Author: Vendrux

SMS marketing (aka text message marketing) is an effective way for brands to reach their customers with direct, time-sensitive messages.

SMS also has a reputation for being somewhat expensive. But just how true is this? And how does the cost of SMS marketing compare to other channels, such as email and push notifications?

This article will answer all of these questions for you, and help you understand whether SMS marketing is a good fit for your business.

Vendrux helps brands launch mobile apps, which lets you unlock the power of push notifications for direct, mobile-first communications. Click here to learn more about how Vendrux helps your business boost engagement, retention and revenue.

How SMS Marketing Pricing Works

SMS is typically charged per text message sent.

This differs from email and push, both of which you usually pay for a subscription to a marketing platform (e.g. MailChimp, Drip, Klaviyo), and you can essentially send as many emails/push notifications as you want without any extra costs.

In most cases, with SMS marketing you’ll sign up for a subscription to a marketing platform as well. However, unlike these other channels, the cost of your SMS messages is calculated on top of the monthly subscription cost.

Take note of this pricing structure, as it will make a big difference in how you decide what to use text messages for in your marketing strategy.

The Cost of SMS Marketing

So how much does SMS marketing actually cost?

The exact cost depends on your choice of provider. Here are a few popular tools:

• Klaviyo
• Omnisend
• Twilio
• Sender
• SimpleTexting

Let’s see how much it costs to send text messages with each of these platforms.

• ‍Klaviyo – $0.0090 – $0.0120 per SMS‍
• Omnisend – $0.015 per SMS‍
• Twilio – $0.0079 per SMS (cost decreases for bulk sends, starting after the first 150,000 monthly messages)‍
• Sender – $0.015 per SMS‍
• SimpleTexting – starting from $0.078 per SMS for 500 monthly texts, with the cost per SMS decreasing as volume increases.

Some tools (Klaviyo and Sender from the list above) require an additional monthly subscription to their email marketing platform in order to access SMS marketing.

In general, you’re looking at a baseline of 1-2c per SMS. (Twilio is cheaper, but is just a backend provider, and means you need to build the integration with your website or your app separately).

*Note that sending messages with images or videos (MMS) or messages to non-US numbers may cost more.

Comparing the Cost of SMS vs Push Notifications and Email

So we now have a rough idea of how much SMS marketing costs. Does this make it cheaper, more expensive, or the same as email and push notifications?

SMS marketing is roughly the same as email and push if you send a low quantity of messages, but scaling is a lot more expensive for SMS.

Let’s look at an example.

First, imagine you have 1,000 subscribers, who you want to message once per month.

With SMS, assuming a cost of $0.015 per text, this would cost $15.

For email and push notifications, most tools will charge you somewhere between $15-$40 per month for 1,000 subscribers, unless you have more complex automation needs.

So at this volume, the cost of SMS works out to be similar or slightly less than email/SMS.

There’s an important piece of information to note, however – if you want to send more messages, let’s say messaging your customers every two weeks, or even every week, it will cost 2x/4x as much with SMS, but no additional cost for email and push.

You could even send multiple messages per week with email and push for no extra cost, while this would get expensive fast with SMS.

Learn more about The Cost of Push Notifications, and why this channel is one of the most cost-effective ways to communicate with your customers.

Is SMS Marketing Worth It?

SMS marketing can be extremely effective in some situations.

Text messages have high deliverability, extremely high visibility, with open rates averaging a massive 98%.

They’re a great way to get in front of your customers, wherever they are (most people have their phones on them at all times), with messages that are almost certain to be seen.

It can be expensive at scale, though. Our best advice is to pick and choose when to use SMS marketing.

In a lot of situations, you can substitute SMS for push notifications (assuming your customers are also subscribed to push), and unlock greater flexibility with your messaging, and a better ROI when messaging at a higher scale.

Best Use Cases for SMS Marketing

SMS is typically best for important, time-sensitive messages, such as alerts or urgent updates.

Some examples include:

• Appointment reminders or confirmations of scheduled appointments.
• Login/activity alerts.
• Small-scale promotional messages.

You could use SMS for a wider variety of promotional use cases, such as:

• Product launches, sales and discount offers.
• Abandoned cart notifications.
• Order notifications and shipping updates.
• Post-purchase cross-sells and up-sells.
• Personalized promotions (e.g. birthdays, re-engagement offers).

However, be aware that the cost of sending these messages in bulk will add up. If you can get customers to download your mobile app, you’ll be able to use push notifications instead, and send more messages for a lot less cost.

Can Push Notifications Reduce SMS Spend?

Push notifications can be a great way to spend less on SMS.

Once you get a customer in your app, with push notifications enabled, you can contact them with push notifications for zero cost per message (unlike SMS).

You could potentially save thousands in SMS spend by porting a large share of your SMS list over to your mobile app, and replacing SMS spend with low-cost push notifications (though consider that you won’t be able to get all of your SMS list over to push).

How to Integrate SMS, Email and Mobile Push in Your Marketing Strategy

Smart brands make use of multiple messaging channels in their marketing strategy, taking advantage of the benefits of each.

Many marketing automation tools, such as Klaviyo, allow you to build flows with email, SMS and push together. This way, you can send out multiple touchpoints on multiple channels, and have a greater chance of getting your customer’s attention and making them take action.

For example, you could send an abandoned cart sequence that starts with a push notification, then sends a text message if the customer hasn’t completed their purchase, and then an email after that.

Omnichannel workflows are also great for promotions – the urgency of SMS fits well with opening/closing messages of your sequence, while the flexibility and affordability for email and push

Blending multiple channels is particularly important today, with many consumers going mobile-first, increasing the potential of mobile-optimized channels like SMS and push.

Vendrux’s abandoned cart notifications have helped some brands recover as much as $200,000 in would-be lost revenue in just 30 days. Learn more about how to recover abandoned carts, or get a free consultation call to discuss it with one of our app experts.

How Vendrux Brings It All Together

If you don’t have a mobile app, you won’t be able to utilize the incredible benefits of native push notifications.

Vendrux makes it easy to launch your app. We help you turn your website into native mobile apps, with push notification functionality built in from the start.

