How to add a countdown timer to Shopify Email

In Shopify Email, a countdown goes into a custom Liquid section. You paste a table holding the timer image, and that image is requested from our server every time someone opens the email. That's why it shows the time left at that moment.

Shopify's help center now calls the tool Shopify Messaging and places it under Apps > Messaging. We still say Shopify Email here because that's what almost everyone searches for.

Based on Shopify's official documentation, reviewed on October 1, 2026.

Which section to use

Custom Liquid. Shopify lets you add a custom Liquid section inside a template-based email, or code the whole email yourself. The section accepts HTML, so our code goes in as is. According to Shopify, each section is capped at 50 KB and can only be created on a desktop device. Our code is under 1 KB.

Not an uploaded image. If you upload the GIF as a store image, the email points to a copy frozen on the frame from that moment, and the timer stops counting.

Step by step in a campaign

1. Build the timer in the generator with your end date and time zone. If your template is 600 px wide, keep the width at 600 or less.
2. Copy the code from the HTML tab.
3. In your Shopify admin, go to Apps > Messaging and click Create campaign. Pick a template.
4. In the editor, hover over the spot in the email where you want the timer and click +.
5. Choose the custom Liquid section and paste the code.
6. Save, then check in the preview that the image shows.

The code has its & escaped and the background color set on the table and the cell, so there are no white edges around the GIF.

Put the deadline in plain text above or below the timer as well. Readers who see only the first frame, or who have images turned off, still know when the sale ends.

For a store-wide sale, use a fixed-date timer: the end is the same instant for every customer, so you can reuse the same timer in the teaser, the launch and the last-chance email. Each one shows the time left when it's opened. Set the time zone to the one your sale runs on, and say it in the copy if you sell across zones.

In an automation

According to Shopify's help center, custom Liquid works in abandoned checkout, abandoned cart and abandoned browse automations. Open the automation's email, add a custom Liquid section and paste the timer, just as in a campaign.

In these automations a fixed date rarely makes sense, since every customer abandons their cart at a different time. Use an evergreen timer instead, say 24 hours, with the customer variable.

Per-customer countdowns

An evergreen timer counts a duration from a starting point:

• Without a customer (free plan). It starts on every open. If the customer opens the email again the next day, they see the full 24 hours again.
• With a customer (Starter plan). That customer's first open sets the start; later opens show what they have left.

For the second option, add the customer ID to the image URL inside the code:

https://kauntodaun.com/t/k3x9q2m7ab.gif?rid={{ customer.id }}

customer.id is on the list of customer variables Shopify publishes for custom Liquid. We prefer it over {{ customer.email }} so the email address doesn't travel in the image URL.

We store the ID as a hash. If the variable arrives empty or unreplaced, the engine ignores it and counts from that moment.

How to test before you send

1. Preview. Check that the image shows in the editor. If it does, the URL is correct.
2. Test email. Click Send test and enter up to five addresses. Shopify's help center doesn't say whether customer variables are filled in on test sends; if they aren't, a per-customer timer will count from the open.
3. Real-world test. To check a per-customer timer, abandon a cart with one of your own accounts and wait for the automation email. Open it twice a few minutes apart: the second open should show less time.
4. Outlook. Open it in desktop Outlook. Microsoft says Outlook for Microsoft 365, 2021 and 2024 animate the GIF when Windows animations are on; otherwise you'll see the first frame with the time left.

Known issues

• Can't add the section on mobile. Shopify only allows custom Liquid sections to be created on a desktop device.
• Fully coded email. If you choose to code your own email, Shopify requires the unsubscribe variable (unsubscribe_link or unsubscribe_url) and open_tracking if open tracking is on. The limit goes up to 500 KB.
• Apple Mail. With Mail Privacy Protection, Apple downloads images when the email arrives, opened or not. For a per-customer timer, the window may start at delivery.
• One timer, several emails. If you edit the timer after sending, the change shows up in every email that uses it.

Other platforms

If your store sends with Klaviyo, see the Klaviyo guide. We also have guides for Mailchimp and HubSpot, plus ready-made countdowns for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.