Store triggers
A store trigger runs an automation when something happens in your Shopify store, such as a big order or stock running out. The owner approves each one.
A store trigger is an automation that runs when something happens in your Shopify store, instead of at set times. There are five kinds: a big order, a new customer's first order, a top customer's order, stock running out, and a spike in refunds. Piste checks your store every 5 minutes by default, and Piste's own checks, not the AI, decide whether a trigger fires.
Once it fires, a trigger's run is like any automation's run: it gets the orders or variants that matched, starts its own chat in Piste, and posts where you chose.
What can a store trigger watch for?
Each trigger watches for one kind of event, with a number you set. The amounts are in your store's currency.
| Kind | It fires when | Your number | What Piste reads |
|---|---|---|---|
| A big order | "An order of [amount] or more" | An amount above zero | Orders |
| A new customer's first order | "A customer's first order", or one "of [amount] or more" | An amount, or none for any first order | Orders and customers |
| A top customer orders | "An order from a customer in your top [N]% by lifetime spend" | A whole percent from 1 to 25 | Orders and customers |
| Stock running out | "A product variant is down to [N] units or fewer", or at 0, "A product variant sells out" | A whole number of units from 0 to 1,000 | Products and inventory |
| Refunds spike | "Today's returns reach [N]× your usual day, and at least [amount]" | 1.5 to 20 times the last 28 days' daily average, and a minimum amount | Shopify's sales reports |
A refunds spike fires at most once a day. If your store hasn't given Piste the access a kind reads, Piste says which and asks you to reopen Piste from the Shopify admin to grant it. See Shopify.
The two customer kinds, a new customer's first order and a top customer's order, read customer details, and none of the buttons in Piste's Shopify admin page asks Shopify for that access. Piste refuses to set up either kind on a store that hasn't already granted it.
How do I create a store trigger?
Ask Piste
As the owner, tell Piste what to watch for and what to do, for example "Tell me in Slack when an order over 500 comes in." Piste turns it into one of the five kinds, with your numbers.
See what it would have caught
Piste can test the condition against your store first: orders from the last 24 hours, variants that are low right now, or today's returns. A test changes nothing and starts no run.
Approve it
Piste shows you the exact condition before the trigger is on, and asks for your approval. Only the owner can approve it.
Find it on the Schedule
Open Automations > Schedule. Your trigger is listed under Watching.
The New automation form can't make a trigger: its "On a Shopify event" tile can't be picked. Piste can't create a trigger from inside an automation run either, because nobody is there to approve it.
How often does Piste check?
| Setting | Options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Check interval | Every 5, 15, 30 or 60 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Cooldown after a run | None, up to 7 days, in whole minutes | 15 minutes |
During the cooldown, Piste doesn't check the trigger again. Whatever happened in the meantime goes into the next run, so a busy hour is one run rather than many. Ask Piste to change either setting.
What fires, and what doesn't?
- Only what's new. A trigger fires on orders placed after it started watching, and on variants that drop to your number after that. Its first check notes the variants already at or under your number without firing on them.
- Once each. Each matching order or variant fires once.
- Late orders still count. Each check reads the last ten minutes of orders again, so an order Shopify recorded late still fires, once.
- A fresh start after a change. A new condition, or turning a trigger back on after a pause, starts watching again from then.
What does a trigger's run get?
Each run gets what matched: up to 25 orders or variants, or the day's refund figures, with no customer's name, email or address. It follows the instructions you agreed with Piste, starts its own chat in Piste, and posts to the web, Slack or iMessage like any automation.
A run for an order trigger (a big order, a first order or a top customer's order) can check a matched order's risk using Shopify's own assessment. If the order looks risky, it proposes holding its fulfilment on a card, and a person decides. See Store edits.
Where do store triggers show?
Store triggers aren't in the Automations list. They're on the Schedule tab under Watching, with the note "Store triggers run when something happens in your store, so they have no times to show."
Each trigger under Watching shows:
- its condition, such as "An order of 500 or more";
- how often it's checked, such as "Checked every 5 minutes";
- when it fired: "Fired 3 times in the last week", "Last fired" and a time, or "Hasn't fired yet";
- its latest run;
- if its last check failed, "Last check didn't run:" and the reason.
Click a trigger to open its page. Its runs in Run history are marked "Store trigger".
Can I try a trigger before it fires?
Yes. Try it now on the trigger's page runs it once as a dry run on what its condition matches in your store now: orders from the last day, stock that's low now, or today's returns. Nothing is changed or posted.
When nothing matches, no run starts, and the page says: "Nothing in the store matches this trigger right now (orders from the last day, stock low now, or today's returns), so there's nothing to try it on yet."
Run now doesn't start a trigger. It says: "A store trigger runs when its condition matches. Try it now runs it once on what it matches today, as a dry run."
How do I change, pause or delete a trigger?
| To | Do this |
|---|---|
| Change what it watches for, its numbers, interval, cooldown, name, instructions or where it posts | Ask Piste. You approve each change, and a new condition watches from then. |
| Pause it or turn it back on | The switch on its page, or ask Piste. Turned back on, it watches from then. |
| Delete it | The Delete button on its page, then Delete automation, or ask Piste. Deleting through Piste asks for your approval. |
Do store triggers wait for quiet hours?
Two kinds come through at any hour, because you may need to act before morning. The other three wait until your working hours open, if you've set them.
| Kind | During quiet hours |
|---|---|
| A big order | Posts at once |
| Refunds spike | Posts at once |
| A new customer's first order | Waits |
| A top customer orders | Waits |
| Stock running out | Waits |
The run itself always happens on time; only its post waits. See Quiet hours and digests.
Limits
| What | Limit |
|---|---|
| Kinds of trigger | 5 |
| Check interval | 5, 15, 30 or 60 minutes (default 5) |
| Cooldown after a run | 0 minutes to 7 days (default 15 minutes) |
| Records handed to one run | 25 |
| Late orders read again | The last 10 minutes, at each check |
| A test, or Try it now | Orders from the last 24 hours, stock low now, or today's returns |
| Top customer threshold | 1% to 25%, whole numbers |
| Stock threshold | 0 to 1,000 units |
| Refunds spike | 1.5 to 20 times the usual day; at most once a day |
| Who creates, changes and approves | The workspace owner |
Related
- Automations: how runs work, where they post, and run history.
- Schedule and watches: where triggers are listed.
- Quiet hours and digests: when Piste posts outside a conversation.