“The power of push notifications is so strong. SMS which is crazy expensive, and people are starting to tune these out. Being able to do push notifications is the reason you do an app.”
– David Cost, Rainbow Shops

Our full-service approach leaves minimal lift for your team, and your apps fully reflect your website, with all the features and integrations from your website working within the apps.

That means any SMS or email marketing providers you use will continue to gather customer data from within your apps, and you can build powerful omnichannel flows that boost revenue on autopilot.

It’s easy and affordable to launch your own app, with no risk and minimal overhead. Start the process by getting a free preview of your app now, and let our experts show you what’s possible.

In a time of skyrocketing ad costs, email marketing seems like the last safe bet for DTC brands.

But here’s the big question: Is email still the highest-ROI marketing channel in 2026, or is it getting too expensive to justify?

• ESP pricing keeps going up.
• Inbox placement is harder than ever thanks to Gmail & Yahoo’s spam updates.
• SMS is 6X more expensive per send, but is email engagement strong enough to compete?
• How are push notifications disrupting the retention marketing game?

We’re breaking down the real costs of email marketing in 2026, covering:

• What brands actually pay for ESPs, design, deliverability & list management.
• How email compares to SMS & push notifications in cost and ROI.
• Whether DTC brands should double down on email or shift to other retention levers.

If you’re scaling an ecommerce brand, this is the deep dive you need before deciding if email still belongs in your marketing mix.

For more high-level insights to help your brand scale profitably, check out The Retention Edge, our podcast and newsletter where ecom and retail leaders share their hot takes on the future of CX and retention.

Why This Question Matters in 2026

Email has been the highest-ROI marketing channel for decades, with an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent.

But, in 2026, the landscape is shifting.

• Rising ad costs, privacy changes, and mobile adoption have brands rethinking where to invest.
• Email costs are creeping up due to more sophisticated segmentation, automation, and compliance needs, plus the reduced effectiveness on a sub-by-sub basis.
• Retention is the new growth, and while email is a key driver of LTV, how much should brands spend to keep it effective?

There’s a certain crowd touting the idea that email is dead. But is that the truth, or just alarmist clickbait?

This guide will break down the actual costs, ROI, and comparisons with other direct communication channels (SMS, Push), so you can get a real idea of whether the juice from email marketing is still worth the squeeze today.

The Core Costs of Email Marketing

A few things go into the cost of email marketing, from software, to creation costs, to maintenance.

Let’s break these areas down.

ESP (Email Service Provider) Costs

The biggest cost variable is your ESP pricing model, which depends on list size, sending volume, and automation needs.

There are three common pricing models for ESPs:

1. Per-subscriber pricing (Klaviyo, Omnisend, Mailchimp)
   • Klaviyo: $720/month for 50K contacts (total 500K emails/month)
   • Omnisend: $413/month for 50K contacts (600K emails/month)
   • MailChimp: $450/month for 50K contacts (600K emails/month)
2. Per-send pricing (Postmark, Amazon SES)
   • Amazon SES: $0.10 per 1,000 emails—cheaper but lacks automation.
3. Feature-based pricing (Iterable, Braze)
   • Costs $1,500+ per month but includes advanced segmentation.

The vast majority of brands will use the first model, or a variation – such as Yotpo’s email marketing feature, which charges based on # of emails rather than subscribers ($135/month for 100K emails, $535/month for 500K emails).

So on a per-email basis, you’re looking at a cost roughly in the range of $1-$2 per 1000 emails sent ($0.001-0.002 per email).

💡 Cost-saving tip: Brands with high list churn should prune inactive subscribers to reduce costs.

Creative & Production Costs

Email marketing isn’t just sending – it’s design, copy, testing, and automation.

• In-house team (marketer + designer + copywriter): $5K–$15K/month
• Freelancers (per email):
  • Copywriting: $150–$500
  • Design: $100–$300
  • Full creative package (copy + design): $300–$1,000 per email
• AI-powered email tools (e.g., Claude, Jasper, ChatGPT for copy): $50–$150/month

This cost can vary a lot by how much effort you put into your email campaigns, and how much importance you place on copy and creative.

You could hire a crack team of retention experts, or spin it up with Chat GPT copy and stock design from Canva.

The key thing to note is that this cost doesn’t really scale as you send more emails/have more contacts. 

Unless you’re creating whole new campaigns for a large number of segments, creation costs will be more or less the same for an email reaching 100 people or 100,000 people.

💡 Cost-saving tip: Many brands are shifting to UGC-driven email content, reducing creative costs while increasing authenticity.

Deliverability & Compliance Costs

ESP pricing doesn’t include deliverability optimization, which is becoming a bigger issue today.

• Dedicated IP address: $30–$200/month (essential for high-volume senders).
• Inbox placement monitoring (e.g., Validity, GlockApps): $50–$500/month.
• List cleaning tools (e.g., ZeroBounce, NeverBounce): $15 per 10K emails.

Gmail & Yahoo’s 2024 spam rule changes mean cleaning your list regularly is now more or less mandatory to avoid inbox penalties.

This has to be factored into your email marketing ROI calculation.

Other Hidden Costs

Some other email marketing-related costs may include:

• Discounts & incentives (emails with promo codes cost margin, not just send fees).
• Transactional email costs (e.g., Shopify: $10/month for basic, $1,000+ for high-volume).
• Integrations with Shopify, ReCharge, Attentive (some ESPs charge extra).

Ultimately, the cost of email marketing has risen in recent years, with some ESPs raising prices, and new costs arising related to list optimization (though creative costs may be lower due to AI).

But still, the cost of email marketing on a per-email or per-subscriber basis remains extremely low.

Email Marketing ROI: Is It Still Worth It?

So with what we know about the cost of email, how does the ROI shake out?

The cost of email is more or less the same as it was 10 years ago, but the return can vary greatly.

Let’s see if email’s performance is still enough to justify the cost.

Industry Benchmarks for Email Performance

Email still provides solid results in terms of visibility, reach and engagement.

