{"id":1376,"date":"2026-01-31T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newcraft.dev\/posts\/how-to-set-up-birthday-emails-in-omnisend-shopify-guide\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T07:47:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T06:47:55","slug":"how-to-set-up-birthday-emails-in-omnisend-shopify-guide","status":"publish","type":"marketing-post","link":"https:\/\/newcraft.dev\/nl\/posts\/how-to-set-up-birthday-emails-in-omnisend-shopify-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Set Up Birthday Emails in Omnisend (Shopify Guide)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Omnisend is a popular email marketing platform for Shopify stores, with strong automation features. Like Klaviyo, it can send birthday emails, but setting up birthday automation in Omnisend requires some configuration that is not entirely obvious. This guide walks through the full process: collecting birthdays, configuring the trigger, and setting up the automation. For stores that want a plug-and-play solution, the Happy Birthday app for Shopify<\/a> handles this without needing Omnisend.<\/p>\n\n\n

TL;DR: Omnisend has birthday automation built in, but it won’t help you collect birthdays. That’s the part you need to solve first.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Omnisend works well for Shopify. Email, SMS, push notifications \u2013 it’s got the marketing stack covered. And yes, it can send birthday emails. But here’s what the marketing page doesn’t mention: Omnisend sends emails, it doesn’t magically know when your customers’ birthdays are. That data has to come from somewhere. (Want the simple path? See the Happy Birthday App for Shopify<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Where Do Birthdays Come From?<\/h2>\n

Shopify doesn’t collect birthdays at checkout. There’s no birthday field in customer accounts by default. So when you connect Omnisend to your store, the birthday column is just… empty.<\/p>\n

Omnisend gives you options:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Build a signup form with a birthday field<\/strong> \u2013 Extra friction, lower signups<\/li>\n
  2. Import from a spreadsheet<\/strong> \u2013 Only works if you already have the data<\/li>\n
  3. Use a third-party app<\/strong> \u2013 Omnisend actually recommends this themselves<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Here’s the funny part: Omnisend’s own help center points merchants to the Happy Birthday App<\/a> as an integration for collecting birthdays. That tells you something about how well the built-in options work.<\/p>\n

    Setting Up Omnisend Birthday Automation<\/h2>\n

    Assuming you’ve figured out data collection, here’s the setup:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Go to Automations, click “Create workflow”<\/li>\n
    2. Pick the birthday trigger from the templates<\/li>\n
    3. Set timing \u2013 send on the day, or before\/after<\/li>\n
    4. Add audience filters if you want to target specific segments<\/li>\n
    5. Build your message (email, SMS, whatever)<\/li>\n
    6. Activate and wait<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Pretty standard automation stuff. The workflow builder is nice enough.<\/p>\n

      The Format Trap<\/h2>\n

      Here’s where people get burned: Omnisend requires dates in YYYY-MM-DD format. Not DD\/MM\/YYYY. Not “15 March 1990.” Exactly YYYY-MM-DD or it won’t work.<\/p>\n

      European customers write dates day-first. Americans write month-first. If you’ve collected birthdays informally \u2013 customer service emails, survey responses, random spreadsheets \u2013 your formats are probably all over the place. You’ll spend hours cleaning data before you can import it.<\/p>\n

      The Happy Birthday App<\/a> lets you pick your date format upfront. DD\/MM for European stores, MM\/DD for US stores. Customers enter their birthday naturally, and everything syncs correctly formatted.<\/p>\n

      The Retroactive Problem<\/h2>\n

      Something Omnisend doesn’t advertise: birthday automation can’t send retroactively.<\/p>\n

      What does that mean? If a customer’s birthday was last week and you add them to your list today, they won’t get an email until next year. Omnisend only triggers on upcoming birthdays.<\/p>\n

      Import 1,000 customers with birthdays spread throughout the year? Only those with upcoming birthdays get emails this year. Everyone else waits until their birthday rolls around again.<\/p>\n

      Discount Code Setup<\/h2>\n

      Most birthday emails include a discount. You probably want unique codes per customer<\/a> so people can’t share them online. Omnisend can do this, but you need to configure the Shopify integration first.<\/p>\n

      It works. It’s just another thing to set up and maintain.<\/p>\n

      The All-in-One Alternative<\/h2>\n

      This is why Omnisend themselves recommend dedicated birthday apps. The Happy Birthday App handles the whole flow:<\/p>\n