3 Best Email Automation Strategies For eCommerce: Campaigns That Convert Like Crazy

November 7, 2024

Allow us to introduce you to three of the best email automation strategies for eCommerce brands that will have your customers wondering how you know them so well.

To be clear and to the point: email automation is not about forcing conversions.

But, by implementing these foolproof flows, we’ve been able to generate over $10 million in revenue for our clients. 

Conversion is king, no doubt, but the email automation cycle is intricate. To fully master the process of long-term customer-generating conversions, requires a certain level of restraint plus a sprinkle of care and attention. 

For example, checking in on your customers after the delivery to ensure that the order process went smoothly for them.

But there’s a little more to it that that. So, let’s get into it!

Person building emails
Email automations are perfect for developing your customer relationships. Image from Pexels

What Are the 3 Best Email Automations for eCommerce Brands?

The perfect email flows for eCommerce brands should leverage a combination of nurturing and selling to customers in order to drive conversions.

That’s exactly how we were able to drive 79% increase in email ROI for Tuffwraps. But what are those top automations?

  1. Abandoned cart 
  2. Welcome emails
  3. Special occasion emails

Not only are these flows excellent for generating revenue for your eCommerce brand, but they’re awesome tools for customer retention and building relationships. 

Now you know what the top performers are, let’s dive in and examine each flow in more detail. 


1. The Abandoned Cart

The best email marketing automation strategies come into their own when sales are on the line. 

When a customer has placed a product in their cart, it’s because they have a strong consideration to purchase. That’s why this solution ranks as one of the most important email automations; it’s the last step in the customer buying journey. 

Let’s look at the numbers; an average of 70% of all carts online are being abandoned. On mobile devices, this number soars to a whopping 86%

That sounds despairing. But, over half of that, up to 63% says Business Insider, is recoverable. All of a sudden that’s not so despairing; in fact, it’s an excellent advantage for your business!

Abandoned cart emails are a perfect way to boost your sales
Start making the most of your prospects. Image from Pixabay

What Do You Do When a Buyer Abandons Their Cart?

As an easy way of improving your email campaigns and boosting conversion rate, follow-up within 24 hours. And maybe once more within 48 hours. Who knows, maybe even a 3rd or 4th time. 

In the email, highlight the product with a large image. Include an appropriate call to action (or CTA), and make sure to place the purchase button close to the picture. 

Since the user most likely remembers the product they put in the cart, it’s a good idea to mention the item in the subject line, along with a reminder and CTA. And maybe spice things up with a light sense of urgency.

The email automation text needs to remind the shopper what they left behind politely. It’s not a bad idea to offer an incentive by highlighting the product’s benefits. You can even take it a step further and offer a discount or a bonus to sweeten the deal.


Abandoned Cart Example

Here’s an example of some great abandoned cart emails. 


2. Welcome Emails

According to Marketing Land, the open rate of welcome emails can be over 90%.Therefore, when a new user clicks on your fancy sign-up popup and subscribes to your service, it’s essential your email marketing automation strategy includes a “Welcome” message at the beginning of the journey. 

However, in reality the conversion rate can vary significantly from there on out. It requires a smart approach to help turn that open rate into something other than wasted email open rate stats.

Personalising your email as much as possible ensures a subscriber feels like you’re speaking directly to them. This showcases your brand as relatable and speaks to their needs, wants and desires.

Welcome gifts and promotions are a great strategy to increase the conversion rate, but not essential, dependent on owner preference and type of product.

For example; it is not always advisable to provide a discount on high-ticket products. Welcome emails are the start of your relationship with a subscriber. This messaging will help to determine or strongly influence how subscribers will react, and continue to your react, to future messaging.

Example of a welcome email
Welcome emails are perfect for starting your customer journey off on the right note. Source: Really Good Emails

Instead of doing all this yourself, you could just get us to do it for you. Our tailored email marketing campaigns are proven revenue generators


3. Special Occasion Flows

Everyone has that one special occasion when they’re willing to spend more. So it’s up to each brand owner to seize that chance and give the subscribers what they need.

For example, a great way that email marketing tool Klaviyo gets brilliant results is by using particular occasions to be more personal with users, like birthdays and anniversaries. However, they also leverage “broader” events such as a public holiday, Mothers’ Day, Black Friday, and more.

Spooky Halloween email marketing campaign for Kiss My Keto
For food brands, Halloween is a great opportunity to drive sales. Here’s how we did it for Kiss Mt Keto

In this case, there is a wide variety of valuable user data often available to businesses which include birthdays, dates of joining the service, dates of purchasing specific products, and more that you can use to send out emails to customers. 

A discount solution might be better used when user activity drops in terms of engagement being reduced over time, which will allow the subscriber the feeling of temptation; especially on those special occasion moments.

If the customers are unengaged, it’s better to lose on a percentage of profit and have them return than lose them for good.


Supercharge Your Flows with Smart Segmentation

Email segmentation is the secret sauce to dragging even more ROI out of these already impressive flows!

By tailoring your Abandoned Cart, Welcome, and Special Occasion flows to specific audience groups, you’re not just sending emails—you’re sending relevant, action-driving emails. 

For Abandoned Cart flows, segmentation lets you personalise the message based on cart value or product type. A “Last chance to grab that luxury handbag!” feels way more compelling than a generic reminder.

Similarly, in Welcome flows, segmenting by source (social media vs. website) lets you craft messages that meet new subscribers right where they are. And for Special Occasion emails? Go beyond Black Friday or birthdays! Segment by VIP status or purchase frequency to create exclusive offers that feel truly personal.

By diving deeper into your data, you’re not just automating—you’re connecting. And connection is what turns a “maybe later” into a “heck yes!”


Stop Leaving Money on the Table, Get a Drop Zero Email Automation Campaign

Now that you know these 3 strategies, your all set to go out, get those customers, and win! 

Start demanding more from your email channel. It should be operating as one of the most lucrative routes to market for your business. 

But if you’re still not sure, Drop Zero Digital’s email marketing solution can take care of it all for you.

Related Posts

Discover more with the latest articles, news, and features on digital marketing