To date, email marketing remains one of the most powerful ecommerce digital marketing channels.
Email has open rates of about 20% and click-through rates of 2-3%, and it outperforms social media and online display advertising.
For companies, constructing a well-designed email marketing strategy for ecommerce is the key to driving more sales, more traffic and more subscriber growth.
In this article, we will elaborate on some of the best ecommerce email marketing strategies to put into practice for your business.
1. Welcome and onboarding emails
First impression is key, and this also applies to email marketing. It is critical to send customized welcome emails to new email subscribers and customers.
Integrating an email marketing API can help automate and personalize these messages for better engagement.
These automated messages aim to:
- Thank new subscribers for signing up
- Provide more information about your brand and products
- Offer them ways to engage, such as asking for email preferences or recommending products to those who have already made a purchase
Ecommerce email report data shows that welcome emails have the second-highest click-through rate.
This helps you direct new subscribers to most important pages like your online store’s home page.
Here are some ecommerce welcome email best practices:
- Send ASAP after sign up
- Address subscribers by first name
- Offer new subscriber discounts or coupons
- Recommend best-selling items or new arrivals
Following these tips will help increase open and click-through rates for your onboarding emails.
2. Abandoned cart emails
Abandoned carts and checkouts are the bane of every ecommerce retailer.
On average, over 60% of online shoppers abandon their carts without completing a purchase, according to Barilliance data.
Luckily, cart abandonment emails are an excellent way to recover many of these lost sales opportunities.
This email marketing automation engages shoppers who left their orders unfinished.
The goal is to provide an incentive, like a discount code or free shipping, to complete their purchase.
Retailers who use cart abandonment emails report recovering 10-15% of abandoned carts on average.
Here are some cart abandonment email best practices:
- Trigger emails immediately after the cart is left inactive
- Use personalized subject lines including first name
- Offer time-sensitive discounts or promotions
- Remind shoppers of items left behind and the total cart value
- Send no more than 2-3 reminders spaced a few days apart
Follow these tips, and you’ll be on your way to recovering more abandoned checkouts and driving incremental revenue.
3. Browse abandonment emails
Another type of automated email that re-targets lost opportunities is browse abandonment emails.
These messages engage visitors who recently browsed your website but didn’t add anything to their cart before leaving.
The goal of browse abandonment emails is to showcase products that the visitor previously showed interest in, reminding them to return and complete the purchase.
Effective browse abandonment email tactics include:
- Triggering emails within a few hours of website exit
- Showcasing 2-5 products the visitor recently viewed
- Offering small discounts or promos to incentivize purchase
- Being careful not to send too frequently to avoid annoyance
The boost in engagement and sales from browse abandonment demonstrates why they deserve a spot in every ecommerce email marketing strategy.
4. Customer re-engagement emails
It’s significantly easier to get earnings from existing customers compared to new ones.
Yet many retailers neglect marketing to past purchasers, allowing them to churn away or become inactive.
That’s why using customer re-engagement emails to win back lost customers is so valuable.
These messages target customers who haven’t purchased in a set period, for example, 60 to 90 days.
The goal is to offer an irresistible incentive that makes inactive customers want to visit and purchase again.
Some best practices for customer re-engagement include:
- Trigger emails based on a set number of days since last purchase
- Personalize content and offers by purchase history
- Offer enticing discounts or 24-hour flash sales
- Limit sends to prevent fatigue
The numbers don’t lie. Customer re-engagement emails should play a vital role in any ecommerce email strategy.
5. Customer retention emails
While winning back lost customers is important, retaining your current loyal ones is even more critical. This is where customer retention emails come into play.
These messages nurture relationships with existing customers to improve loyalty and increase lifetime value.
Rather than pushing promotions, retention emails focus on value-building content and helpful recommendations.
For example, a retailer might send an email showcasing new complementary products or trends related to a customer’s past purchases.
The goal isn’t direct profit but rather maintaining an ongoing dialogue.
Some customer retention email best practices include:
- Segmenting based on customer personas and behaviors
- Limiting promotional messaging to 20% of content or less
- Offering exclusive early access to new arrivals
- Seeking feedback and suggestions from loyal buyers
- Celebrating customer anniversaries or milestones
The long-term value driven by customer retention makes these relationship-building emails a must for ecommerce.
6. Email post-purchases
Closing the initial sale is important, but maximizing customer lifetime value is the broader objective. That’s where post-purchase emails come into play.
These automated e-commerce email marketing messages engage customers after they have completed a purchase.
The goal of post-purchase emails is to encourage repeat purchases, immediate cross-sells/upsells, and brand loyalty.
You can leverage timetoreply, a Zendesk alternative to automate this process and get better results for your ecommerce post-purchase email marketing campaigns.
For example, an ecommerce retailer might send a “Thank You” email including:
- Appreciation for the customer's business
- Links to leave a product review
- Recommendations for complementary or related products discount on their next exclusive order
Additional post-purchase email best practices include:
- Sending immediately after the transaction is processed
- Offering easy self-service support and returns
- Seeking product reviews and testimonials
- Surprising and delighting with small gifts like credits
Properly nurturing customers post-purchase is a proven driver of repeat sales and loyalty over the long term.
7. Holiday & events emails
Holidays, seasons, and cultural events offer lucrative opportunities for email marketing for ecommerce.
In fact, Deloitte forecasts holiday retail sales growing by up to 9% annually.
That’s why integrating holiday and event-based ecommerce email campaigns can deliver a nice boost.
These topical emails aim to capitalize on increased spending around events like:
- Valentine’s Day
- Mother’s Day
- Back to School
- Halloween
- Black Friday/Cyber Monday
- Christmas & Holidays
Event-based emails should spark urgency by promoting:
- Seasonal products like decor and gifts
- Limited-time sales and promotions
- Festive email design and tonality
Retailers executing holiday email campaigns effectively see significant lifts across key metrics:
- 20-30% increase in open rates
- Click-through rates doubling or even more
- Surging transaction rates and revenue per email
In addition to giving them sales and lag behind, holiday and events emails also help build momentum and mindshare heading busy retail seasons.
Ecommerce email marketing wrap-up
Email marketing is the highest-performing digital channel for ecommerce businesses to drive growth.
By implementing high-converting email campaigns for automation, segmentation, and personalization, retailers can exploit exceptional ROI.
The seven email marketing ecommerce strategies highlighted in this article serve as a blueprint for success:
- Welcome and Onboarding Emails
- Cart Abandonment Emails
- Browse Abandonment Emails
- Customer Re-Engagement Emails
- Customer Retention Emails
- Post-Purchase Emails
- Holiday & Event Emails
Each campaign engages the customer's life.
Taken together, these are the principles by which a complete e-commerce email marketing campaign should be built.
Now it’s time to begin planning and performing to create results.