• The global average ROI for email is $36–$42 per $1 spent.
• Open rates: 21.5% (avg), 30–40% (best-in-class DTC brands).
• Click-through rates: ~2.6% (avg), 4–8% (top performers).
• Conversion rates: ~4.2% (avg), up to 10%+ for high-intent campaigns.

Sources: Dotdigital, Omnisend

Cost per Acquisition (CPA) vs Retention Value

Let’s compare email marketing CPA to paid acquisition (Meta, Google) and see how they match up in terms of CPA and long-term value.

Email

• Avg. CPA (DTC): $1–$3 per customer
• Retention Impact: High (more likely to be repeat buyers)
• Cost Scaling: Scales affordably

Meta Ads

• Avg. CPA (DTC): $30–$50 per customer
• Retention Impact: Low (many one-time buyers)
• Cost Scaling: Scaling = more expensive

Google Ads

• Avg. CPA (DTC): $40–$80 per customer
• Retention Impact: Medium (brand intent)
• Cost Scaling: Costly scaling

Source: First Page Sage

💡 Key Insight: Retargeting existing subscribers is 10X cheaper than acquiring new customers via paid ads. 

Email’s Role in Retention & LTV Growth

Many retention-focused brands rely on email flows to boost LTV.

Many of these flows are automated – and these automated campaigns are a great ROI play, not only because of the low effort required to maintain, but because these emails actually perform better.

Best-performing automated emails (2025 benchmarks):

• Welcome flows: 30–50% open rate, 5–12% conversion rate.
• Abandoned cart: 45%+ open rate, 8–15% conversion rate.
• Post-purchase upsells: 25–35% open rate, 6–10% conversion rate.
• Win-back campaigns: 20–30% open rate, 4–8% conversion rate.

Source: Omnisend

These automated campaigns are key in generating repeat engagement and driving higher LTV from your existing customers.

💡 For cost-effective retention, scaling email automations keeps CAC lower while increasing LTV.

Email vs SMS vs Push: Where Does Email Fit In?

10 years ago, email was the #1 tool brands had to work with in terms of direct customer communication.

Is that still true today? With smartphone usage rising, mobile-first channels like SMS and push notifications are rising in popularity.

Let’s see how the ROI of these channels compares to email.

SMS: Higher Costs, Higher Engagement

Engagement rates for SMS are particularly high, with fantastic click and open rates.

But the cost is also a lot higher, which makes SMS costly to scale.

SMS also runs the risk of feeling more intrusive. And, interestingly, data shows that clicks from email have a much higher chance of converting than clicks from an SMS.

The average conversion rate for email campaigns is only a little behind SMS (even factoring in lesser reach), while automated emails have a significantly higher conversion rate than automated SMS messages.

SMS benchmarks vs email:

• 6X higher CTR than email (15–20%), but 6X higher cost per send​.
• $0.01–$0.05 per SMS sent vs $0.001 per email sent.
• Conversion rate (campaigns) is 0.11% (SMS) to 0.07% (email).
• Conversion rate (automated flows) is 0.24% (SMS) to 1.76% (email).
• Best use cases: Time-sensitive offers, VIP customer engagement.

Source: Omnisend

Push Notifications: The Rising Challenger?

The newest kid on the block is push.

Push notifications, like SMS, are mobile-first. They offer the same immediacy as SMS, and are much cheaper at scale (no per-message pricing).

Push has lower overall reach, as they require an app download (significantly easier to get an email or SMS signup), but for app users, they typically outperform other channels, for a lower investment.

• Push open rates = 2X higher than email, but reach is lower (sent only to app users, with average 67.5% opt-in rate).
• Cost is lower – both lower service provider costs, plus fewer creative costs.
• Highly visible, without feeling as intrusive as SMS.
• Average 28% click rate, 4.4% conversion rate.
• Transactional push notifications have an average open rate of 69%.
• Best use cases: Flash sales, app-based engagement, real-time updates, abandoned cart notifications.

Source: Vendrux

Omnichannel Synergy: The Smart Play

A winning strategy? Email, SMS and push working together.

There’s no need to stick stubbornly to one channel. Smart brands use multiple touchpoints.

Email for broad reach. SMS for immediacy, high visibility. Push for app users.

If you’re not using push notifications yet, you’re missing out. Over 80% open rates, with 10-20X the click rates vs email, and minimal cost, even at scale. Convert your site into an app with Vendrux to unlock this amazing channel for your brand.
‍
Learn more here, or get a free consultation to learn how easy it is to go live and start engaging your audience with push notifications.

Key Takeaways: Is Email Marketing Still Worth It?

With what we know about the cost and return of email marketing, is it still worth investing in?

Undoubtedly, yes.

✅ Email remains the highest-ROI retention channel. No other platform offers a $36+ ROI per $1 spent.

✅ Costs vary based on ESP, list size, and automation depth, but email is still a low-cost, high-margin channel.

✅ SMS is more expensive but converts better. Best for high-AOV or urgency-driven campaigns.

✅ Push is a must for brands with a mobile app – the effectiveness and low cost of push is reason enough for many brands to build an app.

✅ Omnichannel is the future. Winning brands use email, SMS, and push together to maximize retention & LTV.

Every brand should be doing email marketing. Even if your email campaigns are average or somewhat below average in terms of performance, it’s difficult to lose money with email marketing.

Make sure your brand continues to evolve, though. Email alone is unlikely to be enough to sustain growth. You’ll still need ads for acquisition, and direct, mobile-first channels like push to round out your retention strategy.

Do you wish there was a more direct way to reach customers than email, SMS or PPC?

There is – push notifications.

If you aren’t sending push notifications from your WooCommerce store, then frankly you’re leaving customers and revenue on the table.

Imagine driving up conversions, dramatically reducing abandoned carts, and boosting average order value with just a couple of clicks. 

You’ll do this (and more) by embracing push notifications for WooCommerce.

In this article we’re going to help you get up and running with push notifications.

We’ll cover why you need to send push notifications, the best tools and plugins that integrate with WooCommerce, how to send web and (more powerful) native mobile push notifications, and best practices to maximize effectiveness.

