How to collect phone numbers at checkout (required for WhatsApp Cart Recovery)
How to collect phone numbers at checkout
Cart Recovery sends reminders over WhatsApp, so we can only reach customers who leave a
phone number when they abandon checkout. By default, Shopify checkout only asks for an
email address - this guide walks you through the two settings you need to change, plus a
couple of optional ones that make it more likely customers will opt in.
This takes about a minute and works on every Shopify plan.
Step 1: Let customers check out with a phone number
1. In your Shopify admin, go to Settings → Checkout.
2. Find the Customer contact method section.
3. Select Phone number or email.
4. Click Save.
Customers still choose which one to enter - this makes it possible for more of them to give you a phone number, not
guaranteed for every order. Some will still check out with email only.
Step 2: Require a phone number on the shipping address
1. On the same Settings → Checkout page, find Customer information.
2. Set Shipping address phone number to Required.
3. Click Save.
This only applies when checkout includes a shipping step. Digital/no-shipping orders (gift cards, downloads) won't have
a phone number collected this way - Step 1 is still the fallback for those.
Step 3 (recommended): Turn on SMS marketing opt-in
Turning this on adds a consent checkbox at checkout, which nudges more customers to type
in their number even if they don't check the box.
1. Still under Settings → Checkout, find Marketing opt-in.
2. Enable the SMS consent option.
3. Click Save.
Shopify doesn't allow this checkbox to be pre-selected, so customers always opt in deliberately.
Step 4 (optional): Make the phone field explain why you're asking
Customers are more likely to fill in an optional field if they know what it's for. You can edit the text shown next to
the phone number field:
- On the same page (step 3) update the text fields near Email and SMS fields. Save your changes.
Check that it's working
Go back to Cart Recovery in the FAST WhatsApp Chat app. New abandoned checkouts
that come in after you save these settings will show a phone number when the customer
provides one. This doesn't apply retroactively - carts abandoned before you made this
change won't gain a phone number.
Troubleshooting
- Still seeing "No phone on file" on new carts? Some customers will always choose
email-only when given the choice - that's expected, not a bug. Check the ratio on the
Cart Recovery page to see how common this is for your store.
- No shipping step at checkout? Digital-only orders skip the shipping phone field from
Step 2 - Step 1 (contact method) is what covers those.
- Changed the settings but don't see the new labels on your storefront? Clear your
browser cache or test in an incognito window - checkout can be cached briefly.
