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Full ReviewConnecting Mailchimp to BigCommerce enables automated email marketing driven by customer purchase behavior, browse activity, and store data. The integration syncs customer information and order data from BigCommerce to Mailchimp, powering features like abandoned cart recovery emails, post-purchase follow-ups, product recommendation campaigns, and customer segmentation based on buying history. This is one of the highest-ROI integrations for any BigCommerce store.
BigCommerce and Mailchimp offer an official integration available through the BigCommerce app marketplace. The integration supports one-way data sync from BigCommerce to Mailchimp, including customer data, order history, product catalog, and cart activity. Mailchimp uses this data to enable ecommerce-specific automation, segmentation, and reporting. The setup is straightforward and does not require any code or third-party middleware.
Log in to your BigCommerce admin panel. Navigate to Apps > Marketplace. Search for "Mailchimp" and locate the official Mailchimp for BigCommerce app. Click Install and follow the permission prompts to add the app to your store.
After installation, the app will prompt you to log in to Mailchimp. Enter your Mailchimp credentials and authorize the connection. Select the Mailchimp audience you want to sync BigCommerce customers to. If you have multiple audiences, choose the one dedicated to your ecommerce marketing.
Choose which customer data to sync. The default settings sync all customers who have opted in to marketing. You can also configure whether to sync customers who have placed an order but did not explicitly opt in (they will appear as non-subscribed contacts in Mailchimp). Configure product catalog sync to enable product recommendation blocks in your emails.
The initial sync imports your existing customers, orders, and product catalog to Mailchimp. Depending on your store size, this can take from a few minutes to several hours. You can check sync status in the Mailchimp app within BigCommerce or in Mailchimp under Audience > All Contacts.
In Mailchimp, go to Automations > Create. Select the Abandoned Cart automation template for your connected BigCommerce store. Customize the email content, timing (recommended: first email 1 hour after abandonment, second email 24 hours later), and subject lines. The email template automatically includes a product content block showing the abandoned items. Activate the automation.
Under Automations, create a Post-Purchase automation. This triggers after a customer completes an order. Common approaches include a thank-you email immediately after purchase, a product review request 7-14 days later, and a replenishment reminder for consumable products. Map the automation to your BigCommerce store.
In Mailchimp, go to Audience > Segments. Create segments based on BigCommerce purchase data: repeat customers, high-value customers (total spent above a threshold), customers who purchased specific products, or customers who have not purchased in 90 days. Use these segments for targeted campaigns and automations.
The integration allows you to configure marketing consent handling (which customers are synced as subscribed versus non-subscribed), product catalog sync frequency, and which customer properties map to Mailchimp merge fields. In Mailchimp, configure ecommerce tracking under Connected Sites to track campaign revenue attribution. Enable Google Analytics link tracking in Mailchimp campaign settings to measure email-driven traffic in Google Analytics alongside other marketing channels.
| Data | Direction | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Customer email and name | BigCommerce to Mailchimp | Real-time on new orders and signups |
| Order history | BigCommerce to Mailchimp | Real-time on new orders |
| Product catalog | BigCommerce to Mailchimp | Periodic sync (hourly) |
| Cart data (for abandonment) | BigCommerce to Mailchimp | Real-time |
| Marketing consent status | BigCommerce to Mailchimp | Real-time |
Only customers who have opted in to marketing will sync as subscribed contacts. Check your BigCommerce checkout settings to ensure the marketing consent checkbox is visible and enabled. Customers who check out as guests without opting in will not appear in your Mailchimp audience.
Mailchimp pulls product images from your BigCommerce catalog sync. If images are missing, ensure your products have images uploaded in BigCommerce and trigger a manual catalog resync from the Mailchimp app settings in BigCommerce. Images must be publicly accessible URLs.
Abandoned cart automation requires that the customer is a known contact (has an email address associated with their cart). Anonymous browsers who add items to cart but have never identified themselves cannot receive abandoned cart emails. Ensure your site has email capture points (pop-ups, account creation prompts) to identify visitors before they abandon.
Use Mailchimp's Customer Journey Builder for complex multi-step automations that combine ecommerce triggers with time delays, conditional splits, and multi-channel messaging (email and SMS). Implement Mailchimp's Predicted Demographics and Purchase Likelihood features to create AI-driven segments for targeting. Connect Mailchimp's Facebook and Google Ad integrations to create retargeting audiences from your BigCommerce customer segments, extending your email marketing data into paid advertising channels.