Learn more: we took a deep dive into push notifications for eCommerce in this guide, including best practices and real examples of push notifications from successful eCommerce brands.

Why Send Push Notifications from WooCommerce?

Here at Vendrux we’ve built thousands of native mobile apps for clients, who’ve used their Vendrux apps to send millions of push notifications.

We’re big believers in the power of push, because we’ve seen it first hand.

Push notifications are the most direct way to reach your customers.

Think about the last time you received a push notification; it caught your attention immediately, right? That’s because they land directly in your lock screen, which you likely check dozens (if not hundreds) of times daily.

We aren’t telling you to drop any other channels, such as email or PPC. But we are telling you that you must start sending push notifications too.

• PPC is amazing, but only if you can make it work.
• Email is great but deliverability and engagement can be issues.
• Social post reach is restricted (unless you pay big bucks).
• SEO and content marketing are unpredictable and long-term plays.

Comparing the drawbacks of these channels with the virtues of push, it’s easy to see why you need them in your toolbox.

Push notifications are:

• Better than email because there’s less opt-in friction, they’re more visible, and they’re simpler to set up and manage.
• Better than PPC because they’re more cost effective and far likelier to deliver a positive ROI.
• Better than social media because your reach isn’t dependent on a platform’s whims, they’ll be delivered to 100% of customers (who opted in).
• Better than SMS because it’s easier to get opt-in, and there’s more scope to enhance messages with rich media and personalization.

Push notifications break through the noise of crowded inboxes, messy social feeds and cluttered SERPs – giving you a channel with extremely high visibility and engagement rates.

They’re great for all types of businesses, but particularly for eCommerce. Here are a few example use cases:

• Promoting sales, special events and time-sensitive deals.
• Alerts about product restocks, notifying customers the moment their items are available.
• Behaviorally triggered reminders, prompting the users with abandoned carts to complete their purchase.

You can even segment notifications based on user behavior, customizing messages to fit individual shopping habits and preferences leading to even higher conversion rates.

Web vs Native App Notifications for WooCommerce Stores

There are two types of push notifications:

1. Web Push Notifications sent to site visitors who give you permission to send them notifications.
2. Native App Push Notifications sent to customers who have installed your app on their iOS or Android device.

Both types have their own pros, cons and nuances

But you’ll find that mobile push (aka native app push) is far superior.

Sending push notifications through a mobile app allows you to reach your customers directly on their lock screen, at any time.

Web push notifications only reach the customer while their browser is open, have a much lower opt-in rate, and have limited availability on iOS.

While web push is easy to set up, your upside is limited. For this reason, we’ll primarily focus on  setting up native mobile push notifications for your WooCommerce store.

Sending Native App Notifications from WooCommerce

Native app push notifications are the main event when it comes to push.

Of course, at the risk of stating the obvious, to send native app notifications you need a native app.

WooCommerce is exclusively a web platform, so the first step to sending mobile push notifications from WooCommerce is knowing how to build an app for your store.

Every eCommerce store should have its own native shopping apps. 

But building apps the traditional way costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and takes many months, while using cheap app builder tools results in cookie-cutter templated apps with weak functionality and only a tenuous connection to your web store.

That’s why we built Vendrux.

‍

Vendrux converts your WooCommerce store into iOS and Android eCommerce apps.

It’s a fraction of the cost of traditional native development, and the end result is far superior to anything you’d get from cheap templated app builders.

With Vendrux you can go from zero to App Store launch in just a couple of weeks, and you can keep everything from your site.

Every feature of WooCommerce, every WordPress plugin you use, your theme and your entire product catalog will sync completely with the apps.

The apps will update in real-time along with your site – so managing them is a breeze.

WooCommerce Push Notifications with Vendrux

Vendrux apps are the best way to send native app push notifications from WooCommerce.

Once we’ve built your apps, you can use our deep integration with OneSignal to send unlimited push notifications to users. 

Through our OneSignal integration, you can set up targeted, event-driven notifications to engage app users on a personalized level.

We also built a special feature for abandoned cart notifications. 

Our abandoned cart feature detects when one of your app users has closed the app with items left in their cart, which triggers a series of notifications designed to bring them back into the app to complete their purchase.

It’s all automated and handled by our team, so you don’t need to do anything except watch those abandoned cart metrics improve month over month.

To learn more about Vendrux apps and how we can get you on the App Stores and firing off notifications left and right, book a quick personalized demo.

Now let’s wrap up with a few pieces of advice for sending push notifications, and best practices that we’ve seen working well over the years. 

Key Components of a WooCommerce Push Notification

Engagement hinges on relevance and appeal. 

For the push notifications you’ll send from your WooCommerce store and your Vendrux native apps, you’ll rely on a few key elements every time: 

• Captivating headlines: Grab attention fast
• Clear messaging: Communicate your offer or update succinctly (
• Branding: Incorporate your logo & color scheme if possible 
• Call-to-Action (CTA): Make your CTAs compelling and clickable

Use templates to streamline the push notification process, while tailoring content for various campaigns like abandoned cart notifications or special sales promos. 

Segmenting and Targeting Push Notifications

To ensure your messages hit home, segment your audience. Collect data based on user behavior, purchase history, and engagement levels to create targeted campaigns:

• New subscribers: Welcome messages and introductory offers
• Frequent buyers: Loyalty rewards and exclusive deals
• Cart abandoners: Reminders and incentives to complete purchases

Advanced segmentation leads to more personalized and effective push notifications, driving sales and deeper relationships. 

While web push notifications are good for sending out more general messages to site visitors, native app notifications are really perfect for targeting specific types of customers.  

Timing and Frequency of Push Notifications

Timing and frequency are crucial to ensure your WooCommerce push notifications make the biggest impact. 

You need to strike a balance. 

Bombarding customers with excessive notifications will annoy them and nudge them to opt out, while under-delivering could mean missed opportunities.

The sweet spot is something you’ll have to find yourself, but generally an average of one per day works well for eCommerce.

Make sure you consider your audience’s time zone and schedule notifications for optimal times when they’re most likely to be engaged. 

Regular analysis of your customer data will help you to pinpoint these times.

