → Condition: streak still active → WhatsApp node → template “{{first_name}}, your 4-month streak ends in 24 hours. Order here to keep it alive.” 3. Last-call booster reminder Trigger: Spending goal customer 70%+ to target → WhatsApp node → template “You’re $28 from your 500-point bonus, {{first_name}}. Bonus expires Sunday.” Pairs perfectly with the Spending Goal booster. 4. Referral reward unlocked Trigger: Friend reward claimed → WhatsApp node → template “Thanks, {{first_name}}! Your friend just claimed their {{coupon_code}} reward.” Reinforces the referral loop in real time.

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Best practices

Get all templates approved before workflow launch. Unapproved templates fail at send time and surface as workflow errors.
Build a parallel email path. WhatsApp may fail (no phone number, provider down, opt-out). Pair the WhatsApp node with an email node so the message lands one way or another.
Don’t put two WhatsApp nodes back-to-back. Always insert a Wait node, or it’ll feel like spam.
Test with a real customer record. Run the workflow against a known customer with a phone number on file and confirm the message arrives before activating broadly.

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FAQs

The action is logged as failed and the workflow continues to the next node. To catch these, add a Condition node before the WhatsApp node that checks customer.has_phone and routes those without phones to a different channel.
Split the workflow into two branches with a Condition or random-split node, and put a different WhatsApp node in each branch.
The provider’s API credentials are no longer valid. Open the corresponding integration page (e.g., Integrations → AISensy) and reconnect.
Not from inside the WhatsApp node — the template body is fixed in your provider’s dashboard. Yuko fills the variables; the wording around them is part of the template.
Templates are provider-specific (you create them inside each provider’s dashboard). You’d need to create the same template body in each provider you use.

WhatsApp integration overview

Provider list, choosing a provider, what WhatsApp does and doesn’t do.

Workflows: Action Nodes

Send Email, Credit Points, Issue Coupon — the other actions you can chain with WhatsApp.

Build your first workflow

10-minute tutorial that builds a complete workflow.

Booster Campaigns

Pair WhatsApp last-call reminders with active booster campaigns.

AISensy

India-focused, cost-effective high-volume Business API.

Zoko

Built specifically for Shopify with opinionated onboarding.

WATI

Global Business API with strong template editor and team inbox.

DelightChat

Multi-channel (WhatsApp + Instagram + email) for support and marketing.

Kwik Engage

Multi-channel messaging — SMS, WhatsApp and push.

Engati

Conversational AI platform with WhatsApp support.

QuickReply.ai

AI-first WhatsApp automation.

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Documentation across loyalty, referrals, memberships and more.

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Add Yuko to your Shopify store from the Shopify App Store.