15 Effective Email Marketing Campaigns for Ecommerce Store

According to Neilsen Norman Group, most website visitors will leave your site within the first 10-20 seconds if you don’t have a great value proposition. 

And even if you have a great product and an exciting value proposition, the average user will stay for 4-5 minutes before they are off to your competitor’s website. That means you must have a great hook and engagement strategy that captures attention and converts them into followers in a world with an increasing attention deficit. 

In this blog post, you’ll learn the basics of building a powerful ecommerce email marketing strategy to hook, engage, and convert visitors into existing customers. Let’s start by learning what ecommerce email marketing is!

What is Ecommerce Email Marketing?

There are more than 12 million ecommerce websites globally. It’s quite a competition out there. 

Naturally, you need something to convince people to buy from you. Nowadays, you can’t simply rely on TikTok and other social media alone. And email marketing constantly proves to be a viable alternative in this scenario.

According to the latest ecommerce email marketing statistics, welcome, abandoned cart emails, and personalization can skyrocket customer engagement and conversion rates. In fact, you can: 

• Experience an increase in user engagement by up to 500% with welcome emails; 
• Register an open rate of up to 40% and a clickthrough rate of 29% when you schedule abandoned cart email campaigns; 
• Consistently improve your open rates by up to 20% when focusing on ecommerce personalization;
• Possibly influence 59% of consumers’ purchase decisions;
• Expect an average of $36 ROI (return on investment) for every $1 you spend on email marketing.

Email marketing is the way to go if you want to make your ecommerce business profitable. The reasons vary from being able to nurture leads personally to hyper-targeting using customer segmentation and more.

You’d think that ecommerce email marketing should be complicated since it’s so beneficial. The truth is, it can be super simple, especially with features that most ecommerce email marketing tools offer.

Now that you know the ‘why’ behind launching your first campaign, let’s look at a few campaign types and ecommerce email ideas you can plan quickly when starting an online business. 

15 Ecommerce Email Marketing Examples

Ecommerce emails come in all shapes and forms, from ecommerce transactional emails and automated email campaigns to ecommerce email sequences. Let’s look at the most popular ecommerce email examples from successful brands:

Welcome Email Template

Welcome emails are a great way to start a relationship on the right foot. Think of it as a chance to create a solid first impression. Think of welcome emails as a part of your user onboarding process that will compel them to try you out. Take the following email by Tea Collection, for example: 

Notice the vibrant color theme with a discount coupon highlighted right on top. This tells that the brand cares about the new signup and wants them to try the product. The subject line (Welcome to Tea! Get 20% off) and preheater text is equally compelling. 

Key Takeaways

• Use a vibrant and inviting color theme; 
• Offer value upfront (discount offers, exclusive deals, or downloadable); 
• Showcase your offerings in your welcome email. 

Abandoned Cart Emails 

People live busy (and distracted) life and sometimes forget to check out because of the Insta notification or an important call. Your abandonment cart emails should remind them to check out. Take this engaging email example by Varley: 

The email’s subject line – ‘Quick, before it’s gone is an excellent example of creating a FOMO + urgency effect all at once. The simplistic email design with an exclusive offer and an option to talk to customer care are definitely impactful. 

Key Takeaways

• Use urgency to your advantage; 
• Keep the email design simple with a spotlight on abandoned products; 
• Give the option to connect with customer care in case of queries; 
• Share your exclusive deal or offer in case they want to come back and buy from you. 

Order Confirmation Emails

Order confirmation emails reassure the customer that everything’s okay – they are sent straight after the order is placed. These emails are a great way to create an impression that you pay attention to detail and set expectations correctly. Look at the following order confirmation email from Harry’s: 

The subject line (‘Introducing your shave plan’) and the header are good examples of how you should introduce things to your buyers. The email also has shipping details and a special ‘tutorial-type’ blog to ensure the product lasts longer. 

Key Takeaways

• Be direct and clear about order number, shipping dates, and key information; 
• Introduce them to other offerings (or upsell) within your order confirmation email; 
• Use a simple yet powerful subject line. 

Shipping Confirmation Email

Another step in reassuring customers that everything is going great is shipping confirmation emails sent when the order is already underway. Usually, these emails inform the customer when they can expect their shipment and remind them of the order details. Take a look at the example from Haoma:

The brand manages to nicely fit all the order information in a single email: the shipment details, tracking link, and what’s included in the order. The receiver understands what it is about in a single glance and can track their order in real-time.

