30 Best Email Marketing Examples In eCommerce (2026)

You already know what email marketing is – but what kind of emails should you be sending from your eCommerce store?

Well, go no further. We’ve surveyed over 500+ brands and compiled this list of 30 eCommerce email marketing examples to take inspiration from.

Let’s go!

30 Best Email Marketing Examples from eCommerce Brands

> Must-have Emails / Transactional Emails

In 2026, ensure your transactional emails:

👉 Establish that your brand can be trusted with non-salesy language

👉 Highlight brand promises that are true differentiators

👉 Show the most relevant social proof features in each email

1. Account Confirmation Emails

Brand: Alo Yoga

Subject Line: Alo Customer Account Invitation

👉 Key takeaway: Use account confirmation emails to get subscribers towards their first (or second) purchase – here's how you do it:

• Tease elements like an unlockable discount 
• Follow up with how close they are to unlocking the discount (in case of inactivity)
• Show user activity from your socials (as Alo Yoga does)
• Reaffirm and explain brand benefits like quick shipping, BNPL options, etc. 

FURTHER READING: Turn boring transactional emails into cash cows: 10 proven ideas

2. Welcome Emails

Brand: Pretty Little Thing

👉 Key takeaway: Use welcome emails in your eCommerce email marketing to educate shoppers while helping you map out their interests – make sure you:

• Start with the benefits teased in your account confirmation email (like welcome discounts, BNPL payment, etc.)
• Offer ways to collect subscriber information like birthdays, anniversary dates, etc. 
• Showcase the latest drops/collections based on sizes, gender, etc. (so that you can track which links get clicked and collect user preferences)
• Introduce trust-building elements like trust badges, logos of press mentions, etc.

FURTHER READING: 15 Incredible Examples of Welcome Emails (eCommerce)

3. Activation Emails

Brand: Patrick Ta

Subject Line: Hey Friend, Complimentary Lip Gloss Inside

Preview Text: Exclusive first-time gift + 15% off your order ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ 

👉 Key takeaway: Segment your activation emails by tracking engagement from your welcome flow – here are some ideas:

• Opened the welcome email and browsed: Recommend products based on browsing history with a reminder of the discount
• Opened the welcome email but didn’t browse: Remind about the welcome discount in ‘$’ value and offer free shipping/samples (like the example does)
• Didn’t open the welcome email: Send them to your re-engagement flow

FURTHER READING: 18 Welcome Email Best Practices To Drive More Sales

4. Policy Update Emails

Brand: Satomi Kawakita

Subject Line: An Important Reminder: Price Increase Effective May 1st

👉 Key takeaway: Policy updates don't exactly fall under marketing emails – but you can use them in your eCommerce email marketing for:

• Changes to your product manufacturing processes
• Modifications to your ongoing programs like loyalty programs
• Updates on brand milestones like the number of returns handled, impact on recycling etc.

FURTHER READING: 25 Tips to Increase Sales Through Email Marketing (+ Amazing Examples)

> Abandonment Emails

In 2026, ensure your abandonment email flows:

👉 Answer unspoken questions faster

👉 Remove the specific friction that caused abandonment

• For browse abandonment it is exploration friction
• For cart abandonment it is risk friction
• For 1:1 abandonment emails, normalize hesitation and then personalize in removing it

5. Browse Abandonment Emails

Brand: Dooney & Bourke

Subject Line: The Gretta Brenna is Calling Your Name!

Preview Text: Take another look at this iconic style with 10% off.

👉 Key takeaway: Consider changing the incentives for existing shoppers in your browse abandonment emails – and, experiment with the following: 

• Recommending products based on their purchase as well as browsing history 
• Reminding about indirect incentives like redeemable loyalty points
• Offering direct incentives like discounts on their next order

FURTHER READING: How To (Actually) Drive Sales Through Browse Abandonment Emails

6. Cart Abandonment Emails

Brand: Session

Subject Line: 2 hours left.

Preview Text: Your 10% off code will expire soon 

👉 Key takeaway: Create a flow for your cart abandonment emails to build urgency – here's a cart abandonment flow to integrate into your eCommerce email strategy:

• Start with a simple reminder like “We’ve saved your cart”
• Follow up with “Your cart will be expiring soon”
• Offer a flash discount to non-engagers with a countdown timer
• Offer limited-time free shipping / extra warranty for engagers who haven't made a purchase yet
• Do a final follow-up (example above)
• End the flow 

P.S. Consider changing the incentives in your cart abandonment emails – experiment with free gifting options, and other brand benefits that shoppers may be interested in.

