In this article, we’ll explore eCommerce email flows, all the types you can/should use, how they will benefit you, and finally, the best way to utilize automation after the checkout and boost your sales by over 15% on autopilot.

Ecommerce Email Flows: Order-Tracking & Post-Purchase Customizable Sequences

Ever felt the thrill of a sale, only to worry about keeping that customer engaged? Enter the magic of order tracking and post-purchase email sequences. Imagine fewer “Where’s my order?” questions and more “I loved my purchase!” feedback. And guess what? There’s more to gain than just happy emails. Learn how eCommerce email sequences aren’t just about information; they build relationships and drive repeat sales. Ready to transform one-time shoppers into loyal fans?

What are Ecommerce Email Flows

Ecommerce email flows are automated email sequences dispatched to shoppers based on specific actions or timeframes. The goal is to foster customer engagement, enhance trust, and encourage repeat sales in online shopping.

If you are an eCommerce beginner, here is a simple explanation of email flows and how they are utilized in online shopping. Let’s explore eCommerce email flows from the buyer’s perspective.

Imagine you’re shopping online, and the store starts sending you emails after you complete the checkout process.

Some emails update you on the delivery of the item you bought, others ask if you liked it, or they suggest other cool items you might like.

Ecommerce email flows (sequences) are the chain of messages online stores use to keep buyers informed and interested.

Instead of wondering when your new shoes will show up or if there’s a matching shirt, the store emails you updates and suggestions. It feels like a friendly chat, ensuring you’re satisfied and tempting you to buy more. Sounds handy, right?

7 Types of Ecommerce Email Flows and How You’ll Benefit From Each

Leveraging the power of eCommerce email flows drives sales and creates a robust, engaging, and responsive customer experience. It’s a win-win for both the business and its customers.

Here are 7 major types of eCommerce email flows and all the benefits you and your buyers will experience if you utilize them:

1

Welcome Email Sequence

How it works: Imagine someone just discovered your online store and decided to sign up or buy something. You can instantly send them a friendly email, giving them a taste of your brand’s vibe and what they can expect from you in the future.

Benefits: Here’s the deal: by doing this, you’re setting the stage for a lasting relationship right off the bat. They feel acknowledged, and you’ve just made the first move to ensure they’ll return.

Secondly, case studies show that welcome email sequences increase the open rates of the next email flows by over 60%.

2

Order Confirmation and Tracking Flows

Upon making a purchase, customers receive an email confirming order details and, later, a tracking information update. Delivery updates keep the customer informed about the order journey, enhancing transparency and reliability, which in turn fosters trust.

Ecommerce shoppers feel valued and in the know when they receive timely order tracking updates about purchased products. You foster a sense of reliability by giving transparent information about order status or addressing concerns even before they arise.

Order-tracking eCommerce email flows have the highest opening rate of all emails you send to buyers and potential customers. The opening rate goes above 95%.

3

Product Recommendation eCommerce Email Flows

How it works: Based on what shoppers have browsed or bought before, send them an email spotlighting some products they might love. It’s like giving them a personalized shopping list!

Benefits: It’s simple: people get suggestions tailored just for them, making shopping a breeze.

For you? You’re increasing the chances they’ll buy something again simply because you’ve shown them things they’d likely want.

Statistics show personalized product recommendation emails might boost your sales by over 20%. And you save a ton of money on acquiring new buyers.

4

Product Onboarding and Support Email Flows

How it works: Right after someone buys a product from you or even when they’re just considering it, send them a helpful email loaded with everything they might need: a quick-start guide, FAQs, a user manual, or maybe a link to a video tutorial. Tailor your eCommerce onboarding based on the complexity and nature of your product.

Benefits for you: By proactively offering this information, you’re massively reducing the number of “How do I…?” messages that might otherwise flood your customer support. That means fewer hours spent answering the same questions over and over.

Benefits for the customer: Nobody likes feeling lost after buying something new. When buyers receive all the information up front, it saves them time and potential frustration. They’ll appreciate the hassle-free experience, knowing they have all the resources. It’s like you’re handing them a toolkit right when they need it most, helping them get the most out of their purchase from day one.

Case studies confirm that support email flows reduce WISMO queries and customer service engagement by over 50%. They have an opening rate of over 80%.

5

Abandoned Cart Reminders

Automated emails act as gentle reminders when items are left in a shopping cart without completing the purchase. You can convert potential lost sales into successful transactions by highlighting what they left behind or offering a special deal.

Capture Potential Lost Sales

Abandoned cart sequences gently nudge customers who left items in the cart without completing the purchase. You can often convert potential losses into sales by reminding shoppers or offering an incentive.