As a rule of thumb, limit notifications to a handful per week, and send them at times that common sense and data tells you make the most sense.

There are some exceptions – for instance, abandoned cart notifications require prompt action, so sending them soon after a shopper has left your site is effective.

Personalization and Localization of Push Notifications

Personalizing your WooCommerce push notifications will drastically boost engagement rates. Start by segmenting your audience based on behavior, purchase history, and personal preferences. 

Use the tools built into the push platform to include the customer’s name, reference past purchases, or suggest items similar to those they’ve shown interest in. 

Personalization makes customers feel valued and encourages higher click-through rates.

Localization goes a step further by adapting your message to fit the local language and cultural nuances. This might not be relevant to you, but if you get significant traffic from different parts of the world it could be key. 

‍Start Sending WooCommerce Push Notifications Today

The best practices above are just the fundamentals, but push notifications really succeed on the basis of great copy, relevant messaging, and intelligent experimentation. 

It’s important to constantly test and optimize, and to use notifications strategically for specific goals like recovering abandoned carts.

The first step, though, and the biggest, is to start sending push notifications from WooCommerce in the first place.

Luckily, it’s easier than ever to launch an app and send native push notifications, with Vendrux’s help.

1. Book a free consultation to discuss your project with our team, and learn more about the process.
2. Once your app is live, start sending push notifications, starting with some simple automated messages (such as a welcome message), abandoned cart notifications, and short promotional campaigns.
3. Over time, optimize your push strategy and nail down the perfect playbook for driving sales and engagement via push.

Vendrux apps give you much more than push notifications, but it’s true that push is one of the most compelling reasons to build eCommerce apps.

“The power of push notifications is so strong. In a world where people open email less and less each day, everyone is jumping into SMS which is crazy expensive, and people are starting to tune these out too, being able to do push notifications is the reason you do an app.”

– David Cost, VP of eCommerce & Marketing at Rainbow Shops

Apps act as a magnet for your most loyal and engaged customers. And once someone downloads your app, you can use push to build an even deeper connection with them, promoting your hottest offers and rewarding them with special promotions and programs. 

You’ll have an entire new marketing channel to build your business through, one that consistently works for the top eCommerce brands in the world. 

We’ve built thousands of apps for thriving businesses in countless industries. Take a look at a few examples:

You now know exactly how to send push notifications from WooCommerce – so let’s get started today. 

Book a free consultation with one of our experts, and we’ll show you just how easy it is to launch your own app and start sending native mobile push notifications.

Service workers are a crucial piece of web infrastructure that enable web push notifications (and other things). 

In this article we will explain what service workers are, how they work, and everything you need to know to deliver winning push campaigns to your users and customers. 

Let’s begin. 

What is a Service Worker?

At the simplest level – a service worker is a JavaScript file that runs separately from the main web page, and acts as a middle “layer” between browser and server. They are often described as proxies between web browsers and servers. 

This is important because it allows you to control certain aspects of your web app’s functionality even when the user is not actively browsing the site. 

The service worker runs background processes and can perform tasks independently of the web page itself.

What do Service Workers Do? 

Service workers enable powerful features across web apps, like: 

• Offline functionality
• Background synchronization
• Push notifications

They’re an essential part of Progressive Web Applications (PWAs), playing a crucial role in their success and strong UX. 

Now we’ve introduced service workers, let’s go into a bit more depth about how they work on a high level. 

The Service Worker Lifecycle

When a web user comes into contact with a website that has service worker code, a series of steps occur.

These are known as the service worker “lifecycle”, and understanding it is important for understanding service workers in general.  

1. Registration: When a user first visits a website with a service worker, their browser becomes aware and “registers” it. This is automatic, the user won’t notice anything, and no permissions are needed. 

2. Installation: As the user interacts with the site or web app, the service worker starts caching certain parts of the website – for example images, scripts, and stylesheets). This again occurs without the users’ involvement, and allows for both faster loading on repeat visits and also offline functionality. 

3. Activation: Once the service worker has successfully saved the necessary resources, it becomes active. The service worker takes control, replacing any older version, and manages cached resources to ensure the user accesses the most recent and relevant content.

4. Idle: Now that the service worker is active, it waits in the background. As the user continues browsing, the service worker is ready to respond to any requests, such as loading content from the cache.

5. Fetch/Functional: If the user makes a request (like clicking on a link or loading an image), the service worker decides whether to fetch the content from the cache or the internet. If the user is offline or on a slow network, the service worker can serve content from the cache, ensuring the website remains accessible and fast.

6. Termination: If the browser needs to free up resources, it might stop the service worker when it’s not in use. But it can quickly restart the service worker when needed, and the user won’t notice this happening in the background.

7. Update: On subsequent visits to the website, if the browser detects any changes in the service worker’s code, it will start the process of installing and activating the new version. This ensures that the user always experiences the most up-to-date version of the website.

So that’s the service worker lifecycle. Throughout this process the user’s experience is smooth, with the service worker operating in the background. Now, are you starting to see why service workers are so powerful? 

Let’s look at a few of the key functionalities they enable. 

The Role of Service Workers in Web Applications

For modern web apps, service workers are crucial for key parts of their UX, helping them to perform and feel closer to native apps than ever. 

Three key functionalities they enable are: offline functionality, background sync, and push notifications. 

We’re going to specifically focus on push notifications, but let’s briefly cover the other two first. 

How Service workers enable offline functionality

By caching key resources like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and images, service workers allow users to access and interact with web apps even when they are offline or experiencing a poor network connection.

Recall that when a user visits a site for the first time, the service worker caches necessary files and data. 

Subsequent visits to the app can then be served from the cache, reducing the reliance on the network and allowing the user to interact with the site with low or even zero internet connection. 

How service workers enable background sync

Another valuable feature enabled by service workers is background sync. Background sync allows web applications to synchronize data with the server, even if the app is not currently open, the device is offline, or the user has a poor internet connection. 

It ensures that any actions taken, or data entered, by users will be synced and processed once they come back online. 

