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Ecommerce Website Development

7 Automated Emails Every E-commerce Store Should Be Sending

Welcome series, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, order updates, post-purchase, review requests and win-back: the seven automated email flows every online store should have running.

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Quick answer: The seven automated emails every e-commerce store should send are the welcome series, the abandoned cart sequence, the browse abandonment email, the order confirmation and shipping updates, the post-purchase follow-up, the review request, and the win-back campaign. Each one is triggered by something the customer does (or stops doing), so it reaches people at the moment they are most likely to act. Set them up once in a platform like Klaviyo, Shopify Email, Omnisend or Mailchimp, and they keep working in the background every day.

Most store owners spend their email time on campaigns: the Diwali sale, the Black Friday blast, the new collection launch. Those matter, but they are only half the picture. The automated flows are the emails that run while you sleep, and in the stores we work with they usually bring in a steady share of email revenue with far less ongoing effort than campaigns.

Below, each email is covered with when to send it, what to put in it, and the mistakes to avoid.

What is an automated email flow?

An automated email flow is a sequence of one or more emails that sends itself when a customer meets a trigger condition. The trigger might be signing up for your newsletter, adding something to their cart without checking out, buying a product, or not buying anything for a set number of days.

Campaigns go to a list at a time you choose. Flows go to one person at a time, at the moment their behaviour says they are ready. That timing is why flows tend to earn more revenue per email than campaigns.

Quick overview of the 7 flows

Flow	Trigger	Number of emails	Main goal
Welcome series	New subscriber	3 to 5	First purchase
Abandoned cart	Cart started, no checkout	2 to 3	Recover the sale
Browse abandonment	Viewed product, no cart	1 to 2	Bring them back
Order and shipping	Order placed, shipped, delivered	2 to 4	Trust and fewer support tickets
Post-purchase follow-up	Order delivered	1 to 3	Repeat purchase
Review request	Days after delivery	1 to 2	Reviews and social proof
Win-back	No purchase for a set period	2 to 3	Reactivate lapsed customers

1. The welcome series

The welcome series is the first impression your store makes in someone's inbox. A new subscriber is usually at their most curious, because they just chose to hear from you. That makes this the flow most stores should set up first.

When to send it

Send the first email immediately after sign-up. If you promised a discount code in your pop-up, people will look for it within minutes. Space the following emails a day or two apart.

What to include

A good three-to-five email series might look like this:

1. Email 1 (immediately): Deliver what you promised, such as the discount code, and tell them in one or two sentences what your store is about.
2. Email 2 (day 2): Tell the story behind the brand, who makes the products and why. Keep it short and personal.
3. Email 3 (day 4): Show your best sellers or the products new customers usually start with.
4. Email 4 (day 6): Share social proof, such as reviews, customer photos or a short case study.
5. Email 5 (day 8): Remind them the discount is about to expire, if it has an end date.

Subject line ideas

• "Here's your 10% off, as promised"
• "Why we started [brand name]"
• "What most first-time customers buy"

Common mistakes

Stores often send a single welcome email and stop. Others send five emails all pushing the discount. Mix it up: give value, tell the story, show proof, and only then push the offer. Also exit people from the flow as soon as they buy, so a new customer doesn't keep getting "come and buy something" emails.

2. The abandoned cart sequence

Abandoned cart emails go to people who added items to their cart and left without paying. They are the most famous e-commerce flow for a good reason: these people were one step from buying.

When to send it

The first email usually goes out between 30 minutes and 4 hours after the cart is abandoned. A second email can follow about 24 hours later, and an optional third at around 48 to 72 hours.

What to include

• A picture of the exact products left in the cart, with names and prices.
• A clear button that takes them straight back to their cart, not to your homepage.
• Answers to common objections, such as delivery time, return policy and payment options (including cash on delivery or buy now, pay later, if you offer them).
• In the second or third email, a reason to act now, such as low stock or a small incentive.

Should you offer a discount?

Not in the first email. Many people come back without a discount, and if every abandoned cart gets one, customers learn to abandon carts on purpose. If you want to use an incentive, save it for the final email, or limit it to first-time customers or higher cart values.

Common mistakes

The biggest mistake is not having this flow at all. The second is a generic email that says "You left something behind" without showing the product. People forget what they put in a cart surprisingly quickly, so show it.

If your store gets plenty of cart starts but few completed checkouts, the email is only part of the fix. Look at the checkout itself too. We cover the usual culprits in our guide to why Shopify stores underperform.

3. The browse abandonment email

Browse abandonment is the softer cousin of abandoned cart. It goes to known subscribers who looked at a product page but didn't add anything to their cart.

