Unlike segments, which are dynamic and based on customer properties (such as total spend or last order date), lists are static reservoirs.
A list only contains the contacts you explicitly decided to add to it, mainly through your automation flows. This tool is essential to record a specific behavior and prepare targeted marketing campaigns.
The goal of a list is to tag customers after a specific action in a workflow. Since the list does not update itself based on Shopify data, it acts as a record of an event that happened at a given point in time.
Here are relevant use cases for lists:
Product type list: group customers who bought a product from a specific category (e.g. Summer Collection) at the moment the order automation triggers.
Interaction interest list: identify customers who clicked a specific button in an inbound automation (e.g. a click on the "Learn more about recycling" button).
Participation list: group contacts who answered a questionnaire or survey on WhatsApp.
Creating a list is the required first step before you can feed it from your flows.
Access the section: in the left sidebar, go to the List and segment tab.
Get started: click the Create button at the top of the page.
Configuration: enter a clear name for your list (e.g. Vitamin C Serum Buyers). This name is strictly internal.
Validation: once created, the list is immediately available as a destination in your automations.
The only way to fill a list automatically is to add a specific action to your flows (workflows). The list cannot pull customers on its own.
Open the relevant automation (e.g. an abandoned cart or order confirmation automation).
Add an action: click the Add an action button. This button opens the menu of the different node types available to enrich your workflow.
Select the action: choose the Add to list option.
Settings: in the settings of the node that just appeared, select the destination list among the ones you created beforehand.
Connection: connect this action after your trigger or a condition.
With the Add an action button, you can chain several actions in a row. For example, you can send a confirmation message AND simultaneously add the customer to a specific list for your future campaigns.
The main benefit of a static list is being able to target these contacts in a later broadcast. When creating a campaign in the Campaign tab, you can select your list as the audience.
This guarantees your message is only sent to people who passed the exact step of the automation where you placed the add-to-list node. It is a surgical targeting method based on the customer's actual journey.
It is crucial not to confuse these two tools to get the most out of your database management:
The List is static: a customer joins it because an automation placed them there. They stay in it until you remove them manually. It does not take Shopify numeric variables into account (order amount, frequency, etc.).
The Segment is dynamic: it automatically groups customers who meet calculated criteria (e.g. "all customers who spent more than 500€"). If a customer no longer meets the criteria, they leave the segment automatically.
In short, use lists to record precise customer journey steps within your automations, and segments to target based on overall profile or purchase data.