For example, if a user submits a form while offline, the service worker can capture that request and hold it in the background until a network connection is established. Once the connection is restored, the service worker will automatically send the request to the server and complete the action. 

How service workers enable Push Notifications

Now, a topic that is dear to our hearts at Vendrux – push notifications. 

Push notifications are absolutely reliant on the capabilities of service workers to deliver timely and relevant messages to users – even when they’re not actively using your website. 

So how do service workers help out here? 

Modern browsers typically have “push services”, intermediary infrastructure that enables push notifications like Chrome’s Firebase Cloud Messaging, Windows Push Notification Services, and Mozilla’s Push Service. 

Along with the browser’s native infrastructure, there’s a lively ecosystem of third party push notification tools and services that add additional features and functionality on top. 

The service worker operates in the background, connected to but separate from your actual website or web app, and so “listens” for push events from the push service. 

Here’s how it works in more detail, step-by-step:

1. Permission: the user grants you permission to send notifications 
2. Registration: The service worker is registered on the user’s device, allowing it to run independently in the background
3. Subscription: The service worker requests a subscription object from the browser push service, which then creates a unique endpoint (or address) for the specific user device. This endpoint, along with some other data, forms the subscription object.
4. Sending Notifications: When you want to send a push notification, your server sends a request to the push service associated with the user’s browser, addressed to the unique endpoint created in the previous step. The push service then communicates directly with the user’s device.
5. Displaying the Notification: the service worker, always on standby, listens for incoming push events. When a push message is received, the service worker processes the data and uses the browser’s Notification API to display the notification to the user, regardless of whether they have the website open.

And voila, your message is sent. This may seem like a laborious process, but it’s all largely automated and not too complex to add to your site. 

Implementing Service Workers

In this section we’re going to run through the process of registering a service worker, handling push notifications, & the best practices to ensure successful implementation.

Registering a Service Worker

The first step in implementing service workers is to register them in your web app. 

Just to recap – a service worker is a JavaScript file that runs in the background, separate from the main web page. It acts as a proxy between your web application and the user’s browser, enabling features such as push notifications and offline functionality.

Here’s an example of some code to register a service worker on your site, either within

As you can see above, the code checks if the browser supports service workers and then registers the service worker by providing the path to the JavaScript file. 

Once registered, the service worker is installed and ready to handle events and perform tasks in the background.

Registering a service worker is pretty much that simple! But remember, the real power of service workers is in configuring it to work optimally for your own site and users. 

Handling Push Notifications

Speaking of configuring service workers, let’s see a brief example of how to start handling push notifications. 

To handle push notifications, you need to have your service worker “listen” for the push event:

In this code, the push event is triggered when a push notification is received from the browser push service. 

The event data contains the notification payload, which can include the title, body, and other customizable options. 

The service worker then uses the showNotification method to display the push notification to the user.

Note: If you’re new to web development, learning the following definitions will help you understand this topic (and many others) on a deeper level:

Service worker best practices

To ensure a successful implementation of service workers, here are a few best practices that you (or your developer) should keep in mind: 

• Test Across Browsers: While most modern browsers support service workers, there can be nuances in behavior and implementation. Ensure you test on all major browsers to guarantee consistent functionality.
• Handle Errors Gracefully: Service workers operate in the background, and unexpected situations can arise. Implement robust error handling mechanisms to manage such scenarios without disrupting user experience.
• Keep Service Workers Updated: As you refine your web app, ensure your service worker is also updated to reflect those changes. Increment the version number or change the service worker file’s contents to trigger updates.
• Consider User Permission: For features like push notifications, always seek explicit user permission before subscribing them. Ensure that your approach respects user privacy and adheres to relevant regulations and best practices.
• Cache Strategically: Decide on a caching strategy that fits your web app’s needs, such as cache-first or network-first. Periodically review and clean your cache to make sure everything is efficient.
• Stay Informed: The web is ever-evolving, and best practices can change. Stay updated with the latest advancements and changes related to service workers and the broader web platform.

By following these best practices, you’ll be set up to leverage service workers to their full potential. 

Are web notifications enough? 

Even though service workers can help to transform your web app and send notifications to users’ devices, web notifications in general have their downsides. 

Native app notifications are an entirely different category that do not use service workers in any way. They have several advantages over web notifications:

• Higher opt-in and engagement rates
• Better for reaching iOS users
• Better for personalisation

You can read more in this comparison.

Native app notifications are the clear winners except for one thing – traditionally it was expensive and difficult to build native apps. It took months of labour and a six figure investment.

Luckily, that isn’t true anymore.

‍With Vendrux, you can get native apps in just weeks, for a small fraction of the usual cost.

You’ll be able to keep every feature and functionality of your web app – and also to send unlimited push notifications to users, no matter their mobile OS!

We specialise in building apps for ecommerce, and power the apps of thousands of brands including multibillion dollar multinationals.

We give you everything you need to leverage push – including abandoned cart notifications, A/B testing, and more. Want to learn more about Vendrux? Get started with a free preview of your app, or schedule a free, personalized demo and get a first-hand look at the platform’s possibilities with one of our app experts.

Getting back to the web – we hope this article has helped to inform you about service workers.

Good luck with implementing them on your website.

Push notifications are the main reason most ecommerce brands want a mobile app. 

They’re the most direct line to your customers – more immediate than email, cheaper than SMS, and harder to ignore than either.

But iOS and Android don’t handle push notifications the same way. The differences aren’t just cosmetic. They affect how many of your users you can actually reach, how your notifications appear, and how much control the operating system gives users to filter, silence, or ignore them entirely.

This guide explains how push works on each platform in plain terms; what happens behind the scenes, what your users experience, and what it all means if you’re running an app.

How Push Notifications Work (The Simple Version)

Before getting into platform differences, here’s the basic pipeline. It works roughly the same way on both iOS and Android:

1. Your user installs your app and (on iOS) grants notification permission. The app registers with the platform’s push service and receives a unique token – think of it like a mailing address for that specific device.
2. Your server stores that token. When you want to send a notification, you send the message and the token to the platform’s push service.
3. The push service delivers it. On iOS, that’s Apple Push Notification service (APNs). On Android, it’s Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM). These services handle the actual delivery to the device.
4. The device displays it according to the user’s settings – as a banner, a sound, a badge on the app icon, or some combination.