When to send it

A few hours after the browsing session ends, or the next morning. One email is often enough. A second, a couple of days later, is optional.

What to include

• The product they viewed, with a photo.
• Two or three related products, in case the first one wasn't quite right.
• A light tone. They haven't committed to anything, so "Still thinking about this?" works better than "Complete your purchase".

Common mistakes

Sending browse abandonment emails too often. If someone browses your store every day, they shouldn't get an email every day. Most platforms let you limit how often a person can enter this flow, such as once a week.

This flow only works for people your platform can identify, usually because they're subscribed and have clicked a past email or are logged in. It won't reach anonymous visitors.

4. Order confirmation and shipping updates

These are transactional emails, and some store owners don't think of them as marketing at all. They should. Order confirmation emails are among the most opened emails a store sends, because the customer is actively waiting for them.

When to send them

• Order confirmation: immediately after purchase.
• Shipping confirmation: when the order leaves the warehouse, with tracking.
• Out for delivery or delivered: on the day, if your shipping partner provides the data.

What to include

• A clear order summary with product images, quantities, prices and delivery address.
• Expected delivery date and a tracking link that works.
• Contact details for support, so the customer doesn't have to hunt for them.
• One small, relevant extra, such as care instructions, a how-to-use guide or a link to your returns policy.

Common mistakes

Using your platform's default template and never touching it. The defaults work, but they look plain and often don't match your brand. A branded, helpful confirmation email reduces "where is my order?" messages and makes the customer feel they bought from a real business.

Keep any marketing in these emails light. A small "You might also like" section is fine. Turning a shipping email into a sales flyer is not, and in some regions it can change how the email is treated legally.

5. The post-purchase follow-up

The post-purchase flow starts after the order arrives. Its job is to help the customer get value from what they bought, and to make a second purchase more likely.

When to send it

The first email goes out a few days after delivery. Later emails depend on your product. A skincare brand might follow up in two to four weeks with a refill reminder. A furniture store might wait a couple of months before suggesting a matching piece.

What to include

• Tips for using the product, such as setup guides, recipes, styling ideas or care advice.
• Answers to the questions new customers usually ask.
• Products that go well with what they bought.
• For consumable products, a timely replenishment reminder with a one-click reorder link.

Why it matters

Getting a second order is often the hardest step in building a loyal customer. A customer who buys twice is much more likely to buy a third time than someone who bought once. The post-purchase flow is your best chance to make that second order happen.

Common mistakes

Jumping straight to "Buy more!" the day after delivery. Help first, sell second. If the customer feels looked after, the cross-sell email lands much better.

6. The review request

Reviews help in three places: on your product pages, on Google, and increasingly in AI answers where tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews summarise what customers say about a product or brand. The review request email is how you collect them consistently.

When to send it

After the customer has had time to use the product. That might be 5 to 10 days after delivery for most products, longer for things that take time to show results, such as supplements or skincare.

What to include

• A direct link to leave a review, ideally where they can rate the product without logging in.
• A short, friendly ask. "How are you finding your [product]?" works better than a formal survey request.
• An optional incentive, such as entry into a monthly draw or a small discount on the next order, if your review platform and local rules allow it. Never offer an incentive only for positive reviews.

Common mistakes

Asking too early, before the product has arrived or been used. Also, sending a review request to someone who has an open support complaint. Most platforms let you exclude customers with recent tickets or returns.

Respond to reviews, including the negative ones. A calm, helpful reply to a bad review often builds more trust than a page full of five-star ratings.

7. The win-back campaign

Win-back emails go to customers who bought from you before but haven't bought in a while. They are cheaper to bring back than new customers are to find, because they already know your brand.

When to send it

The right gap depends on how often people normally buy from you. For a coffee subscription it might be 45 days. For a clothing brand it might be 90 to 120 days. For furniture it could be a year. Look at your own data for the typical time between first and second orders, and set the trigger a little after that.

What to include

1. Email 1: A friendly "We miss you" with what's new since their last purchase.
2. Email 2: A reason to come back, such as a personal offer, free shipping or early access to a sale.
3. Email 3: A last-chance message, and an honest option to unsubscribe if they're no longer interested.

Why the unsubscribe option matters

People who never open your emails hurt your deliverability. If someone doesn't respond to a win-back flow, it's healthier to suppress them from regular campaigns than to keep emailing them forever. Inbox providers notice when large parts of your list ignore you, and that can push your emails toward spam for everyone.

