Best E-commerce Email Flows in Email Automation: A Comprehensive Guide for 2024

So, you’re running an e-commerce business and looking to skyrocket your sales while keeping your customers happy and engaged. 

But even though you are putting in immense effort through your emails daily, the results haven’t reached fruition. Maybe your efforts are being directed in the wrong direction.

To achieve that effortlessly, you need an automating wizard—someone who can take on tedious, time-consuming tasks of creating, personalizing, and sending targeted and timely emails. 

Imagine having an assistant who sends personalized emails to your customers and knows: 

• When to send 
• What to send 
• Whom to send 

However, simply implementing flows for e-commerce emails won’t bring the desired results unless you create well-structured workflows for your e-commerce emails. We don’t only need the aesthetics. Here, we are talking about boosting email opens, clicks, and sales. 

At Mavlers, we have a team of 150+ experts with an astounding 99% accuracy rate in successfully delivering on projects. Their expertise in over 50+ email service providers is unparalleled. 

If you’re ready to boost engagement and drive more conversions through your emails, here is the Table of Contents we need to go through. 

Why Email Automation is Critical for E-commerce Success?

What are the Key Components of an Effective E-commerce Email Flow? 

6 Best E-commerce Email Flows for Email Automation 

Best Tools for Automating E-commerce Email Flows 

Pro Tips for Optimizing Your E-commerce Email Automation 

By the end of this blog, you will be well-equipped with the necessary tools and strategies to leverage marketing automation flow. Let’s dive right in. 

Why Email Automation is Critical for E-commerce Success?  

Flows for e-commerce emails are instrumental in enhancing the overall customer experience. It ensures that your emails are:

• Sent at the right time
• Relevant to the person it’s sent 
• Personalized to the customer’s needs and requirements. 

As a customer, would you not like to be shown the products you have a liking for? Or won’t you be interested in the kind of products you have purchased in the past? 

In the vast online world, one product is available in many different stores. You have just one shot at attracting new customers to buy from you. 

That’s why an email marketing automation strategy is a must-have for e-commerce brands. 

What are the Positives of Creating Automated Email Flows? 

Here is how creating email flows is going to benefit your e-commerce business. 

• Automation streamlines your processes, ensures communication consistency, and increases efficiency. 
• Automated personalized emails have higher opens, clicks, and conversions. 
• Customized and targeted emails enhance customer experience and build a loyal community. 

When it comes to creating emails for your e-commerce brands, email flows need to be well-structured. So, let’s discuss the factors that make email flows engaging. 

What are the Key Components of an Effective E-commerce Email Flow? 

An effective e-commerce email flow that garners attention and engages users has three main components.

1. Segmented email lists with targeted messaging for one and all. 

For example, according to a study by Mailchimp, segmented emails have a 14.31% higher open rate than non-segmented emails and twice as many clicks. 

2. Automated triggers within the required timeframes. 

For example, a study by Barilliance revealed that sending an email for an abandoned cart after an hour resulted in 20.3% more conversions. At the same time, those sent after 24 hours merely bagged in 12.2% conversions. 

3. Personalized strategies going beyond the customer’s first name. 

For example, according to a study by Salesforce, AI product recommendations can boost revenue by 28%. 

6 Must-have E-commerce Email Flows 

1. Welcome Series Email Flow 

Welcome emails are a series of automated emails that introduce your brand to new subscribers or customers. It’s like welcoming a guest and making them feel at home. These emails will set the tone of your relationship with them, so make a strong first impression. 

Here is an example of a 3-part email flow for the welcome email series. 

• Day 1: Thank your email subscriber with a brief introduction to your brand. Also, mention what they can expect from your future emails. 
• Day 3: Showcase your best products and mention their benefits without sounding salesy. 
• Day 7: Offer a discount or special offer to encourage their first buy.  

Additional Tip: Stop wondering where the other days went. You don’t want to thank your users every day of the week after they have just walked in. Give them some time to get accustomed. Automation in emails doesn’t imply bombarding emails just because it’s the easier thing to do. 

2. Abandoned Cart Email Flow 

Abandoned cart emails are a series of automated reminders to your customers who have added items to their cart but did not complete the transaction. Your objective is to encourage them to take that final step. 

Here is an example of a 2-part email flow for the abandoned cart email series. 

• 1st Email: Send a reminder email after one hour using a compelling subject line to grab attention. You can also give incentives like free shipping if they purchase within a given period. 
• 2nd Email: Follow up after 24 hours to encourage them to purchase without sounding desperate. Again, your subject and preheader can be a deciding factor here. 

3. Post-Purchase Email Flow 

Post-purchase emails are a series of automated emails to reinforce your authenticity and customer loyalty by offering a healthy user experience to your customers. These emails can be instrumental in gaining repeat business. 

Here is an example of a 4-part email flow of the post-purchase series. 