That’s it. Your server talks to Apple or Google, and they talk to the device. You never send a notification directly to someone’s phone.

Where things diverge, and where it matters for your business, is in what happens at each step.

The Permission Model

This is the biggest difference. And it’s one of the most important parts of getting the most out of push notifications.

iOS: You Get One Shot

On iOS, your app cannot send a single push notification until the user explicitly says yes. 

The first time your app requests permission, iOS shows a system dialog: “[App Name] Would Like to Send You Notifications” with two buttons: Allow and Don’t Allow.

If the user taps Don’t Allow, that dialog never appears again. Your app can’t re-trigger it. 

The only way the user can change their mind is by going into Settings > Notifications > Your App and manually turning notifications on.

Most won’t.

This is why timing the permission request matters so much. If you ask the moment someone opens your app for the first time (before they’ve seen any value) a lot of people will tap Don’t Allow out of reflex. 

The smarter approach is what’s called a “soft ask”: show your own in-app screen first that explains what kind of notifications you’ll send and why they’re useful, and only trigger the real system dialog after the user taps something like “Yes, notify me.” 

That way, the people who reach the system dialog are already primed to say yes.

Current iOS opt-in rates for ecommerce apps average around 50%. That means roughly half your iOS users will never see a single push notification from you – if your opt-in strategy is no better than average.

This makes the ask strategy one of the highest-leverage things you can optimize.

Android: It Used to Be Automatic, Now It Asks Too

Before Android 13 (released in 2022), push notifications were on by default for every installed app. 

You didn’t need permission. The moment someone installed your app, you could send them notifications. Opt-in rates were effectively near 100%.

Android 13 changed this. Apps now have to request the POST_NOTIFICATIONS permission, and users see an Allow/Don’t Allow dialog similar to iOS. 

If they deny it, you can ask one more time. But after two denials, the system blocks further prompts, just like iOS.

There’s a transitional wrinkle: apps that were already installed when a device upgraded to Android 13 were auto-granted permission. So the full impact of the change is still rolling out as people buy new phones.

Current Android opt-in rates for ecommerce apps average around 68%, which is still significantly higher than iOS. But the gap is narrowing year over year as more Android users land on the opt-in model.

What This Means for You

The permission model is the single biggest factor in how many users you can reach. On a combined iOS/Android user base, you might be looking at roughly 50-70% of your users actually receiving your notifications – and that’s before accounting for users who later turn them off.

Every percentage point of opt-in rate translates directly to revenue. The data on this is clear: users who receive at least one push notification in the first 90 days show roughly 3x higher retention rates than those who don’t. 

Getting the permission prompt right is crucial if you want your app to succeed.

How Notifications Appear on Each Platform

Once a user has opted in, the two platforms display notifications differently.

iOS: Clean and Controlled

iOS notifications show up in three places:

• Lock Screen — notifications stack up while the phone is locked
• Notification Center — swipe down from the top to see recent notifications
• Banners — a brief pop-up at the top of the screen when the phone is unlocked and in use

Every notification looks more or less the same: your app icon, a title, a body, and optionally an image or media attachment. iOS enforces a consistent visual format across all apps. 

You can include rich media (images up to 2MB, GIFs, even short video), and rich notifications see about 56% higher open rates than plain text – but you don’t have the freedom to completely redesign how the notification looks.

iOS also groups notifications by app by default. If you send five notifications, they stack into one expandable group rather than flooding the lock screen with five separate items.

Android: More Flexible, More Visible

Android notifications appear in:

• Status bar — a small icon at the top of the screen signals there’s something new
• Notification shade — pull down from the top to see all notifications, with more detail than iOS shows
• Notification dots — a colored dot (or number badge on Samsung/Xiaomi) appears on your app icon

Android gives you significantly more control over how notifications look. You can include large images, custom layouts, progress bars, action buttons that work without opening the app, and expandable content. 

Users can long-press a notification to see more detail, reply inline, or take actions directly from the shade.

Android also supports notification channels (since Android 8.0), which are one of the platform’s most useful features. 

You define categories for your notifications (“Order Updates,” “Promotions,” “Back in Stock”) and users can independently control each one. 

Someone can silence your promotional notifications while keeping order updates at full volume. 

This is a win for everyone: users get control, and you avoid the all-or-nothing situation where someone turns off all your notifications because they’re tired of promos.

What the Operating System Does With Your Notifications

This is where things have gotten more complicated in recent years. Both platforms are increasingly inserting themselves between your notification and the user’s eyeballs.

iOS: Focus Mode, Notification Summary, and AI Filtering

Focus Mode (iOS 15+) lets users create profiles (Work, Sleep, Personal, etc.) that silence most notifications. 

When a Focus is active, your notification is delivered but hidden until the Focus ends. Only apps the user has specifically whitelisted will break through. 

Time-Sensitive notifications (delivery updates, payment confirmations) can also break through if the user has allowed that option. But Apple restricts this category and expects you to use it honestly.

Notification Summary (iOS 15+) lets users batch notifications into a scheduled digest. For example, delivered at 8 AM and 6 PM. If your user has this on, your flash sale notification sent at 10 AM might not be seen until 6 PM. 

Time-Sensitive notifications bypass the summary.

Apple Intelligence (iOS 18.1+) introduced AI-powered notification summaries that condense your notification text into shorter versions. 

Starting with iOS 18.4, the system also applies “Priority Notifications” – the AI decides which notifications are important and surfaces those at the top.

You have no API to influence this. The AI reads the content and makes its own judgment.

Android: Notification Cooldown, AI Summaries, and Auto-Categorization

Do Not Disturb on Android silences sound and vibration, but notifications still arrive in the shade – they’re visible but don’t interrupt. 

Users can whitelist specific apps or even specific notification channels to override DND.

Notification Cooldown (Android 15) progressively reduces the volume and vibration for rapid successive notifications from the same app. 

If you send multiple notifications in quick succession, the later ones will be quieter. This doesn’t affect how they display, just how aggressively they alert.

