{"id":98439,"date":"2026-10-02T20:28:32","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T20:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/glossary\/email-marketing-for-ecommerce\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T20:28:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T20:28:34","slug":"email-marketing-for-ecommerce","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/mailrelay.com\/en\/glossary\/email-marketing-for-ecommerce\/","title":{"rendered":"Email marketing for ecommerce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Email marketing for ecommerce is the use of email to help an online store make sales, recover carts and get its customers to buy again.<\/strong> It combines campaigns, such as the newsletter or promotions, with automated emails.<\/p>\n\n

The latter are sent automatically when the customer does something in the store.<\/p>\n\n

Think about what happens in your store every day. Someone subscribes, someone else adds products to the cart and leaves, a third person buys for the first time.<\/p>\n\n

Each of those moments is a sales opportunity. And email marketing for ecommerce is the channel that makes the most of it.<\/p>\n\n

It reaches a list that is yours and doesn’t depend on any algorithm.<\/p>\n\n

Why does email marketing work so well for an online store?<\/h2>\n\n

Because every email can be tied to a sale.<\/strong> You know who opens it, who clicks and who ends up buying, so you can calculate the ROI<\/a> of each send.<\/p>\n\n

It is also the channel that best recovers lost sales. According to the Baymard Institute, about 7 out of 10 carts are abandoned<\/strong> (70.22% on average across 50 studies).<\/p>\n\n

Almost half of those abandonments are due to extra costs, such as shipping or taxes.<\/p>\n\n

And it helps you sell more to people who have already bought. A repeat customer spends more and costs less to win than a new one, something measured with customer lifetime value<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

The 8 emails every online store should send<\/h2>\n\n
\"The<\/figure>\n\n

1. Welcome email<\/h3>\n\n

It is the first email a new subscriber receives and one of the most opened.<\/strong> Introduce yourself, explain what they will receive and, if you like, include a discount for their first purchase.<\/p>\n\n

You’ll find examples in our welcome email<\/a> entry.<\/p>\n\n

2. Abandoned cart<\/h3>\n\n

It is sent when someone leaves products in the cart without paying. Show the products, answer questions about shipping or returns and include a button to go back to the cart.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

It is explained step by step in our abandoned cart email<\/a> entry and in how to recover abandoned carts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

3. Order and shipping confirmation<\/h3>\n\n

These are transactional emails<\/a>: the customer expects them and almost always opens them.<\/p>\n\n

Confirm the order, let them know when it ships and add the tracking number. A link to related products doesn’t hurt here.<\/p>\n\n

4. Post-purchase and review request<\/h3>\n\n

A few days after delivery, ask whether everything went well and ask for a review. Reviews help you sell to the next customers<\/strong> and alert you to problems early.<\/p>\n\n

5. Recommendations and cross-selling<\/h3>\n\n

Suggest products that go with what they already bought: an accessory, a refill, the next size up. It is the basis of cross-selling<\/a> and upselling<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

6. Newsletter and promotions<\/h3>\n\n

They keep your store on the customer’s mind between purchases.<\/strong> New arrivals, seasons, how-to guides and offers.<\/p>\n\n

Learn how to create one in our guide to newsletters for ecommerce<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

7. Key calendar dates<\/h3>\n\n

Sales seasons, Black Friday<\/a>, Christmas or Mother’s Day account for a large share of the year’s sales.<\/p>\n\n

Prepare a short sequence: an advance notice, the day of the offer and a last reminder.<\/p>\n\n

8. Reactivating inactive customers<\/h3>\n\n

If someone hasn’t bought anything or opened your emails for months, send them a reactivation campaign<\/a> with an incentive.<\/p>\n\n

If they still don’t respond, remove them from your list: it improves your deliverability.<\/p>\n\n

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Automate your online store’s emails<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome, abandoned cart and post-purchase emails with the free account: up to 80,000 emails a month to 20,000 contacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Create a free account<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Which email to send at each moment<\/h2>\n\n

This table sums up when each email is triggered and what you want to achieve with it:<\/p>\n\n

