What is Shopify email, and how do you access it?
Shopify Email is Shopify's built-in email marketing tool that lets merchants create, send, and manage branded email campaigns directly from the Shopify admin. The app uses store data like products, discounts, and customer lists without requiring a separate email platform. Shopify Email includes customizable templates, customer segmentation, basic automations, and performance analytics tied directly to store activity.
Accessing Shopify email in your admin
Merchants first need to install or enable the Email app from their Shopify admin under Settings → Apps and sales channels, adding "Email" when it is not already listed. Once installed, Shopify Email is accessed from the left-hand side of the admin through Apps → Email or through the Marketing section. From there, merchants can create campaigns, manage templates, and review performance data.
How do you create and send an email campaign in Shopify email?
To create and send an email campaign in Shopify Email, you start from the Shopify Email app, create a new campaign, choose and customize a template, set recipients and subject line, then send or schedule the email.
Starting a new campaign
Open the Shopify Email app in your admin, typically through Marketing → Create campaign → Shopify Email. Click Create campaign to open the campaign builder for a new marketing email.
Selecting and customizing a template
From the template gallery, choose a campaign type such as announcements, newsletters, promotions, or product highlights. Click your chosen template so it loads into the email editor as the base layout.
Within the editor, edit the subject line and preview text at the top, then adjust sender name and from-email when needed. Click sections to change text, images, buttons, colors, and typography. You can add products directly from your catalog or insert new sections as needed.
Choosing recipients
In the Recipients area, select who will receive the campaign. Options include all subscribers or a saved customer segment. Use customer segments such as first-time buyers, repeat customers, or non-purchasers to target messaging appropriately.
Previewing, testing, and sending
Use the preview options for desktop and mobile to review layout. Send a test email to yourself to confirm everything displays correctly. Click Send to dispatch immediately or choose Schedule to send the campaign at a specific future time.
How does customer segmentation work in Shopify email?
Customer segmentation in Shopify Email uses Shopify's customer segments, which are dynamic groups built from filters on customer and order data. These segments appear as selectable audiences when sending campaigns. As customers' behavior changes, they automatically flow in and out of segments, keeping targeting current without manual list management.
Creating and using segments
Segments are created under Customers → Segments using filters such as location, order count, last order date, total spend, and tags. These segments update dynamically: when a customer meets the criteria, they are added automatically and removed when they no longer qualify. When creating a campaign, merchants select Use segment to send the email only to that filtered group.
Common segment types
- New subscribers and non-purchasers: Email-subscribed customers with zero orders, targeted with welcome offers or first-purchase incentives.
- First-time buyers: Customers with exactly one order, ideal for onboarding flows and cross-sell education.
- Repeat and VIP customers: High-value buyers defined by multiple orders or high total spend, targeted with loyalty rewards, early access, and exclusive drops.
- Inactive or lapsed customers: Customers who have not ordered or engaged in a set period such as 90 to 180 days, targeted with win-back campaigns.
- Abandoned cart groups: Shoppers who added items to cart but did not purchase, used for reminder campaigns.
- Geographic segments: Customers grouped by country or region for localized promotions.
What automation features does Shopify email offer?
Shopify Email offers built-in marketing automations that trigger emails from customer behavior and lifecycle stages. These automations run automatically once activated and are managed inside Shopify's Marketing → Automations interface.
How automations work
Merchants select from automation templates such as welcome or post-purchase, customize the content, and turn them on. Each automation is driven by a trigger such as first purchase, abandoned checkout, or inactivity. Automations can include delays, conditions, and multiple emails that execute without manual sending.
Core automated flow types
Welcome series triggers when a customer first subscribes or creates an account. The flow sends a single welcome email or a short series introducing the brand and core offers.
Abandoned cart and checkout triggers when a customer adds items to cart or starts checkout but does not complete the purchase. The automation sends reminders featuring the abandoned products and optional incentives.