AI-powered summaries and auto-categorization (Android 16, mid-2025) are the newest development. 

Google’s Notification Organizer automatically categorizes notifications and can silence lower-priority ones like promotions. This is currently limited to Pixel devices but is expected to expand. 

For ecommerce apps, this means your promotional pushes may be auto-suppressed by the OS without the user doing anything.

What This Means for You

The trend on both platforms is the same: the operating system is becoming a gatekeeper between your notification and the user. 

Both Apple and Google are using AI to decide what’s “important” and what isn’t, and promotional notifications are the most likely to be filtered.

This makes two things more important than ever. 

First, the quality and relevance of each notification matters more than volume. A well-timed, personalized notification about a product someone actually browsed will be treated differently (by both the AI and the user) than a generic “20% off everything!” blast. 

Second, transactional and triggered notifications – order updates, back-in-stock alerts, cart reminders – are more resilient to filtering because both platforms recognize them as higher-priority content.

The Numbers: iOS vs Android Push Performance

Here’s how the two platforms compare on the metrics that actually matter:

A few things stand out. Android has higher opt-in rates, higher click-through rates, and significantly higher reaction rates overall. 

The reaction rate gap (10.7% vs 4.9%) is driven by Android’s notification shade being more persistent and interactive – users can act on notifications without fully opening the app.

But iOS users who do opt in tend to be more intentional. They chose to receive your notifications, which can mean higher engagement quality per user even if the raw numbers are lower.

The practical takeaway: you need a push strategy for both platforms, but the tactics should differ. 

On iOS, optimize for getting the opt-in and making every notification count. On Android, take advantage of notification channels and richer formatting to give users a better experience.

What This All Means If You’re Running an Ecommerce App

Push notifications account for roughly 15% of ecommerce revenue from just 3% of total marketing messages – the best efficiency ratio of any channel. 

Cart abandonment pushes can recover up to 20% of lost sales. Users with push enabled show 3x higher retention.

But none of those numbers apply to you unless your app can actually use push properly on both platforms. Here’s the practical reality:

First, you need a native app. 

Web push and PWA push exist, but they don’t have access to the full push toolkit – no notification channels on Android, no Time-Sensitive priority on iOS, no Live Activities, no reliable background delivery. 

PWA push opt-in rates on iOS are 10-15x lower than native because users have to manually add the site to their home screen before they can even be asked for permission.

You need to handle both platforms. 

Your customers are split across iOS and Android. Each platform has its own push service (APNs vs FCM), its own permission model, its own display rules, and its own filtering. 

A push strategy that ignores these differences leaves performance on the table.

Personalization is the multiplier. 

Generic blasts get filtered and ignored. Personalized notifications see 2-4x higher reaction rates. 

Triggered campaigns (cart abandonment, price drops, back-in-stock) see open rates of 16-22%, compared to 3-4% for batch sends. 

The more relevant each notification is, the less likely either platform’s AI filtering is to suppress it.

How Vendrux Handles Push on Both Platforms

If you already have a website – on Shopify, WooCommerce, or another ecommerce platform – Vendrux turns it into native iOS and Android apps with full push notification support built in.

That means your app communicates through Apple’s APNs and Google’s FCM directly, the same way any natively built app does. 

Your notifications show up as real native notifications with full support for rich media, action buttons, and deep linking to specific products or pages. 

On Android, your app gets proper notification channels. On iOS, it gets the Time-Sensitive priority for order updates and other transactional messages.

Vendrux integrates with the push providers ecommerce brands already use – OneSignal, Klaviyo – so you’re not locked into a proprietary system. 

You send notifications the same way you would with any native app; the difference is you didn’t have to build that native app from scratch.

For brands that have invested in their website and want the push notification performance that only a native app delivers (without rebuilding on a separate platform) this is the most direct path.

Book a free demo to see how push notifications work in a Vendrux app, or get a free app preview to see what your app would look like.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do iOS and Android use the same push notification system?

No. iOS uses Apple Push Notification service (APNs) and Android uses Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM). They’re completely separate systems. Your server needs to communicate with both to reach all your users. Most push platforms (OneSignal, Klaviyo, etc.) handle this for you.

Why are Android push notification opt-in rates higher than iOS?

Historically, Android opted users in automatically – notifications were on by default. Android 13 changed this to an opt-in model similar to iOS, so the gap is narrowing. But because many existing Android users were grandfathered in with permission already granted, Android still leads at around 68% vs 50% for iOS in ecommerce.

Can I re-ask for push notification permission on iOS if a user says no?

No. iOS shows the system permission dialog once per app. If the user taps “Don’t Allow,” you cannot trigger it again. You can direct them to Settings, but most users won’t go there. This is why using a “soft ask” screen before the system prompt is so important. It lets you filter out users who would say no before you burn your one chance.

What are notification channels on Android?

Notification channels let you categorize your notifications. For example, “Order Updates,” “Promotions,” and “Back in Stock.” Users can independently control the volume, vibration, and visibility of each channel. This means a user can silence your promotional notifications without turning off order updates. Channels have been mandatory on Android since version 8.0.

How does Focus Mode on iOS affect my push notifications?

When a user has a Focus active (Work, Sleep, etc.), most notifications are silenced and held until the Focus ends. Your notification still gets delivered, the user just doesn’t see it in real time. Time-Sensitive notifications can break through if the user has allowed that, but Apple expects this category to be reserved for genuinely urgent content like delivery updates.

Do push notifications work on PWAs?

Partially. Android PWAs support push reasonably well. iOS added PWA push support in iOS 16.4, but it only works if the user has manually installed the PWA to their home screen, and opt-in rates are 10-15x lower than native apps. PWAs also lack access to notification channels, Time-Sensitive priority, Live Activities, and other native push features.

How many push notifications should I send per day?

Most data suggests 1-2 per day maximum for ecommerce, with 2-5 per week being the sweet spot. The key is relevance, a triggered cart abandonment reminder is far more welcome than a generic promo blast. Personalized, well-timed notifications can sustain higher frequencies without driving opt-outs.