Email Marketing Strategies That Actually Work for Shopify Stores

If you Google “Shopify email marketing tips,” you’ll find the same advice repeated: send abandoned cart emails, set up a welcome flow, segment your list.

The problem? Everyone’s already doing that. And with AI cranking out endless templates, inboxes are flooded with emails that all look the same.

So what actually works today? We’re going back to the basics and giving Shopify merchants real strategies that will actually capture their customers’ attention. 

1. Rethink Your Abandoned Cart Flow

You may already have some kind of abandoned cart automation or app running in the background, but the default “you left something behind” email isn’t cutting it anymore. 

Here’s a very basic flow you can try: 

• First email: a friendly reminder. Try to keep it simple and avoid sending an eyesore email full of irrelevant products.

• Second: highlight product benefits or reviews. This is your chance to do a little social proofing. You want to boost your credibility with the customer.

• Third: a small incentive if they still haven’t purchased. Alright, you’ve reminded them and you’ve shown them the facts, now it’s time to bring money into the equation–Limited time offer, free shipping, bundle deal, a special promo just for them. 

Remember to space it out. Bombarding the customer with emails is only going to agitate them.

2. Use the First Purchase Window Wisely

If someone’s purchased from your store, you’ve already overcome a massive hurdle most Shopify store owners can only dream of. But don’t celebrate too early because there’s another hurdle: getting the customer to come back. The days following a purchase are when someone is engaged with your brand. They’ve just parted with their hard-earned money, and they may be eagerly awaiting the package. Don’t miss your chance to encourage them to buy something else and cement yourself in their mind. 

We built a 3-email post-purchase flow for a clothing store:

1. Order confirmation + story: “Here’s who made your shirt” (brand story angle that highlighted their sustainability practices).

2. How to style email: Helpful tips that reduce returns by giving the customer inspiration on how to style their new piece. The email included general advice style.

3. Cross-sell email: “Complete the look” with a discount on related items.

This sequence increased repeat purchases by 27% in the first 45 days.

3. Segment Beyond Discounts

Everyone loves a good discount, but it doesn’t work 100% of the time, especially in the long term. It erodes profits and conditions customers to only buy during sales. Customers have also become more marketing savvy, and they’re not as easily fooled by the store that always has “hot deals” and “50% off for the last time” sales. Suddenly, the deal is no longer a deal. 

Instead of jumping to discounts, try segmenting your customers based on shopping behaviors and approach them with different incentives. Got a high-spend customer? Email incentives like early access to try new products or VIP perks. A window shopper who only builds their cart and never purchases? They need more convincing. Sometimes price isn’t the deterrent, but other factors like lack of credibility or reason to buy. They need to be convinced of your legitimacy, and they need to understand that your products are just what they need. Send them reviews, press mentions, and user-generated content focused on use cases before sending them info about discounts. 

4. Be Clear With Your Subject Line 

If your subject line doesn’t earn the open, the rest of the email doesn’t matter. A lot of advice floating out there tells you to try and capture them with clever or cryptic openers or emojis (A gen-z just threw up somewhere). The inbox is too crowded for that. I get dozens of emails daily begging for my attention; after scrolling through, these are the ones that stand out to me as particularly bad:

• “Guess what’s inside…”
• “Just one word: WOW 🤩”
• “Knock knock! Guess Who? It’s your new favorite thing!”
• “FINAL NOTICE 😱: Hot deals are waiting for you.”
• “Can you keep a secret?”
• “Here’s what you’ve been waiting for”

I’m too paranoid about phishing attempts to even bother opening these. Most of them do come from legit businesses with absolutely terrible email marketing strategies. Instead of making a purchase, the only thing I’m enticed to do is mark these all as spam. 

Now here are the winners:

– “Just dropped: Cowboy Bebop Space Cowboy Collection!”

• • This comes from clothing brand Steady Hands. It tells me exactly what it’s about and boosts my excitement with the newness. 

– “🛒 LAST CHANCE for 40% OFF EVERYTHING + Don’t forget your cart”

• • Old Navy got my heart racing. Putting the number up front definitely earned it an open.

“One pot, five dinners, zero stress”

• • The recipe blog Budget Bytes understands me perfectly and knows exactly what I want…

Basically, be specific. If you understand your customer base, then you know exactly what will appeal to them. 

Bonus: Don’t Forget the Plain Text Email

Shopify merchants often overdesign their campaigns. But sometimes, a plain-text email from the founder or team can outperform a polished template because it feels personal.  Try mixing in a few plain text emails — for product launches, personal notes, or surveys. Try to sign the emails with a specific name or “team” to shift the perception of your store from “brand” to “human”.

It’s a simple way to stand out when every other brand is pushing glossy graphics.