• Confirmation email: A thank you note for purchasing from your eCommerce store and necessary details confirming that the order has been placed. 
• Shipping/Delivery Update: Inform the customer that their order has been shipped. You can also include a tracking ID so that they can check themselves. 
• Recommended products: You can up-sell or cross-sell by recommending products based on their recent purchase. 
• Follow-up for reviews: After your customer has received the product, ask if they are satisfied. You can also request them to review the product on your website or Google Reviews. 

4. Re-engagement Email Flow 

Re-engagement emails are a series of automated emails that ensure your subscriber list is active and engaged. Over time, some of your customers may become inactive. These emails help you win them back. 

Here is an example of a 2-part email flow of the re-engagement email series. 

• 1st Email: Start with a heartfelt message expressing how much you have missed them. Mention what has changed and what new products have been launched. Offer them a time-bound, lucrative, and irresistible deal. 
• 2nd Email: Without sounding harsh, send them a follow-up email to politely ask if they are active. Otherwise, their account will be deleted, and they won’t receive emails from your brand anymore. It will help you clean your email list and prevent the decline in open rates. 

5. Browse Abandonment Email Flow

Browse abandonment happens when existing customers view products on your website but leave without purchasing. They have only shown interest in the products by visiting product pages. Your objective is to encourage them to add those products to the cart first and then make the purchase. 

Here is an example of a 2-part email flow of the browse abandonment email series. 

• 1st Email: Remind them of the products they have viewed and include related products. Use their browsing history to suggest products they are interested in. 
• 2nd Email:  Follow up with an offer or create urgency by highlighting a limited number of stocks available for the products they liked. 

6. VIP/Exclusive Customer Email Flow 

Exclusive emails are destined for high-value and loyal customers. This email flow is crucial to build a long-term relationship. The objective is to offer recognition and reward customers who have been repeat customers and have been with you for a long time. 

Here is an example of a 2-part email flow of the VIP email series. 

• Monthly or Quarterly Updates: You can send them early access to sales or exclusive offers. Your email should be designed to show you value their presence. 
• Loyalty Program Updates: Keep your customers updated on the loyalty points they have in their accounts. You can also offer exclusive time-bound discounts to initiate purchases. 

Now, it’s time to look for the tools – the last fit for our email flow puzzle. 

Best Tools for Automating E-commerce Email Flows 

Here are a few top-rated automation tools to help us create flows for e-commerce emails. 

Klaviyo 

Klaviyo offers advanced segmentation, personalized product recommendations, and robust analytics. 

• It offers 350+ integrations. 
• Its pricing starts from $20/month. 

With the help of its user-friendly drag-and-drop builder, you can create complex flows with ease. 

Mailchimp 

Mailchimp has generative AI features, enhanced automation, and integration capabilities with over 300 platforms. 

• It offers custom-coded email templates. 
• Its pricing starts from $13.68/month. 

With its predictive segmentation and A/B testing features, you can optimize your emails with just a few clicks. 

Omnisend 

Omnisend generates advanced and detailed reports to optimize your email marketing campaigns. 

• It offers 150+ integrations. 
• It has 250+ built-in templates. 
• Its pricing starts from $16/month. 

With its omnichannel reputation, you can use email, SMS, and web push notifications in a single workflow. 

Drip 

Drip is customer-centric and offers personalized experiences at scale. 

• It offers 100+ integrations. 
• Its pricing starts from $39/month. 

With its behavior-based triggers and multi-channel marketing capabilities, you can create email flows tailored to each customer.  

But that’s not all, or is it? There is no denying that your competitors can also do all of the above and drive your potential customers away from your e-commerce business. 

We have got you covered. 

Pro Tips for Optimizing Your E-commerce Email Automation 

Are you still wondering how to stand out from the crowd? 

You cannot miss the opportunity to do something that most of your competitors fail to capitalize on – the advanced tips and tricks. 

Here are three pro tips that will help you optimize your E-commerce email automation. 

1. Regularly test and optimize your automated emails. 

You cannot solely rely on automation tools to create and send emails on your behalf. Use these tools to leverage advantages after you have made subsequent changes in the subject lines, email designs, body copy, preheader, banner, etc. The content should come from you, and that’s how your audience will feel connected to you. 

2. Clean your email lists at regular intervals. 

The more people unsubscribe to your emails or send them to spam, the lesser your sender reputation score will be. And later on, even your best emails will land in the spam folder. So, make it a habit to remove inactive subscribers. 

3. Use customer data to refine your email flows. 

When you’re already putting in so much effort, you want to avoid sending irrelevant or unnecessary emails at all costs. 

For example, if a customer purchases a particular product, you can send a personalized email that includes recommendations and offers related to that product- nothing random. 

Key Takeaways 

Don’t worry if your eCommerce emails are not converting visitors into buyers. You just need the right email marketing automation strategy coupled with the right email flows. And a few automation tools to execute the plan. 

All you have to do is follow the best practices we discussed in this article so that you don’t end up bombarding your subscribers with emails every now and then. 

Remember, it’s about being at the right place with the right message at the right time. 

So, now that you are well-accustomed to what needs to be done, you might want to read the Email Automation to Overhaul Your Campaigns: The Ultimate Guide blog.