Shopify IMS integration records the commercial message consent a store collects for marketing emails and SMS in IMS (İYS), Turkey's Message Management System. Shopify's checkout has a built-in email and SMS marketing consent checkbox, but it doesn't register the consent in IMS, and for Turkey the box must not be preselected. That is why setup takes three steps: registering the brand in IMS, adding a consent checkbox to checkout or the sign-up form, and sending consents to the IMS API.
What Is IMS and Why Do Shopify Stores Need It?
IMS (İYS, short for İleti Yönetim Sistemi, Turkey's Message Management System) is a system run by İYS A.Ş., part of TOBB (the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey), under authorization from the Ministry of Trade. It is where businesses centrally register the commercial electronic message consent they need before they can send marketing emails and SMS. If a Shopify store wants to send customers a discount code, a campaign announcement or a newsletter, it is a legal requirement that this consent is registered in IMS; keeping the consent only in the store's own database is not enough.
IMS covers a different matter from KVKK (Turkey's personal data protection law): KVKK covers general consent for processing personal data, while IMS specifically manages consent for marketing communications. Even if a customer has read the KVKK privacy notice and given explicit consent, you still need a commercial message consent registered in IMS before you can send them marketing emails.
Critical note: Marketing emails or SMS sent without IMS consent can lead to an administrative fine if the recipient files a complaint. This is not a theoretical risk; the Ministry of Trade carries out regular inspections.
The Difference Between IMS and KVKK
The two systems are often confused, but they serve different purposes and need to be managed separately.
We manage the process of collecting and recording these two consents separately at checkout with our CompliTR app. IMS commercial message consent and KVKK explicit consent should not be squeezed into a single checkbox; they should be kept separate.
How Do You Set Up IMS Integration on Shopify?
Shopify's standard checkout doesn't offer an IMS-specific consent mechanism, so this gap is closed either with a custom integration or with an app that does the job. Setup takes three steps: registering the brand in IMS, adding the consent checkbox to the checkout or sign-up form, and sending the consents collected to the IMS API, either in real time or in batches. Batch transfers have a time limit: consent collected outside IMS becomes invalid if it isn't registered in IMS within 3 business days.
Tip: Don't store the consent record only as "consent yes/no"; store it together with the date and the version of the text the customer agreed to. In an IMS inspection, being able to answer "when did you obtain this consent?" with a concrete record is stronger evidence than saying a checkbox existed.
IMS integration isn't something to handle in isolation from the rest of the store; we cover the full integration map, including shipping, marketplace and accounting categories, in our Shopify Integrations guide. For stores that want to set up IMS integration at the same time as their ERP and marketplace integrations, in a single technical process, our Shopify integration solutions service manages the setup end to end.
What Does Nodus Works Pay Attention to When Setting Up IMS?
The most common mistake we see in practice is setting up IMS consent only for new customer sign-ups and never moving the existing customer list into IMS retroactively. If a store keeps using an email list collected over years without IMS, that list can no longer legally be used for marketing. You can't send an email or SMS asking for consent to an old list that isn't registered in IMS; Article 7/4 of the Commercial Communication Regulation explicitly prohibits this. Retroactive consent is collected with a separate consent checkbox when the customer logs in to your site, at checkout or in store, and is recorded in IMS within 3 business days. This costs you part of the list but removes the legal risk. If you want to connect your consented list to abandoned cart and repeat purchase flows, take a look at our email marketing and CRM automation service.
FAQ
Which businesses must have IMS integration? It is mandatory for all businesses that send marketing emails or SMS. If a Shopify store sends newsletters, campaign announcements or discount codes, it falls within the scope of IMS.
Can IMS and KVKK consent be collected with the same checkbox? It isn't recommended. The two serve different purposes; squeezing them into a single checkbox makes it unclear during an inspection which consent was given for which purpose.
Can I use my existing customer list without IMS? No, not for marketing communications. You need to run a retroactive consent campaign; even though you lose part of the list in the process, the legal risk goes away.
What happens if I send marketing emails without IMS consent? If the recipient complains, the Ministry of Trade can impose an administrative fine. This is a sanction that is inspected regularly and actually enforced.
Conclusion
Shopify IMS integration is a legal obligation specific to Turkey and separate from KVKK; it applies to every store that sends marketing communications. Setting up the right consent mechanism at checkout and moving the existing customer list into IMS retroactively are the two most critical steps in this process.
If you want to set up IMS consent at checkout separately from KVKK, take a look at our CompliTR app; if you want to set it up in one go together with your shipping, marketplace and accounting integrations, get in touch about our integration service.