Abandoned cart email flows can be highly effective when executed correctly. The success rate, however, depends on factors like your industry, target audience, email design, content, timing, and incentives. Here are some important statistics:

1. Open Rates: Abandoned cart emails have higher open rates than regular promotional emails, ranging between 40% and 60%.
2. Click-through rates (CTR) are around 10% to 15%, which is quite significant compared to standard promotional emails.
3. Recovery Rate: Studies have shown that a well-executed abandoned cart email series can recover 5% to 15% of lost sales. The percentages might be higher depending on the tactics employed.

6

Loyalty and Rewards Program Sequences

Send emails updating customers on loyalty points, rewards, or exclusive offers. Regular engagement like this retains customers and fosters brand loyalty, as they feel valued and are incentivized to continue shopping with you.

Regular engagement through curated content, exclusive offers, or loyalty rewards via email keeps your brand fresh in the customer’s mind. When buyers feel connected and valued, they will stick around and become brand advocates.

7

Feedback and Review Sequence

A few days after the delivery, initiate a structured email outreach to your customer. The objective? Solicit candid feedback on the product experience. Prompt for detailed reviews, star ratings, and unique insights they’re inclined to provide.

It gives you clear insights on improving your strategies and products, ensuring you meet your shoppers’ wishes and needs.

Engaging in this feedback loop empowers customers. It establishes a dialogue where their perspectives shape brand narratives. The outcome? An enriched brand-consumer dynamic rooted in mutual respect and commitment.

Email Flow Strategy

There are three methods to consider when deciding how to execute your eCommerce email flow strategies: Manual, Automated, and Hybrid. Each offers distinct advantages tailored to suit varying operational needs and levels of customer engagement. By understanding the nuances of each, you can better position your business to communicate effectively and foster stronger relationships with your customers.

Manual Ecommerce Email Flows

Crafting individualized emails for your customers ensures that every interaction feels personal. As a new eCommerce business owner, you know the importance of creating a bond with your customers. Tailoring each message allows for a deeper connection and can enhance brand loyalty. Though it requires more effort, the potential for increased engagement and customer retention makes manual email flows compelling.

Automated Ecommerce Email

Automated email systems are built around set rules and respond to specific actions, like someone joining your newsletter or leaving items in their shopping cart. For a bustling eCommerce owner, automation ensures you never miss an opportunity to communicate, even during your busiest hours. It’s a dependable method that delivers timely messages, boosting chances for sales and consistent customer touchpoints.

Hybrid Ecommerce Email Flows

A hybrid approach combines automated efficiency and the human touch of manual emails. Start with automated responses to certain customer actions, then layer in personalized follow-ups based on observed behavior. For business owners who want to maintain a blend of quick communication while still offering a touch of personal care, the hybrid model offers the flexibility and effectiveness to do both.

Which method to choose?

To choose the optimal eCommerce email flow method, consider the following:

1. Define Your Goals: Determine if you prioritize deep customer engagement, scalability, or a balance of both.
2. Assess Your Resources: Consider time, technical expertise, and budget constraints to see if manual, automated, or hybrid flows are feasible.
3. Know Your Customer Base: Understand their expectations, the volume of customers, and their buying behavior to tailor your approach.
4. Flexibility and Adaptability: Ensure your chosen method can adapt to changing business scenarios and needs.

Automated email flows in eCommerce provide consistent and timely responses to customer actions without requiring manual intervention. Opting for automation over manual or hybrid methods ensures scalability and consistent customer engagement, especially for growing businesses.

Let’s focus now on the automated eCommerce email flows.

9 Huge Ecommerce Mistakes Avoided With Automated Email Flows

A common oversight among numerous eCommerce businesses is the tendency to shift focus away from the customer as soon as an order is shipped. Failing to nurture post-purchase marketing results in nine huge eCommerce mistakes:

1. Missed opportunities for repeat sales: Loyal customers make up to 50% more repeat purchases. Ignoring them means missing out on easy sales from satisfied clients.
2. Lack of customer loyalty and retention: Building a strong customer relationship will increase repeat purchases. If they feel neglected, they will turn to your competitors.
3. Reduced chances of gaining customer referrals: Happy customers recommend businesses to friends, family, and social networks. Without nurturing post-purchase connections, you lose out on referrals.
4. Ignoring valuable feedback and insights: Engaging customers post-purchase gives valuable feedback on your products. Without communication, you miss out on insights that would drive improvements.
5. Increased marketing costs: Constantly pursuing new clients is more expensive than retaining existing ones. You’ll end up spending more on advertising and promotions.
6. Weakened brand reputation: If existing customers feel undervalued, they will share negative reviews, harming your brand’s reputation.
7. Without tailored email sequences, the workload on your customer service intensifies significantly. Lacking order tracking notifications spikes “where is my order?” (WISMO) inquiries by more than 70%.
8. The rate of returns can be 10-30% above the average return rate thus increasing your costs and damaging your brand reputation.
9. Lost potential for upselling or cross-selling: Engaging with customers post-purchase provides opportunities to promote related products or services, maximizing revenue from a single client.