How to set up these flows without getting overwhelmed

You don't need all seven running by Friday. A sensible order is:

1. Order confirmation and shipping (you probably have basic versions already, so improve them).
2. Abandoned cart.
3. Welcome series.
4. Post-purchase follow-up and review request.
5. Browse abandonment.
6. Win-back.

Most platforms offer pre-built templates for each flow. Use them as a starting point, but rewrite the copy in your brand's voice and replace stock images with your own products. Customers can tell when an email was never edited.

Writing automated emails that don't sound automated

The biggest weakness of most automated emails is that they read like a system message. A few habits make a noticeable difference:

• Write from a person, not a company. "Priya from [brand]" as the sender name often feels warmer than the brand name alone, especially in welcome and post-purchase emails.
• Keep the first line useful. Many inboxes show the first sentence as preview text, so don't waste it on "View this email in your browser".
• Use the customer's own data carefully. Showing the product they left in the cart is helpful. Using their first name in every sentence feels forced.
• Match the tone to the moment. A shipping update should be clear and calm. A win-back email can be more playful.
• Give one main action per email. If you want them to return to the cart, don't also ask them to follow you on Instagram and read your blog.

Read each email on your phone before switching the flow on. If it feels like something you'd ignore, your customers probably will too.

Before you switch anything on: deliverability basics

Automated emails only work if they reach the inbox. Before you launch new flows, check these:

• Your sending domain is authenticated with SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Gmail and Yahoo require this for bulk senders.
• Your emails include a working unsubscribe link, and for marketing emails a one-click unsubscribe option.
• You only email people who signed up or bought from you.
• Your list is cleaned regularly, with bounced and long-inactive addresses removed or suppressed.

If you're not sure where to start, our email marketing services team can audit your setup and flows.

How to measure each flow

Track a few numbers for every flow:

Metric	What it tells you
Revenue per recipient	How much each person who entered the flow is worth
Click rate	Whether the content and offer are interesting
Conversion rate	Whether the click turns into a purchase
Unsubscribe rate	Whether you're sending too much or the wrong message
Spam complaint rate	Whether people feel the email is unwanted (keep this very low)

Open rates are less useful than they used to be, because some email apps load images automatically and make opens look higher than they are. Focus on clicks and revenue.

Review each flow every few months. Test one change at a time, such as a new subject line, a different send delay or a different first image, and keep what works.

A note for Shopify, WooCommerce and custom stores

Shopify and WooCommerce both connect easily to the main email platforms, and most flows can be set up with a few hours of work once your branding and copy are ready. Custom-built stores need a little more planning, because your developer has to send the right events (product viewed, added to cart, order placed) to your email platform. If you're building or rebuilding a store, ask for this from the start. It's much easier than adding it later. Our e-commerce website development projects include this event tracking as standard.

Final checklist

• Welcome series live, with the discount delivered instantly.
• Abandoned cart sequence of two to three emails, showing the exact products.
• Browse abandonment limited to once a week per person.
• Branded order and shipping emails with working tracking links.
• Post-purchase flow that helps before it sells.
• Review requests timed to when the product has been used.
• Win-back flow based on your real repeat-purchase timing.
• Domain authenticated and list cleaned.

Get these seven right and your email revenue will depend much less on how many campaigns you manage to send each month.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most important automated emails for an online store?

The abandoned cart sequence and the welcome series are usually the first two to set up, because they reach people close to buying. Order and shipping emails, post-purchase follow-ups, review requests, browse abandonment and win-back flows complete the core set.

How many emails should an abandoned cart sequence have?

Two or three is the usual range. Send the first within a few hours, the second around a day later, and an optional third at two to three days.

When should I send a welcome email?

Immediately after someone subscribes. If you promised a discount or freebie, deliver it in that first email, then follow up over the next week with your story, best sellers and reviews.

Should abandoned cart emails include a discount?

Usually not in the first email. Many shoppers return without one, and constant discounts can train customers to abandon carts on purpose. If you use an incentive, save it for the last email or for specific segments.

What is a win-back email?

A win-back email is sent to a past customer who hasn't bought for a set period. It reminds them of your brand, shows what's new and often includes an offer to encourage another purchase.

What is the difference between abandoned cart and browse abandonment emails?

Abandoned cart emails go to people who added products to their cart and didn't check out. Browse abandonment emails go to subscribers who viewed products but didn't add anything to the cart.

Which email platform is best for e-commerce automation?

Klaviyo, Omnisend, Shopify Email and Mailchimp are common choices. The best one depends on your store platform, list size and budget. All of them support the seven flows in this guide.

How do I stop automated emails from going to spam?

Authenticate your domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC, email only people who opted in, include a clear unsubscribe link, and regularly remove addresses that bounce or never engage.