Push notifications in Per Diem: Setup & automation guide

1. Go to Push Notifications

Log in to your Per Diem merchant dashboard, open the Marketing dropdown, and select Push Notifications. You'll see four tabs: Past, Future, Template, and Auto Push.

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2. Send a one-time notification

Click Create a Notification (top right).

• Send to: choose All Customers, Customer Groups, or Smart Groups. Choosing either group option opens a second dropdown to pick the specific group or Smart Group filter (e.g., regulars, lapsed users, new customers — see section 5 below for how Smart Groups targeting works).
• Date and Time: pick when it goes out. If you leave this blank or pick a time in the past, it sends immediately.
• Message: write a Subject (48 characters) and Notification body (100 characters).
• Click Send.

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3. Set up a recurring Auto Push campaign

Go to the Auto Push tab and click Setup Auto Push Campaign.

• Choose the day of the week and the hour it should send.
• Choose how the message is created: AI-generated or Custom message.
  
  • AI-generated: pick a tone (Friendly, Professional, Casual, Urgent, or Promotional), then enter a prompt describing what you want the notification to say — the assistant writes the message for you.
  • Custom message: type your own message directly.
• Click Save.

Best practice: schedule during high-engagement windows (morning coffee, lunch), use a Friendly or Promotional tone for offers, and keep the message short and action-focused.

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4. Turn on automatic growth notifications

Under the Template tab, expand Advanced push notifications to enable lifecycle messages that fire automatically based on customer behavior. Each has an editable subject and message (with a sensible default pre-filled) and its own Preview/Reset controls:

• Abandoned cart — sent when a customer leaves items in cart without completing checkout.
• Lapsed purchasers — sent when customers haven't purchased in a while.
• Signed up, no order — sent to customers who signed up but haven't placed an order yet.
• New customer — sent to new customers right after they sign up.

Check the box next to each one you want active, edit the subject/message if you like, and click Save at the bottom of the section.

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5. Targeting: Customer Groups vs. Smart Groups

When sending a one-time notification or targeting a segment, you have two group-based options:

• Customer Groups — groups you've defined.
• Smart Groups — Square's dynamic, rule-based segments (e.g., regulars, lapsed users, new customers). Selecting Smart Groups reveals a filter dropdown where you choose which Smart Group to target. If you haven't set up Smart Groups yet, they're created on the Square side.