Why email is still the most profitable channel
When Meta's CPMs rise, when Google changes its algorithm, when TikTok updates its rules — email stays yours. You own the contacts, you control the message, you don't pay per send. For a well-structured e-commerce store, email generates on average 25-35% of total revenue at a marginal cost close to zero.
Most stores use Klaviyo or Mailchimp mainly for manual newsletters. But the real value of email marketing for e-commerce lies in automated flows — sequences that work around the clock with no manual intervention. Here are the 5 we implement for every client.
Flow 1 — Welcome Series (the most important)
The moment someone joins your list is peak attention towards your brand. The welcome series captures that moment and turns new subscribers into customers.
Basic structure (5 emails over 7 days):
- Email 1 (immediate): welcome + any discount code promised at sign-up. Subject line: warm, personal tone, not corporate. Target open rate: 55-65%
- Email 2 (day 2): brand story, values, who you are. No products — build the relationship. Goal: engagement, not conversion
- Email 3 (day 3): best-selling products with social proof (reviews, numbers). First explicit call to action to purchase
- Email 4 (day 5): educational or value-adding content (guide, how-to, tip). Positions the brand as an expert, not just a seller
- Email 5 (day 7): discount code expiry (if applicable) or soft urgency. Last push before moving into the regular newsletter flow
Real welcome series benchmarks: average open rate 48%, click rate 8.2%, conversion rate among subscribers who complete the series 12-18%.
Flow 2 — Abandoned Cart (the most profitable)
70% of carts are abandoned. Not every case is recoverable, but a well-built sequence recovers an average of 10-15% of abandonments. On a store doing £100K a month, that's an extra £8-12K in revenue every month.
Structure (3 emails over 3 days):
- Email 1 (1 hour after abandonment): a simple reminder, no pressure. "Forgot something?" with photos of the cart's products. No discount — people who return at this stage are nearly ready to buy without a financial incentive
- Email 2 (24 hours later): add social proof specific to the abandoned products. Reviews, number of satisfied customers, answers to the most common objections
- Email 3 (48 hours later): only here, if appropriate, offer an incentive (discount or free shipping). This email recovers the most undecided customers but has the highest cost per unit of margin
Flow 3 — Post-Purchase (the most underrated)
The customer has just bought: they're at their peak of trust and satisfaction towards the brand. Most stores only send the order confirmation email and vanish. It's a huge wasted opportunity.
Structure (4 emails over 30 days):
- Email 1 (immediately): an optimised order confirmation — not just the order number, but enthusiasm, what to expect, how to get in touch
- Email 2 (shipping day): shipping notification with tracking + educational content about the product bought (how to use it, how to get the most out of it)
- Email 3 (3-5 days after delivery): review request. Timing is everything: too early and they haven't used the product, too late and they've lost the initial enthusiasm
- Email 4 (14-21 days): cross-sell of complementary products based on the purchase. "Customers who bought X also often buy Y"
Flow 4 — Browse Abandonment
Softer than abandoned cart: the user visited a product page but didn't add it to the cart. Intent is less clear, but volume is much higher.
A single email (not a sequence) sent 4-6 hours after the visit, featuring the viewed products and related editorial content. Target open rate: 25-30%. Conversion rate: 2-4%. Low per email, but at high traffic volumes it contributes significantly to revenue.
Flow 5 — Win-Back (for dormant customers)
Every e-commerce store has a percentage of customers who bought once and never came back. A win-back sequence re-activates them before they're definitively lost.
Trigger: no purchase in the last 90-180 days (depends on the sector's normal purchase frequency).
Structure (3 emails): an emotional reminder ("we miss you") — a personalised offer — a final email with the subject "Do we have to say goodbye?", which has an extremely high open rate thanks to the curiosity it generates. If they don't respond, remove them from the active list — cleaning the list improves overall deliverability.
If you don't have any flows active yet, start with abandoned cart. It's the fastest to set up (2-3 hours on Klaviyo) and has the most immediate, measurable ROI. On average it generates 7-12% of total revenue for stores that implement it correctly.
The real benchmarks to measure yourself against
| Flow | Open Rate | Click Rate | Conversion | % Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome Series | 45-60% | 7-12% | 12-18% subscribers | 8-12% |
| Abandoned Cart | 40-55% | 10-18% | 10-15% abandonments | 7-12% |
| Post-Purchase | 55-70% | 12-20% | cross-sell 4-8% | 5-8% |
| Browse Abandonment | 25-35% | 4-8% | 2-4% visits | 3-6% |
| Win-Back | 20-30% | 3-6% | 5-12% dormant | 2-4% |
Want to set up your store's email flows?
We'll show you which flows are missing, how to structure them, and how much recoverable revenue is on the table.
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