How much does Shopify Email cost?

Shopify Email includes 10,000 free emails per month. Additional emails cost $1 per 1,000 emails, with volume discounts at higher tiers. There's no monthly subscription fee beyond your Shopify plan.

Can I automate emails in Shopify?

Yes. Shopify supports automated emails through Shopify Flow and Shopify Email automation. Common automations include welcome emails, abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase follow-ups, and win-back campaigns.

How do I grow my email list in Shopify?

Add email signup forms to your store, offer incentives like discounts for subscribers, use pop-ups strategically, and include signup options at checkout. Focus on collecting emails from interested customers rather than buying lists.

Shopify Email Marketing: Complete Guide

Q: What is Shopify Email?

Shopify Email is Shopify's built-in email marketing tool that lets you create and send branded marketing emails directly from your admin. It includes templates, automation features, and analytics to track performance.

Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to drive sales and build customer relationships. Shopify Email provides built-in tools to create campaigns, automate messages, and track results—all without leaving your Shopify admin. This guide covers everything you need to know to use email marketing for your store.

What Is Shopify Email?

Shopify Email is Shopify's native email marketing solution:

Branded templates: Pre-built designs that match your store
Product integration: Easily add products from your catalog
Automation: Set up triggered email sequences
Analytics: Track opens, clicks, and sales
Segmentation: Target specific customer groups

Shopify Email Pricing

First 10,000 emails/month: Free
Additional emails: $1 per 1,000 emails
Volume discounts: Lower rates at higher volumes

No monthly subscription—you only pay for what you send beyond the free tier.

Building Your Email List

Signup Forms

Add email collection points throughout your store:

Footer signup form (standard on most themes)
Pop-up forms (timed or exit-intent)
Checkout email opt-in
Landing pages for specific campaigns

Incentives

Give customers a reason to subscribe:

First-order discounts (10-15% off)
Free shipping on signup
Exclusive access to sales or new products
Useful content (guides, tips, etc.)

Types of Email Campaigns

Promotional Emails

Sale announcements: Notify customers about discounts and promotions
New product launches: Introduce new items to your catalog
Seasonal campaigns: Holiday and seasonal messaging
Flash sales: Limited-time offers creating urgency

Lifecycle Emails

Welcome series: Introduce your brand to new subscribers
Post-purchase: Thank customers and suggest related products
Re-engagement: Win back inactive customers
Birthday/anniversary: Personal touches that drive loyalty

Transactional Emails

Automatically sent emails like order confirmations and shipping updates. While these are handled by Shopify's notification system, they're opportunities for branding and additional engagement.

Email Automation

Abandoned Cart Recovery

Recover lost sales by emailing customers who left items in their cart:

First email: 1 hour after abandonment (reminder)
Second email: 24 hours later (add urgency)
Third email: 72 hours later (offer incentive if needed)

Welcome Series

Introduce new subscribers to your brand:

Immediate: Welcome + discount code
Day 2: Brand story and values
Day 5: Best sellers or popular collections
Day 7: Customer reviews and social proof

Post-Purchase Flow

Day 1: Order confirmation (automatic)
Day 3: Shipping notification (automatic)
Day 7: Product care tips or usage guide
Day 14: Request review
Day 30: Related product recommendations

Promoting Collections via Email

Email is effective for driving traffic to your collections:

Announce new collection launches
Highlight seasonal collections
Feature sale collections
Showcase curated collections (staff picks, trending items)

Create Collections Worth Sharing: AWSM Collections helps you organize products into compelling collections that are perfect for email promotion—from new arrivals to sale items.

Segmentation Strategies

Send targeted emails to specific customer groups:

Purchase history: Customers who bought specific products
Order value: High-value vs. bargain shoppers
Engagement: Active subscribers vs. inactive
Location: Region-specific offers
New vs. returning: Different messaging for each

Writing Effective Emails

Subject Lines in Shopify Email

Shopify Email shows subject line preview as you type — check how it truncates on mobile (under 40 characters displays fully)
Use Shopify's merge tags: include the customer's first name with {{ customer.first_name }} for personalization
Reference specific products or collections: "New arrivals in Summer Dresses" beats "Check out our latest collection!"
Shopify Email tracks open rates per campaign — test two subject lines on different segments and compare

Building Emails in Shopify Email

Use the Product block to pull product images, titles, and prices directly from your catalog — no manual image uploads
Add a Collection block to feature a full collection grid (useful for "New Arrivals" or "Sale" emails)
Keep to one primary CTA button per email — Shopify's templates default to "Shop now" but you can customize the text
Use the Discount block to embed an auto-applied discount code directly in the email

Measuring Email Performance

Track these metrics in Shopify Analytics:

Open rate: Percentage who opened your email (aim for 20-25%+)
Click-through rate: Percentage who clicked links (aim for 2-5%+)
Conversion rate: Percentage who made a purchase
Revenue per email: Sales generated divided by emails sent
Unsubscribe rate: Keep under 0.5% per campaign

Email Marketing Best Practices

Use Shopify's suggested send times: Shopify Email suggests optimal send times based on your audience's engagement patterns
Segment using Shopify customer tags: Tag customers by purchase behavior (VIP, first-time, lapsed) and send targeted campaigns to each group
Preview on mobile in the editor: Click the mobile preview icon in Shopify Email before sending — over 60% of email opens are on phones
Check deliverability: Shopify Email sends from your store's domain. Set up SPF and DKIM records in your domain settings to avoid spam filters
Monitor unsubscribes in Marketing > Campaigns: If unsubscribe rate exceeds 0.5% per send, reduce frequency or improve segmentation

Common Email Marketing Mistakes

Sending to all customers: Shopify's customer segments let you exclude recent purchasers or target only opted-in subscribers — use them
Ignoring Shopify Email analytics: Each campaign shows opens, clicks, orders, and revenue — check these within 48 hours of sending
Not using automation: Set up at least abandoned cart and welcome email automations in Marketing > Automations before running manual campaigns
Skipping the preview: Shopify Email lets you send a test email to yourself — always send one before launching to your full list
Too many image-only emails: Email clients often block images by default. Include text content above the fold so the message works without images loading

Conclusion

Email marketing provides direct access to your customers and consistently delivers strong ROI. Start with the basics—welcome emails and abandoned cart recovery—then expand to promotional campaigns and advanced segmentation as you grow.