Automation serves as the key to sidestepping all seven costly mistakes. Invest in the right software and seamlessly integrate it into your eCommerce platform, saving time and money on acquiring new buyers while significantly boosting sales and profit—all on autopilot. Your primary task is creating efficient email flows, establishing the right triggers, crafting compelling content, and letting the system work for you as you focus on growing your business.

Automated Email Sequences Tailor-made for Ecommerce

As said above, automated email sequences tailor-made for eCommerce facilitate timely communication with shoppers based on individual actions and preferences they have shown in the past. Smart algorithms and predefined rules in email sequences respond to triggers like new subscriptions or cart abandonments.

Simply put, email sequences use smart algorithms to understand customer actions. When a buyer’s action matches set criteria, like leaving an item in the cart, the system sends a designated email.

Automated processes ensure timely engagement without manual intervention.

Integrating such mechanisms into an eCommerce strategy guides buyers through the shopping journey, nudging them to spend more. Automation allows you to be occupied with other aspects of the business. With the capacity for scalability, every interaction with customers occurs promptly, optimizing chances for conversions.

10 Reasons Why TrackMage is the Best Choice for Your Ecommerce Email Flows

Recognizing seven significant eCommerce challenges and the massive resources required for success, TrackMage has combined crucial eCommerce email flows into a unified solution.

Acknowledging the exceptional open rates of order tracking emails, TrackMage has integrated essential email sequences into a single software, automatically providing customizable email flows to enhance sales and profits.

TrackMage is primarily order tracking software, seamlessly integrating with over 70 eCommerce platforms (including Shopify, WooCommerce, Zapier, etc.). It has the largest carrier database, encompassing over 1290 carriers worldwide. Our versatile email flows encompass various features, including order tracking, upsell capabilities, review aggregation, branded messaging, and much more.

Here are ten key reasons why TrackMage is the optimal solution for utilizing the power of automation, enhancing sales, bolstering your brand, and retaining long-term customers:

1. Real-Time Order Tracking Notifications: Achieve open rates exceeding 95%, ensuring customers stay informed and engaged.
2. Customizable Sequence Design: Tailor the sequence structure to your needs and customers’ expectations.
3. Brand-Styled Emails: Customize each email in alignment with your brand’s unique style.
4. Turn Buyer Anxiety into Profit: Prevent customers from anxiously waiting for their orders by converting them into receptive buyers open to upsell suggestions.
5. Boost Shares and Referrals: Happy customers share positive experiences and refer others.
6. Seamless Upsell Opportunities: Each email provides discreet upsell capabilities with product suggestions.
7. High Delivery Rates: With consistently high open rates, you can be confident your messages reach buyers.
8. Review Gathering: Monitor delivery progress alongside buyers, trigger emails at opportune moments using psychological effects and buyer biases, and gather positive reviews.
9. Increased Sales: Customized email flows result in a sales boost of over 15%.
10. Enhanced Online Reputation: The accumulation of positive reviews indirectly supports higher search engine rankings, further amplifying your sales and profitability.

TrackMage Customizable Email Flow Examples

Here is how you can customize the email flow for your eCommerce store:

The automated email flow begins as soon as the customer completes their checkout. You should customize flows based on your buyer personas and industry best practices.

