Ecommerce Guide to Email Marketing

Email marketing remains one of the highest-converting channels for ecommerce brands, delivering an average ROI of $42 for every $1 spent, according to the American Marketing Association. Yet, many brands struggle to maximize their email potential. Whether it’s failing to personalize, segment, or automate effectively, ecommerce brands lose revenue without a robust email marketing strategy.

Why Email Marketing is Essential for Ecommerce

Unlike social media or paid ads, email marketing gives brands direct access to their audience. It fosters deeper relationships, increases retention, and ultimately drives more revenue. According to Klaviyo, targeted email campaigns can increase revenue by up to 30%, making it one of the most effective digital marketing tools available.

With data-driven automation and personalization, email marketing allows brands to engage customers at every stage of their journey—from welcome emails to post-purchase follow-ups. Done well, it turns one-time shoppers into loyal brand advocates.

Common Pain Points in Ecommerce Email Marketing (And How to Fix Them)

Even with the potential of email marketing, many brands struggle with key challenges that hinder success.

1. Low Open Rates

If customers aren’t opening your emails, they aren’t converting. According to Shopify, the average ecommerce email open rate hovers around 20%. Factors like poor subject lines, sending at the wrong time, or a lack of personalization can all contribute.

Solution: A/B test subject lines, use segmentation to send targeted messages, and optimize send times based on engagement data.

2. High Cart Abandonment Rates

70% of ecommerce shoppers abandon their carts before completing a purchase, according to Baymard Institute. If you’re not sending abandoned cart emails, you’re missing out on major revenue.

Solution: Implement automated cart abandonment sequences using Klaviyo’s integration with Shopify to recover lost sales. These emails should remind customers of their items, highlight product benefits, and create urgency with limited-time offers.

3. Lack of Personalization

Generic, one-size-fits-all emails lead to low engagement and high unsubscribe rates. Your personalization is also generic of you're just sending subject lines with [Name]. Personalization can be creative!

Solution: Use personalization tokens and dynamic content based on browsing behavior, past purchases, and customer preferences. Segment your audience based on demographics, behavior, and purchase history to deliver highly relevant content.

How Shopify and Klaviyo Work Together

For ecommerce brands, Shopify and Klaviyo form a powerful duo. Shopify acts as the storefront, while Klaviyo provides advanced email marketing automation. Here’s how they integrate seamlessly:

Customer Data Sync: Shopify automatically sends customer and order data to Klaviyo, allowing for real-time segmentation and personalization.

Abandoned Cart Emails: Klaviyo detects abandoned carts and triggers automated email sequences to re-engage shoppers.

Behavior-Based Automation: Track browsing behavior, purchase history, and engagement to send highly targeted campaigns.

Revenue Attribution: Klaviyo provides detailed analytics on which emails generate the most sales, helping brands optimize their strategy.

Post-Purchase Engagement: Follow up with customers using Klaviyo’s automated flows to upsell, request reviews, and strengthen brand loyalty.

Use Personalization Tokens for More Effective Emails

As we mentioned before, personalization goes beyond using a first name in your email or subject line. Klaviyo’s personalization tokens let you tailor email content dynamically - here's a short list of common personalization tokens:

Customer’s First Name: “Hey [First Name], check out these picks just for you!”

Recent Purchases: “Love your new [Product]? Here’s how to style it!”

Browsing History: “Still thinking about [Product]? It’s almost gone!”

Location-Based Offers: “Exclusive deals for customers in [City]!”

Loyalty Milestones: “Happy one-year anniversary! Here’s a special gift to celebrate.”

Building an Ecommerce Email Strategy That Works

A strong email strategy includes a mix of promotional, educational, and engagement-driven emails. Here’s what every ecommerce brand should have:

1. Welcome Series

Your first email sets the tone for your brand. Use it to introduce your story, highlight best-selling products, and offer a discount.

2. Abandoned Cart Emails

Recover lost sales with a three-email sequence reminding customers of their cart, offering social proof, and adding urgency.

3. Post-Purchase Nurture

Strengthen relationships with thank-you emails, product care tips, personalized recommendations and upsell/cross sell products, and review requests.

4. Re-engagement Campaigns

Win back inactive subscribers with personalized incentives and surveys to understand their needs. This flow will also help you keep your contact list scrubbed of unengaged contacts.

5. Holiday & Promotional Campaigns

Capitalize on peak shopping seasons with well-timed promotions and exclusive offers tailored to customer preferences.

Email marketing is a non-negotiable strategy for ecommerce. Success requires strategy, automation, and personalization - things that small marketing teams may struggle with maintaining.

At Visceral Ore, we take the time commitment and frustration out of email marketing. From strategy to execution, we help ecommerce brands create high-converting campaigns that drive real results. Our all-inclusive service means you get the expertise of an entire marketing department without the overhead.