18 e-commerce email marketing examples to help you get more sales (with tips)

So should you really add an e-commerce email marketing strategy to your daily to-dos?

You know the answer!

Email marketing campaigns can be personalized and automated to perfectly fit the customer’s journey. Building long-term relationships using email is key because existing customers are easier to sell to than new customers.

In this email marketing strategy guide for e-commerce, you’ll learn which email campaigns you should send at each stage of the customer journey. We’ll include templates, integrations, and marketing automation ideas so you can get the most out of email!

E-commerce email marketing is an effective marketing strategy that uses email to nurture customer loyalty and generate repeat sales for your online store.

Email marketing for e-commerce can be low maintenance like sending out a weekly newsletter to keep your subscribers up-to-date on your latest products. Or, you can go big and create multiple automated email sequences that work together to build relationships and develop long-term, loyal customers.

It’s no secret that email marketing is the most effective marketing channel when it comes to your bottom line: Email marketing has an average ROI of 3,800%.

That means that for every dollar you spend on email marketing, you get $38 back. 18% of companies make as much as $70 per dollar spent. Heck, even the lowest-performing companies get a 500% return on their investment. With so many ESPs (cough, like MailerLite, cough) offering free plans to get you started, there really is nothing to lose—and so much to gain!

Need more convincing? Check out the latest e-commerce email marketing stats:

• Welcome emails pump engagement up by 500%

• Nearly 6 out of 10 email subscribers are persuaded to make purchases by email marketing. 50.7% buy something at least once a month, 23.8% several times per month, and 3% more than once a week!

• Email has higher open and click-through rates compared to social

Would you ask someone on a date before knowing their name? Hopefully not! You want to learn more about them and build interest before you go in for the sales pitch. And it’s worth the extra effort, because studies show that 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience. This fact shows that now more than ever, it’s important for e-commerce to put customers in focus and offer the most seamless and personal shopping experience possible.

The best way to ensure a smooth experience is by turning your sales funnel into an e-commerce email marketing automation. For every step the customer takes in their journey, you’ll be there to sweep them into the next phase with flawless execution.

Each customer journey can be divided into 4 main phases:

1. Awareness

2. Consideration

3. Decision

4. Follow-up

Read on to see examples of emails for each stage of the customer journey that you can use to inspire your own e-commerce email marketing automations.

The awareness stage represents the first time your customer “walks” into your shop and gets familiar with your products or services. In email marketing, these are all the people who visited your website and signed up for your e-commerce email list.

These types of emails are the first contact between you and your new virtual pal. Introduce yourself, share some fun facts, be helpful and don’t forget to ask questions so it’s not all about you.

Ideal e-commerce emails for starting to build a relationship with new subscribers include:

1. Welcome emails

2. “Getting to know our brand” emails

3. “Getting to know you (our customers)” emails

1. Welcome emails for your e-commerce business

Welcome emails are automated, meaning they can be sent directly after someone signs up for your email list. This way, you don’t need to keep track of who signs up and when. Your email tool will take care of it and personalize the experience.

Need inspiration? Take a look at these  11 welcome email templates fit for e-commerce.

We love this example from LALALAB. In their welcome email, they talk to their audience in a personal manner, making you instantly feel connected to the brand. They also let subscribers know how to get in touch with them in case there are any questions, and where to find them elsewhere on the Internet.

We also love the welcome discount email from RuMe. The copy and use of colors feel inviting and bright. The newsletter quickly sums up why their bags matter, what’s new, and where else on the web you can stay in touch with them.

2. “Get to know our brand” emails

What does your brand stand for? What values make you unique?

Each brand has its own story—from what problems are solved when shopping their product or service to funny anecdotes from the early startup period. These insights are what customers are attracted to.

At MailerLite, we love to explore the world and build a product that people love. Our team is hyped about the work we do and the lives we live. This becomes clear on our About page. In 2019 we wanted to highlight that fact to our subscribers by introducing them to the faces behind the product. As a result, our email software became a lot more personal.

Sunglasses brand WearPanda also has an awesome welcome email. From the sender email address (“zookeeper@wearpanda.com”) to the quiz and company facts, the entire welcome email is completely on point.

3. "Getting to know you” emails

It’s never too soon to show interest and ask questions. Treat your email campaigns as a means to start conversations.

With email surveys, you can ask your audience questions and get to know them. This shows you care for their needs and gives you plenty of feedback to continuously improve your brand, service or product assortment.

Once you’ve collected more information, you can segment email subscribers based on interests, demographics or whatever information is valuable to craft more personalized emails.

These segments are then used to give unique product recommendations, style inspiration and advice. It's all about personalization for each and every subscriber!

Take your dialogue with subscribers to another level and learn how to personalize your email marketing.

Rituals cleverly uses a surprise birthday gift as an incentive for subscribers to share their birthday.

MeUndies engages with its customers to celebrate the fact they’ve sold 10 million pairs of underwear. The customer call-to-action (CTA) in the email is to join the conversation and share how many pairs they personally own.

