← All guides · By Agents4Ecom · Published Oct 14, 2026

Shopify Flow Examples for Small Stores: 10 Workflows That Work on Basic

The most useful Shopify Flow examples for a small store are internal alerts and tags: a low-stock alert, a daily stuck-orders digest, a weekly sales summary, holding high-risk orders, tagging VIP customers, and a back-in-stock alert. All ten workflows below use only Flow's built-in triggers and actions, so they run on Shopify Basic with no extra apps and no "Send HTTP request" (which needs Grow or higher).

Each example lists the trigger, the condition and the actions, which is all you need to build it. Where Shopify publishes a matching template, we say so, because starting from a template is the fastest route.

How should you read these examples?

Every Flow workflow is trigger → condition → actions. The trigger names below match the names in Shopify's trigger reference, so you can search for them in the Flow editor. Two tips before you start:

Start internal. Alerts to yourself and tags can't upset a customer. Get comfortable there before you automate anything customers see.
Paste Liquid, don't type it. The Flow editor auto-closes {{ braces, which garbles variables you type by hand.

New to Flow? Read What is Shopify Flow (and is it free?) first.

1. How do you get a low-stock alert?

Trigger: Product variant inventory quantity changed
Condition: inventory quantity ≤ your reorder point and inventory quantity prior > your reorder point
Actions: Add product tags (low-stock), Send internal email

The "prior" check gives you one email when a variant crosses the line, not one per sale. Full walkthrough: Shopify low-stock alert. Live-tested recipe: Low-Stock Reorder Alert.

2. How do you get a daily list of stuck orders?

Trigger: Scheduled time, repeating daily
Steps: Get order data (paid, unfulfilled, older than 2 days) → Count
Condition: count > 0
Actions: For each → Add order tags (stuck); Send internal email

Shopify template: "Send email summary with all unfulfilled orders older than 2 days." Guide: How to get a stuck-orders alert.

3. How do you get a weekly sales summary?

Trigger: Scheduled time, weekly on Monday morning
Steps: Get order data (orders created in the last 7 days) → Count → Sum (order total)
Action: Send internal email with order count, revenue and average order value (revenue ÷ count)

Limit: Get order data returns at most 100 orders per step, so this undercounts busier stores. Recipe: Weekly KPI Brief.

4. How do you hold high-risk orders before they ship?

Trigger: Order risk analyzed
Condition: the order's risk level is high
Actions: Hold fulfillment order, Add order tags (high-risk-review), Send internal email

This matters most if you or your 3PL ship fast. The hold doesn't cancel or refund anything. It gives you time to look. Release the hold from the order page once you're satisfied.

5. How do you tag your best customers?

Trigger: Order paid
Condition: the customer's amount spent ≥ your VIP threshold and the customer doesn't already have the vip tag
Actions: Add customer tags (vip), Send internal email so you can send a personal thank-you

Guest checkouts have no customer record, so add a "customer exists" check if runs error.

6. How do you know when something is back in stock?

Trigger: Product variant back in stock
Actions: Remove product tags (low-stock, out-of-stock), Send internal email

Useful if you keep a manual "tell me when it's back" list or pause ads on sold-out products. Flow won't email the waiting customers for you on Basic, but you'll know the minute to do it.

7. How do you get a daily out-of-stock summary?

Trigger: Scheduled time, daily
Steps: Get product data (products with 0 inventory)
Action: Send internal email

Shopify template: "Send daily email summary with out of stock products."

8. How do you track orders that miss your shipping promise?

Trigger: Scheduled time, daily
Steps: Get order data (unfulfilled, older than your promise) → Count → Sum
Actions: Add order tags, Send internal email with the count and dollar value

Shopify template: "Tag and send a daily summary of late fulfillments," which counts orders that miss a 2-day shipping guarantee. Seeing the dollar value at risk tends to change priorities fast.

9. How do you flag customers who filed a chargeback?

Trigger: Scheduled time, hourly
Steps: Get order data (orders with chargebacks) → For each
Action: Add customer tags (for example chargeback)

Shopify template: "Tag customers that have a chargeback." Now you can spot those customers before you ship their next order.

10. How do you get warned when sales go quiet?

Trigger: Scheduled time, hourly
Steps: Get order data (orders created in the last hour) → Count
Condition: count below your normal hourly minimum
Action: Send internal email

Shopify's version is "Send a notification when Order volume is less than 10 in last hour." For a small store, use a longer window (say 6 or 24 hours) and a lower number, or you'll get alerts every quiet night. A sudden drop can mean a broken checkout, a payment issue or a theme problem.

Which example should you build first?

Pick the job you already do by hand every week and dislike:

You've run out of a best seller → #1 low-stock alert.
Customers ask "where's my order?" → #2 stuck orders.
You never look at numbers until month-end → #3 weekly summary.
You ship same-day and fear fraud → #4 high-risk hold.

Build one, test it, and let it run for a week before adding the next. Our guide to what you can automate in a Shopify store covers how to judge which jobs are worth it.

How do you test any of these safely?

Use a test product or test order (Bogus Gateway, or a manual order marked paid).
For Scheduled time workflows, set the first run a few minutes after you turn the workflow on. The minimum interval is 10 minutes.
Check Recent runs for each step's result.
For any workflow that tags or holds in bulk, double-check your query. Shopify warns that a failed query can return all results.

FAQ

Do these examples work on Shopify Basic?

Yes. They use only built-in Flow triggers and actions. None use Send HTTP request, which needs Grow, Advanced or Plus.

Where are Shopify's official templates?

In the Flow app, when you create a workflow, you can browse templates. Shopify's Help Center also lists templates on each trigger and action page.

Can Flow email customers in these workflows?

No. Send internal email goes to you or your staff. You stay in control of what customers receive.

How many orders or products can a "Get data" step return?

Get order data returns up to 100 results per step. Plan around that for weekly reports.

Can AI be added to these workflows?

Not directly on Basic. The simple path is to paste Flow's email into ChatGPT or Claude with a saved prompt. Automating that step needs a tool like Make or Zapier, or Send HTTP request on Grow and up.

Next step

Not sure which of these fits your store? The free AI audit reads your public storefront and ranks the top 5 jobs worth automating, each linked to a ready-made automation recipe.

Recipe: Low-Stock Reorder Alert

Get an email + a ready supplier note the moment a variant hits your reorder point. Shopify Flow (free) · $19 one-time.

See the recipe

Run the free AI audit

Get your AI readiness score and the top 5 jobs worth automating in your store. Public storefront data only, no login.

Run my free audit →