Key Takeaways

• Be straightforward with your subject line – “A shipment from order #XXX is on the way” is perfect; 
• Remind the subscriber about the order contents to avoid any misdirections; 
• If possible, include a live tracking link so the reader can stay updated on the delivery progress 

Delivery Confirmation Email

The third-in-line email after an order has been placed is a delivery confirmation email informing the customers that their orders have been successfully delivered. While not necessary (most of the time, the customer already knows as they have the order in their hands), it can still be valuable. 

The customer may not have gotten the delivery and should have looked around it. Or they have complaints about the order and need to know whom to contact. It’s precisely what Laird had in mind when they created its email:

Laird’s email begins on a high note – it’s time to be happy as your order has been delivered! However, it has other important components too – informing the customers that they should go looking for their parcel if they haven’t actually received it and contact information if they don’t find it. 

Key Takeaways

• Inform that the email is about successful delivery already in the subject line; 
• Include all the order details the customer could possibly need; 
• Give contact details in case something went wrong with the order. 

Review Request Email

Once 1-2 weeks after order delivery has passed, don’t miss out on an opportunity to get to know how the customer liked the product – send them a review request email. 

These emails provide invaluable information on how you can improve your products or what customers liked in your productions that others could too. Here’s a good example of a review request email from Evergreen Juices:

Evergreen Juices sends its review request two weeks after the order has been delivered—the right time when a person has already tried the products and can tell about their benefits (or lack thereof). 

This particular email stands out because the brand refers to trying out the products as becoming a part of a wellness community and asking to review the experience rather than the product.

Key Takeaways

• Ask for the review when the experience is still fresh in the customer’s mind; 
• Thank for buying from you so that the customer would be more willing to leave a review; 
• Make the CTA clear and stand out so even the readers who usually skim the email will see it. 

Re-Engagement Emails

No matter how good you’re at emails and creating a solid value proposition, some subscribers would stop buying from you, not open your emails, or engage with you after a point. It’s when special ecommerce email marketing campaigns come into play – re-engagement emails.

Here’s a re-engagement emailer from Netflix: 

The email tries to lure inactive users into subscribing to the paid plan of Netflix. The header – Let’s reunite, along with an inline form to rejoin, is an excellent attempt at reducing the number of steps it takes to return. 

Key Takeaways

• Make it easy for customers to come back to your brand; 
• Remind them about the reason why they loved you in the first place; 
• Try to create an interactive emailer, which simplifies conversion into an active subscriber. 

Cross-Selling/Upselling Emails

Upsell and cross-sell emails are a great way to increase customer lifetime value and boost customer loyalty. These emails are sent after a purchase is made and, as the name suggests, upsells or cross-sells something.

Upsell emails try to persuade users to buy a more expensive or premium version of the product they have already purchased. In the meantime, cross-sell emails offer related or complementary products based on customers’ recent purchases. 

For example, if a person bought a laptop, they might receive an email promoting a more powerful computer or a cross-sell email offering laptop accessories like a mouse and headphones. 

Take a look at the cross-sell email email by Timberland: 

The email opens on a relatable note and shares what can be exciting for the user. It’s contextualized based on recent purchases and shares complementary products that might be relevant for the recipient. 

Key Takeaways 

• Always share personalized shopping recommendations within cross-selling and upselling emails;
• Follow up with cross-sell or upsell recommendations within 1-2 weeks to capitalize on the positive experience with previously purchased products; 
• Provide an incentive or discount coupon, if possible. 

Win-Back Emails

Win-back emails are an attempt to bring attention back to your brand. Most consumers forget about your brand after a while. A win-back campaign helps remind them about you and is a great chance to register repeat sales. Take the example of this win-back email by Sunbasket: 

The email copy with a subtle tone of ‘nostalgia’ and ‘craving’ is on-point. The header ‘cook with us again’ aims to remind the reader about the joy of using the brand’s product. The exclusive offer with a contextual is an excellent attempt at encouraging the user to click the link. 

Key Takeaways

• Remind them about the reason why they signed up in the first place; 
• Add an exclusive or no-brainer offer to come back; 
• Use contextual CTAs and email copy to encourage clicks. 

If you’re interested in more win-back email campaigns, check out these 10 We Miss You email template examples & subject lines.

Feedback/Survey Emails

Surveys are a great market research tool to know what your customers want. And what’s a better way to know what they want than asking them directly? Survey emails are meant to gather insights, like the following email by ryka: 

The email is refreshing, thoughtful, and on-point. It also shares a special incentive – $10 off on the next purchase for everyone who completes the survey. 

