Yes, BigCommerce integrates with Mailchimp to sync customer data and enable automated email marketing campaigns directly from your ecommerce store.
Overview
BigCommerce and Mailchimp work together to streamline your email marketing operations without requiring manual data entry or third-party middleware. When you connect the two platforms, customer information flows from your store into Mailchimp, allowing you to build targeted email campaigns, automate customer journeys, and track campaign performance—all while keeping your customer database synchronized.
This integration is particularly valuable for online retailers who want to move beyond transactional emails and build a genuine relationship with their customer base through segmented, personalized campaigns.
How the Integration Works
- Automatic customer sync: When a customer creates an account or completes a purchase on BigCommerce, their email address and profile data are automatically sent to Mailchimp. You can configure which customer segments or groups sync to specific Mailchimp audiences.
- Audience management: BigCommerce customers appear as contacts in your Mailchimp audience, allowing you to segment by purchase history, customer lifetime value, geographic location, or custom fields you’ve defined in your store.
- Order data integration: Purchase information, including order totals, product details, and order status, can be passed to Mailchimp. This enables you to create dynamic email content that references what customers bought or abandoned items in their cart.
- Abandoned cart recovery: The integration supports abandoned cart workflows, allowing Mailchimp to send automated reminders when customers leave items in their cart without completing checkout.
- Campaign performance tracking: Email engagement metrics from Mailchimp (opens, clicks, unsubscribes) flow back to BigCommerce, giving you a unified view of customer behavior across both platforms.
Key Features & Capabilities
1. Automatic customer list building
Your BigCommerce customer database automatically populates a Mailchimp audience. New customers are added in real time, eliminating the need to manually export and import contact lists.
2. Segmented email campaigns
Create Mailchimp campaigns targeted to specific customer groups—such as first-time buyers, repeat customers, or those who purchased a particular product category. Segments update automatically as customer behavior changes in BigCommerce.
3. Abandoned cart email automation
Trigger automated email sequences when customers add items to their cart but don’t complete the purchase. Mailchimp can send reminder emails with product images and direct checkout links to recover lost sales.
4. Personalized product recommendations
Use Mailchimp’s dynamic content blocks to show customers products similar to what they’ve already purchased or browsed on your BigCommerce store, increasing the likelihood of repeat purchases.
5. Post-purchase follow-up workflows
Automatically send thank-you emails, product reviews requests, or loyalty program invitations immediately after a customer completes an order, without requiring manual setup for each transaction.
6. Unified reporting dashboard
Track which email campaigns drive the most revenue, which customer segments are most engaged, and how email marketing contributes to your overall store performance—all visible from Mailchimp’s analytics.
Setup Difficulty
Rating: Easy (5–15 minutes)
The BigCommerce-Mailchimp integration requires no coding. To set it up, you’ll authorize the connection between your BigCommerce store and Mailchimp account, select which customer data to sync, and choose which audience in Mailchimp will receive your store’s customer data. Most retailers complete this in under 15 minutes. Advanced configurations—such as custom field mapping or conditional automation rules—may require an additional 15–30 minutes of planning but no developer involvement.
What Data Syncs Between Platforms
By default, the integration syncs customer email addresses, first and last names, and subscription status. Depending on your configuration, you may also sync:
- Customer phone numbers and addresses
- Purchase history and order totals
- Product categories purchased
- Customer tags or custom attributes from BigCommerce
- Subscription preferences (opt-in/opt-out status)
Data flows primarily from BigCommerce to Mailchimp, though engagement metrics (opens, clicks, unsubscribes) flow back to BigCommerce so you can see the full customer journey.
Alternatives & Workarounds
If the native BigCommerce-Mailchimp integration doesn’t fully meet your needs, consider these options:
1. Zapier or Make (formerly Integromat)
Third-party automation platforms like Zapier and Make offer pre-built workflows that connect BigCommerce and Mailchimp with more granular control. You can create custom triggers and actions—for example, “When a customer reaches a certain lifetime value, move them to a VIP audience in Mailchimp.” These platforms charge per task or monthly subscription but offer flexibility the native integration may lack.
2. Custom API integration
If you have developer resources, you can build a custom integration using BigCommerce’s REST API and Mailchimp’s API. This approach gives you complete control over data mapping and automation logic but requires ongoing maintenance and technical expertise.
3. Alternative email marketing platforms
If Mailchimp’s feature set doesn’t align with your needs, other email platforms like Klaviyo, ConvertKit, or ActiveCampaign also integrate natively with BigCommerce and may offer more advanced segmentation, personalization, or automation capabilities—though they typically come at a higher cost.
Common Challenges & Troubleshooting
Duplicate contacts: If you’ve previously imported customer lists into Mailchimp manually, you may end up with duplicate contacts when the integration syncs. Use Mailchimp’s merge or deduplicate features to clean up your audience before activating the integration.
Unsubscribe synchronization: Ensure that unsubscribe preferences in Mailchimp are set to sync back to BigCommerce. This prevents you from accidentally sending emails to customers who’ve opted out.
Custom field mapping: If you use custom customer fields in BigCommerce (like customer tier or purchase frequency), verify that these map correctly to Mailchimp merge fields. You may need to create merge fields in Mailchimp first before the integration can sync the data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the integration sync historical customer data?
When you first connect BigCommerce and Mailchimp, the integration typically syncs your existing customer base. However, the extent of historical data (such as past purchase history) depends on your configuration. Contact Mailchimp support to confirm what historical data will be included in your initial sync.
Can I segment customers by purchase behavior in Mailchimp?
Yes. If order data is synced from BigCommerce to Mailchimp, you can create segments based on purchase history, product categories bought, order value, and purchase frequency. This allows you to send highly targeted campaigns to specific customer groups.
What happens if a customer unsubscribes from Mailchimp?
When a customer unsubscribes from your Mailchimp list, that preference should sync back to BigCommerce (depending on your integration settings). This ensures you don’t send them marketing emails through other channels. Always verify this setting is enabled to maintain compliance with email marketing regulations.
Is there a cost for using the BigCommerce-Mailchimp integration?
The integration itself is free, but Mailchimp charges based on your audience size and feature tier. BigCommerce does not charge an additional fee for enabling the integration. Review Mailchimp’s current pricing to understand costs for your contact volume.
Disclaimer: Integration features and capabilities may change as both BigCommerce and Mailchimp release updates. Always verify current functionality on the official BigCommerce and Mailchimp integration pages before making implementation decisions.