Example One of the Post-purchase Email Sequence

1. Initial Tracking Email: Immediately after checkout, email the buyer a unique order tracking number. The introduction email serves as a confirmation and gives assurance about the order’s sequence. Since the initial email has an open rate of over 95%, you will ensure a high open rate for all subsequent emails, which is extremely important for your campaign.
2. Shipment Tracking Instructions: A few hours following the initial email, send another message instructing the customer on how to track the shipment via your website. Use this opportunity to keep anticipation alive by suggesting related products they might consider buying while they await their order.
3. Check-in and Product Information: On the day following the purchase, send an email inquiring whether they successfully tracked their order. If they encounter challenges, offer your assistance and contact details. Provide more information about the product they purchased, potentially alleviating any post-purchase remorse and reinforcing their buying decision.
4. Progress Update: The next day, relay information regarding the shipping progress and estimate the delivery time. If there seems to be a delay, recommend they check with the carrier for more precise details. Maintaining open communication to assuage any concerns and maintain trust is important.
5. Delivery Confirmation: Once the order is delivered, swiftly notify them. At this point, solidify the relationship with the shopper by showing genuine care for the shopping experience. You’ll further deepen buyers’ brand awareness and loyalty and increase the chances of opening the next email in the sequence.
6. Thank You and Encouragement: Upon delivery, send a genuine thank you note, wishing them a delightful experience with their new product. Studies confirm that the day a product is delivered is a prime time to remind the buyer of ongoing offers, discounts, or promotions, as their recent positive experience makes them more inclined to consider another purchase.
7. Review and Support: 3-5 days post-delivery, prompt them to share their feedback on social media and leave a product review. Provide clickable and colorful buttons to increase the chances of fulfilling your request. Express gratitude for the purchase and ensure that support is readily available should they need assistance or have inquiries.

Example Two of the Post-purchase Email Sequence

1. Immediate Thank You & Engagement Nudge

Right after checkout, send an email to the buyer with the order tracking number, accompanied by a note of appreciation. Gently encourage the buyer to track the shipment daily. Increasing the frequency of visits enhances engagement rates, which boosts the website’s ranking score. A higher ranking ensures your products gain better visibility in search results.

2. Tracking Instructions & Product Suggestions

A few hours after the initial checkout email, send instructions about how to track the order via your website. While the shopper is engaged, slide in some product suggestions for them to mull over. Given that shoppers open a staggering 90% of such emails, the odds are in your favor. When you successfully transition waiting anxiety into eager anticipation, buyers are more receptive to sales pitches.

3. Tracking Inquiry & Product Insights

One day after the purchase, check in to see if the buyer managed to track the order. If they encounter hiccups, lend a helping hand. Go a step further by offering delightful insights about the item they’ve chosen. You’ll deepen the trust and dissolve any remnants of post-purchase remorse.

4. Progress Updates & Delays Protocol

The second day after the checkout, keep the buyer in the loop about the order’s status and give them a heads-up about estimated delivery times. If the shipment is late, suggest checking with a carrier.

5. Delivery Confirmation & Upsell

Once the order is successfully delivered, deepen your bond. Express your sincere thanks once more. If your information or analytics indicate that the buyer is receptive to purchasing more expensive items or add-ons, subtly integrate additional product suggestions or offers. Use your information to make an educated guess about a buyer’s readiness to make another purchase. Alternatively, refresh their memory about ongoing deals or discounts. Right after the delight of receiving the order, shoppers are maximally open to repeat purchases.

6. Review Gathering

Between days 2 and 5 post-delivery, dispatch an email prompting the buyer to leave a review. In this phase, buyers are in the most positive mood, and you should use it to gather product reviews. You need reviews for a higher ranking on the internet since they are one of the major ranking factors. Also, it’s well known that products with many 5-star reviews sell much more than those without.

7. Share and Flaunt

From days 7 to 10 post-delivery, let them know you hope they’re savoring the purchase. Encourage them to spread excitement on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Don’t forget to add clickable links to ease the process. Many missed opportunities arose from people’s laziness. If your buyers can share with one click, they will do it since they feel appreciative and happy with a new product.

8. Tantalizing Recommendations

On day 15 post-delivery, send out personalized product recommendations or juicy discounts. Since the purchasing experience is still fresh, the chances of repeat sales are over 15%. They might go over 25% if you tailor your proposal and envelop it in an enticing email message.

9. Engagement Boosters

On day 30 post-delivery, bring the buyer’s attention to the benefits of your loyalty and referral programs or the exclusivity of VIP memberships. If you don’t have one, a well-timed discount coupon can work wonders. With emails like these boasting an impressive 70% open rate, you’ll achieve 10-15% more sales.

10. Last Pitch with a Personal Touch

On the 60th day post-delivery, roll out a meticulously curated discount coupon. Even if the buyer doesn’t use it, you ensure your brand stays front and center in their minds.

Free Trial Email Sequence: TrackMage

No matter which sequence you choose or design your own, you will increase sales by 10–25%. Additionally, you will save money on acquiring new customers. Combining both effects, you’ll increase profit by 20–45% (based on statistical data and good practices). So, don’t wait and keep losing additional earnings. Try all the magnificent benefits of automated eCommerce email flows today and see for yourself.