This is a clever example of how a CTA seamlessly compels a MeUndies customer to take a particular course of action. Learn how to create a CTA that works and implement those practices into your next newsletter.

In the consideration phase, customers gather information about the different products or services they've found. The email campaigns sent in this phase should highlight the benefits of your offer, build trust, and convince the reader that you have the best solution for them.

Types of emails to send during the consideration phase include:

1. Social proof emails

2. Unique selling point (USP) emails

3. Highly engaging conversational emails

1. Building trust with social proof

When someone asks where to go for dinner, very rarely do we just walk into a random street and pick the next best restaurant. We Google, we Yelp, we Foursquare. Or ask our real-life friends for recommendations.

Reviews guide us through the modern-day choices overload. Which is why they’re a key factor in building trust.

This is how makeup brand, Tarte Cosmetics, uses reviews in their e-commerce emails:

2. Showcasing your unique selling point (USP)

There are many online shops out there, and you want to stand out from the crowd to earn their attention.

Showcase your best products, make customers aware of the benefits and explain why your offer is the best one on the market. This can be done with text, images and interactive elements such as video.

Feeling stuck when it comes to email design? Learn how to design emails people will read.

We really enjoy the approach the brand Minted takes in its email newsletters. As a reader, you get to know the artists and feel like you’re buying a unique piece that supports the individual behind it.

We were also mesmerized by this email from Vrai & Oro. The subtle glittery details and fun take on their CTA buttons stood out from the average e-commerce newsletters we come across.

3. Engaging in conversations

Also in the consideration phase, it’s important to keep the conversation going. Involve the reader by letting them participate in quizzes, surveys, contests and more.

A big trend among fashion e-commerce businesses nowadays is to show outfits on real customers. Subscribers love this because it gives them a much better idea of how it would look on their own bodies. Give it a go by embedding Instagram posts into your newsletters!

Furthermore, readers love seeing themselves being featured in an email newsletter from a brand they like. It’s easy content for you to generate and build a community around your brand.

Leverage social media to your advantage and read more in this guide on how to make email marketing and social media work together for good.

Our customer Highway 3 does a great job of evolving customers by prompting them to send in their own beach pictures.

Yes, it does take a while, but in the decision phase you may bring out your sales pitch. Ease newsletter readers into purchasing from you by offering a trial, discount or free shipping first.

Emails to send during the decision phase include:

1. Trial period offers

2. Discounts and promotions

3. Abandoned cart emails

1. Trial period offers

Sometimes your product needs to speak for itself and people need to experience it before they can fully commit. What we're seeing nowadays is that a lot of websites offer extended trial periods.

For example, users can experience Skillshare for 2 months free of charge, and at THINX, customers can try the underwear for two cycles. You'll want a win-back campaign to reinvigorate interest in your brand after the trial period lapses.

If you're confident about your product, a long trial period is a great way to introduce it to potential customers. On their end, it's low-risk and for you, it's a great opportunity to show that your product is worth it.

2. Discounts and promotions

Whether you want to offer discounts is up to you, but it can help when your number of e-commerce sales needs a boost. Seeing a special discount or promotion in the subject line can increase sales and create a sense of urgency for readers.

Let's take a look at this email newsletter from the clothing brand Wear South Africa. For Black Friday, they let us know in their email subject that they’re offering up to 80% discounts on their beautiful, colorful clothing.

Another example comes from our customer, clothing shop Grins & Grace. They got creative by hosting a virtual quarantine party! Throughout the entire day, customers could enjoy discounts on different items.

3. Abandoned cart emails

Are webshop visitors lurking around your shop but not completing their purchase during the checkout? Boost your conversion rates by following up with a cart abandonment email for the shopping cart they left behind!

Take a look at this example from FREYRS Eyewear. They show you exactly what you left behind and provide a clear CTA so you can seamlessly navigate from the email straight to the checkout.

Once a purchase is made, you can send a transactional email confirming the order.

Did you know that existing customers are 50% more likely to try new products and spend 31% more?

That’s why you want to keep your current customers around. Your post-purchase email sequence should be spot on, so repeat customers feel appealed to continue the e-romance.

Luckily, there are plenty of e-commerce email marketing campaigns you can send post-conversion. Our favorites include:

1. Feedback emails

2. Upselling and cross-selling emails

3. Re-engagement emails

1. Feedback emails

Customer feedback is the holy grail of e-commerce email marketing. You can use product reviews to gather feedback and persuade new customers to get their wallets out. Which is why you should ask for feedback or reviews after every purchase.

Use survey blocks to embed questions directly into the email. Customers can write their answers in the email without needing to leave the inbox.

This is how Amazon gathers customer feedback after each order.

2. Upselling and cross-selling emails

If a customer already showed interest in one product, it’s very likely they’ll also love other items in your online shop—may it be accessories to pair the item with or other products that fit well.

You can promote separate products, as well as promotional bundles that save the customer money. Up-sell and cross-sell wherever you can!

A good example of upselling is this one by Dollar Shave Club—it’s fun, easy to read and offers a clear CTA.