Email<\/th>When it is sent<\/th>Goal<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Welcome<\/td>Right after subscribing<\/td>First purchase<\/td><\/tr>
Abandoned cart<\/td>1 to 24 hours after abandonment<\/td>Recover the sale<\/td><\/tr>
Confirmation and shipping<\/td>When the order is placed and when it ships<\/td>Trust and fewer inquiries<\/td><\/tr>
Post-purchase and review<\/td>5 to 10 days after delivery<\/td>Reviews and satisfaction<\/td><\/tr>
Recommendations<\/td>2 to 4 weeks after the purchase<\/td>Second purchase<\/td><\/tr>
Newsletter<\/td>Every week or every month<\/td>Brand awareness and traffic<\/td><\/tr>
Key dates<\/td>Before and during each campaign<\/td>Sales peaks<\/td><\/tr>
Reactivation<\/td>3 to 6 months without activity<\/td>Win the customer back or clean the list<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

These are guidelines. Adjust the timing to your purchase cycle: a coffee shop is not the same as a furniture store.<\/p>\n\n

How to automate your store’s email marketing<\/h2>\n\n

In email marketing for ecommerce, most emails are written once and run on their own.<\/strong> The key is to connect your store to your email tool so it knows who buys, what they buy and who abandons their cart.<\/p>\n\n

Start with three automations: welcome, abandoned cart and post-purchase. They cover the moments with the highest purchase intent.<\/p>\n\n

Once they’re working, you can build longer sequences with drip email marketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Then use segmentation<\/a> so you don’t send the same thing to everyone. Separate people who have never bought from regular customers, or group them by product category.<\/p>\n\n

The RFM<\/a> model helps you rank your customers by how recent, frequent and profitable they are.<\/p>\n\n

And don’t forget permission. Capture subscribers with a pop-up<\/a> or a subscription form<\/a> with double opt-in<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

In Spain, the LSSI allows you to email your customers about products similar to the ones they bought, as long as they can unsubscribe.<\/p>\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n

What to measure in ecommerce email marketing<\/h2>\n\n

In an online store’s email marketing, the metric that matters most is sales, not opens.<\/strong> Measure revenue per campaign and per automation, and compare it with what it costs you to send them.<\/p>\n\n

Then look at the conversion rate<\/a>, the average order value<\/a> and the cart recovery rate.<\/p>\n\n

Opens and clicks help you improve subject lines and designs. If you can’t decide between two versions, run an A\/B test<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

How Mailrelay helps with your online store’s email marketing<\/h2>\n\n

With the free Mailrelay<\/a> account you can send up to 80,000 emails a month to 20,000 contacts<\/strong>. For many small stores, that covers the newsletter, promotions and automations without paying.<\/p>\n\n

If your store runs on WooCommerce<\/a>, the official Mailrelay plugin for WordPress syncs customers, products and carts since version 3.0.<\/p>\n\n

With that data, you can automate the abandoned cart email. For other platforms, you can use the API or the Make integration.<\/p>\n\n

You get hundreds of email marketing templates<\/a>, an AI-powered editor, segmentation, A\/B testing and reports with click maps.<\/p>\n\n

Plus chat, ticket and phone support on every plan.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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Sell more with your ecommerce email marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Templates, automations and segmentation, with chat, phone and ticket support on every plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Try Mailrelay for free<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Frequently asked questions about email marketing for ecommerce<\/h2>\n\n

These are the most common questions about email marketing for ecommerce.<\/p>\n\n

What emails should an online store send?<\/h3>\n\n

At a minimum, welcome, abandoned cart, order confirmation and post-purchase emails. Then you can add a newsletter, recommendations, key dates and reactivation.<\/p>\n\n

How many emails should an abandoned cart sequence have?<\/h3>\n\n

One to three is usually enough. The first one a few hours later; the second one the next day; the third one with an incentive if your margin allows it.<\/p>\n\n

How often should an ecommerce store send a newsletter?<\/h3>\n\n

It depends on how much news you have. Once a week or every two weeks works for most stores. What matters is keeping a steady pace.<\/p>\n\n

Can I email my customers without asking for their permission?<\/h3>\n\n

Yes, if you offer them products similar to the ones they bought and they can unsubscribe from every email. For all other contacts, you need their prior consent.<\/p>\n\n

What is the difference between email marketing and transactional email in ecommerce?<\/h3>\n\n

Email marketing aims to sell or build loyalty, like a newsletter or a promotion. Transactional email responds to a customer action, like an order confirmation.<\/p>\n\n

Related entries<\/h2>\n\n