Post-purchase and order follow-up sends automatically after an order. These emails confirm the purchase, share product tips, suggest cross-sells, or request reviews.
Lifecycle and retention automations
Win-back and re-engagement triggers when a customer has not purchased or engaged for a set period. These emails use discounts or curated product picks to bring customers back.
Customer loyalty and VIP flows target high-value or repeat customers with automated rewards, early access to launches, or exclusive offers based on spend or order count.
Back-in-stock alerts notify customers when saved or wish-listed items become available again, driven by product inventory changes.
What analytics does Shopify email provide?
Shopify Email provides campaign-level and store-level metrics including opens, clicks, unsubscribes, and attributed orders and revenue. These metrics appear in each email's report and in broader Shopify analytics.
Key metrics tracked
- Delivery and bounce data: Reports show emails delivered versus bounced, indicating list health and deliverability quality.
- Engagement metrics: Each campaign displays open rate, click-through rate, and click-to-open rate, revealing subject line and content effectiveness.
- List health indicators: Unsubscribe rate and spam complaint count show whether frequency or relevance is causing list fatigue.
- Revenue attribution: Reports include unique visitors from the email, add-to-cart events, orders, and total sales attributed to that campaign.
Using data to evaluate campaigns
Merchants compare open and click rates across campaigns to test subject lines, send times, and content variations. Watching delivery, bounce, unsubscribe, and spam complaint rates helps identify when list cleaning or targeting improvements are needed. Focusing on orders, sales, and conversion rate from email traffic reveals which formats and segments drive higher revenue.
What is Shopify's email pricing structure?
Shopify Email uses a usage-based pricing model with a monthly free sending allowance and a low per-email rate beyond that quota.
Core pricing details
Shopify Email is included with eligible Shopify plans at Basic and above, requiring no separate subscription fee. Merchants receive 10,000 email sends per month for free. This allowance resets monthly and unused sends do not roll over.
Costs beyond the free tier
After 10,000 sends in a month, Shopify charges approximately $1 per 1,000 additional emails, which equals roughly $0.001 per email. Tiered volume discounts apply: rates decrease further once merchants exceed approximately 300,000 and then 750,000 emails in a month.
How sends are counted
Every recipient counts as one email send. A campaign sent to 800 subscribers uses 800 of your monthly allowance. Per-email charges beyond 10,000 sends are added to your normal Shopify bill.
What are the best practices for Shopify email marketing?
The most effective Shopify Email campaigns focus on targeted audiences, clear value in messaging, and continuous testing based on performance data. Combining segmentation, strong creative, and automation lifts both engagement and revenue per send.
Targeting and segmentation
Build segments based on behavior and value so each group receives relevant offers instead of generic blasts. Use Shopify's customer segments to tailor product picks and messaging to demonstrated interests.
Content and subject lines
Write concise, specific subject lines that highlight a benefit or concrete offer. Make emails skimmable with short copy, a single primary call-to-action button, and product blocks that guide readers toward clicking.
Personalization and automation
Personalize with names, dynamic product recommendations, and tailored discounts based on previous purchases. Activate key automations such as welcome series, abandoned cart, and win-back flows to capture high-intent moments automatically.
Mobile optimization and list health
Use responsive, single-column templates with large tappable buttons and compressed images. Protect list health through double opt-in, periodic cleaning of inactive contacts, and reasonable sending frequency to reduce spam complaints and bounces.
Conclusion
Shopify Email provides merchants with a straightforward path to email marketing directly within their store admin. The platform combines template-based campaign creation, dynamic customer segmentation, automated flows, and performance tracking in one integrated tool. Starting with the free monthly allowance and scaling with usage-based pricing makes the tool accessible for stores of all sizes.
At Shopifiedmarketingagency we offer comprehensive Shopify marketing services to help merchants maximize their email marketing results and overall store growth. If you need assistance with your email marketing, chat with our representative here.