3. Re-engagement emails

You might wake up one day, look at your email stats and feel like Lionel Richie the day he wrote “Hello.”

Cheer up. Your open rates might have dropped and your click-through rates may be dismal, but a re-engagement email campaign can save the day. It's worthwhile segmenting readers who haven’t opened your emails in a while into one group and then sending them an email asking for a second chance.

You can offer to take them off your email list if they don’t click a link saying they’re still interested within a certain time frame. This will shrink your subscriber list, but that’s only a good thing. You’re much better off sending your email campaigns to people that want to hear from you, versus trying to talk to people that don’t care.

Personally, we loved seeing this re-engagement email campaign from our customer The PUR Company. Their sticker GIF makes it extra personal!

In the competitive world of e-commerce email marketing, an effective strategy is the ace in the hole you need to drive sales and customer engagement. Optimize your email strategy by following 3 basic steps: 

1. Build an email list for email marketing

Building an email list is crucial for nurturing relationships with potential customers and increasing sales in the e-commerce space. Here are a few effective ways to collect email subscribers for your e-commerce store:

• Offer lead magnets: Offer something of value in exchange for the visitor's email address. This could be a discount code, a free guide related to your products, a giveaway, or exclusive access to sales or new product launches.

• Provide a welcome discount: Add a pop-up form to your website that says something like, "Get 10% off your first order! Sign up for our newsletter to receive the discount code."

• Opt-in at checkout: Incorporate an email subscription option into your store's checkout process that says something like "Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive deals and updates."

• Write blog posts: Depending on your business, blog posts can be a great way to show off the extra value that you can expect from a newsletter. Add signup forms to blog posts offering exclusive tips and tricks.

• Run a competition or giveaway: Promote a giveaway or competition on social media that requires applicants to sign up for your newsletter and share the giveaway details on their own platforms. It’s a great way to spread the word if you have a small audience.

• Social media and paid advertising: Consider running paid advertising campaigns on platforms like Facebook or Instagram with the primary goal of building your email list. Combine this with a lead magnet and utilize lead ads, which are designed to capture email addresses directly within the platform.

Want to learn how to build a high-quality email list from scratch? Check out this ultimate guide!

2. Offer exciting content

“Sign up to stay up to date with the latest news.” Yawn!

You can do better than that!

With so many e-commerce newsletters available, what will you offer that makes you stand out from the competition?

Your newsletter doesn’t have to exist solely to communicate sales periods and new launches. On the contrary, this is your chance to build your brand and invest in forming amazing relationships with customers.

Tell stories and provide real value for customers. Treat email marketing as part of your e-commerce marketing strategy.

Many e-commerce emails do this already.

Instead of purely focusing on product sales, they actively build a following by telling stories around their brand. They educate their audiences with informative blog articles, entertain with online magazines, inspire with trend reports, and engage by putting the spotlight on their readers.

Not sure how to go about putting together compelling newsletter content? Never fear, we've another guide on how to put together actual email content that people care about.

3. Integrate with e-commerce integrations for a seamless workflow

The beauty of email marketing is that you can reach all your customers simultaneously, without putting in a lot of work. Webshop integrations and templates are key for making this happen.

By using an e-commerce integration, you can connect your store to your email marketing.

All your customer information and purchase history data will be automatically synced, making it easy for you to maintain an up-to-date address book.

With this customer information, you’re also able to send targeted campaigns based on your customer’s needs.

4. Use templates to minimize manual work

Most email service providers offer ready-made templates to copy, adapt and use for your own e-commerce newsletter. This is a great foundation to start with, as you only need to tweak the colors, images and text. At MailerLite we have a whole range of templates suited for various industries and occasions.

Need inspiration for more types of e-commerce emails you can send to keep your subscribers engaged? Here are some extra ideas you can add to your email arsenal:

• Birthday emails: A birthday email is quick to set up when you use email software and set automatically when your subscriber’s date of birth is known. As an incentive, you can treat the reader by offering a present, free shipping, discount voucher, sample, or anything else your target audience might enjoy.

• Celebration emails: Celebrations that come with bank holidays give everyone a reason to smile. Join in these holidays with a celebration campaign! You could announce a one-day sale, or share historical facts about the holiday itself.

• Referral emails: The more people involved, the better the party! Why not ask your existing customers to share your brand with their friends and the cool kids from down the block? A referral program can help spread the word. You can start your word-of-mouth movement by offering something in return.

• VIP emails: If you’re a smart e-commerce email marketer, you want to root for a loyalty program. According to research done by Nielsen, "67% of customers agree that they shop more frequently and spend more at retailers with a loyalty program." You can tie this program to exclusive event invitations, sale sneak peeks, first access to new products, and member-only discounts and surprises.
  

We covered a lot, didn’t we? Now it’s up to you to set up your automated sequences and create e-commerce email campaigns based on your customer’s journey.

The key to building relationships with subscribers and transforming them into happy repeat customers—show them you truly care about them.

You have all the tools you need, it's time to put them to the test!