Key Takeaways

• Incentivize survey responses by sending a discount voucher or coupon code to successful respondents; 
• Be clear and upfront about what the survey is about; 
• Have an engaging email copy + CTA to encourage readers to participate in the survey. 

Discount Email Template

Discount emails are promotional emails where you share information about your ecommerce store’s latest sales or discounts. Look at the following example by Nine West: 

The email headline and subject line’s reference to a limited-period mystery sale creates a FOMO appeal. The straightforward CTAs with contextual email copy encourage users to check out the deals on the website. 

Key Takeaways

• Add a FOMO appeal to your subject line and email header; 
• Use smart copywriting to persuade users to click your CTAs; 
• Share ‘exact’ discounts or deal offers within the emails; 
• Add terms and conditions, if any, within the footer of the email. 

Also read: 10 Flash Sale Email Examples

Thank You Email

Your customers are the greatest in the world and deserve appreciation. Show it by sending them a thank you email. Whether after placing an order, leaving a review, becoming a loyal customer, or just because, the receivers of a warm ‘thank you’ will feel seen and valued. 

Don’t tell us you wouldn’t wish to get this email from Wonder Valley:

Wonder Valley didn’t need any special occasion to send its thank you email. The brand simply wanted to thank its customers for supporting their business (and continue to do so). It turned out to be an excellent way to make the customers feel that their choice was right and to remind them about the benefits of the brand’s products.

Key Takeaways

• Be clear on why you’re thanking your customers; 
• Use a thank you email as an opportunity to ensure that customers were right for choosing your products; 
• Dedicate the ‘thank you’ from a real person to make it more genuine;
• Add an incentive like a discount or offer to motivate customer retention.

Recommended Products Email

Ever get those emails saying, ‘Hey, we found more things you might like’? Those are product recommendation emails that work wonders to lure customers back. They look at what a customer bought before and what they’re into, then suggest other stuff they might like. That’s why they usually reach the inbox right after a purchase – to keep the customer hooked!

Here’s a great example from Skillshare:

Skillshare frequently suggests new courses tailored to each user’s interests to ensure ongoing engagement and subscription renewals. Yet, a simple but effective approach sets their recommendation emails apart – they provide insight into why these particular courses are highlighted.

By stating, ‘Because you’re creative,’ they pique the reader’s curiosity even further.

Key Takeaways

• Use data on customer’s previous purchases and shown interest to recommend the products; 
• Explain why these particular products are recommended; 
• Add a separate CTA next to each product so customers can access it more easily.

Back-in-Stock Email

As the name suggests, these emails are sent when a product is restocked. However, there’s more to them than meets the eye. The message “back in stock” signals your customers that it’s a popular product they should get their hands on quickly (why else would it have been sold out?).

Athletic Brewing knows how to do these types of emails right:

By cleverly revealing that its product has been restocked due to popular demand, the brand sparks curiosity about why it sold out initially, creating a sense of intrigue and urgency to try it. 

Moreover, the brand takes the opportunity to highlight the product’s key features and benefits, reinforcing the customer’s desire to purchase. This strategic approach not only rekindles interest but also effectively communicates the product’s value proposition, making it a highly effective ‘back-in-stock’ email.

Key Takeaways

• Explain why the product is restocked beyond that it was sold out; 
• Repeat the features and benefits of the product; 
• Create a sense of urgency, mentioning that it might be out of stock again soon.

Replenishment Email

When it’s time to restock beauty or cleaning supplies, your customers might get a friendly nudge from you through a replenishment email. These emails are set up to automatically ping your audience when it looks like they’re running low or might need a refill soon. 

Usually, these emails are well-perceived as they work as gentle reminders to get more of one’s preferred products. Knowing this, Dollar Shave Club has mastered replenishment emails:

By sending a ‘time to restock’ email, Dollar Shave Club secures the sale and prevents customers from purchasing elsewhere. They take it further by reminding recipients of the product’s original benefits that initially persuaded them to buy.

Key Takeaways

• Use data to determine the best time to send the replenishment email; 
• Personalize the email for a bigger impact; 
• Make reordering of the product as easy as possible;
• Remind the product’s benefits, proving it’s a viable repeat purchase.

Ecommerce Email Marketing: Key Takeaways

Also read:

• 9 Elements of a 2023 Ecommerce Content Marketing Strategy
• 16 Ecommerce Newsletter Examples