FURTHER READING: 40 Abandoned Cart Email Examples That Actually Win Back Lost Customers

7. 1:1 Emails

Brand: The Inside

Subject Line: 20% off expires tonight! ⏰

👉 Key takeaway: Plain text emails feel immensely personal – consider using them for:

• Cart abandonment flows
• Announcing VIP sales
• Taking feedback from shoppers returning items / leaving negative feedback
• Re-engaging subscribers 

P.S. Overusing plain text emails will lead them to lose value. 

FURTHER READING: eCommerce Email Copywriting: 20 Game-Changing Tips

Also check out: Top eCommerce Email Marketing Trends For 2026

> Sales Emails

In 2026, ensure your sales emails:

👉 Create readiness to buy — and line up events that make the process interesting

👉 Build on anticipation across the different types you float (and not reset it with each type)

👉 Turn attention spikes into lasting conviction in your brand

👉 Train customers subtly that engagement leads to better buying opportunities 

8. Early-Access Emails

Brand: Nike

Subject Line: Classic first move, — 👌

Preview Text: Now check out the Nike App and see what else is waiting for you.

👉 Key takeaway: Use your early access emails to offer exclusive access and other loyalty program benefits. Periodically track engagement, and send these emails to:

• Subscribers who open more than 50% of all emails sent
• Recent purchasers who match (or are close to) your store’s AOV
• Subscribers who’ve completed a micro-conversion (like signing up)

FURTHER READING: 15 amazing drip email campaigns that actually drive sales

9. Pre-Order Emails

Brand: Kendra Scott

Subject Line: Your First Look at Disney | Kendra Scott

Preview Text: The countdown is on! So, let’s plan your buy.

👉 Key takeaway: Other than offering early access, consider building your pre-order email marketing flow with:

• A sneak peek of your upcoming collection/product with an explainer
• An exclusive flash sale to active email subscribers 72 hours, prior to the launch
• A countdown email to the launch event

FURTHER READING: The Right Way to Calculate Email Marketing ROI in eCommerce

10. Live-Stream Announcement Emails

Brand: Ann Marie

Subject Line: Watch the Replay: Live Makeup Suggestions from Annmarie Skin Care!

Preview Text: Makeup Suggestions from Annmarie Skin Care ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ 

👉 Key takeaway: You can use your live-stream emails to build up solid hype – here’s one example live stream email flow:

• 1st email: Announce the details of the live stream – like topic, dates, platform, etc.
• 2nd email: Follow up with an expanded detail of why the live stream is being held – feature some social proof regarding guests/hosts
• 3rd email: Post-live summary, showing takeaways and suggestions (like the example above)

P.S. You can level up the exclusivity, by announcing that exclusive discounts will be given – and only live-stream attendees will have access to the post-live recording and discount.

FURTHER READING: 25 Ways to Grow Your Email Click Through Rate Quickly (eCommerce)

11. Mystery Emails

Brand: Nine West

Subject Line: 🎉 Congrats, You've Unlocked a Secret Offer

Preview Text:  Click to reveal

👉 Key takeaway: Delivering personalization AND gamification, drives intrigue PLUS sales – here are some ideas to apply within your eCommerce email marketing:

• Use the subject line and preview text to pique the sense of intrigue and exclusivity (note how this example does this)
• Offer a tiered discount that shows the discount the user has unlocked and the ones they can unlock if they cross a $X threshold (adjust X to your AOV)
• Or gray out the offer and ask subscribers to click – which will lead them to a custom landing page
• You can also consider using a dynamic counter in the email to update how many subscribers have gotten a discount 

P.S. You can use this type of email to collect user data – check how Nine West can easily map shoe sizes to a shopper’s profile – all they have to do is track which sizes get clicked on. 😉

FURTHER READING: eCommerce Email Mobile Optimization: 35 Guidelines For Store Owners

12. Product Launch Emails

Brand: Color Standard

👉 Key takeaway: Space your product launch emails to create a lasting impact – here are some ideas:

• For the 1st email: Show the product from different angles to bring out the key benefits paired with USPs like “a short you can wear all day, minus the odor”
• For the 2nd email: Follow up with more social proof (like creators wearing your product) and reaffirm the product’s USP with different copy
• For the last product launch email: Try segmenting by engagement – for engaging subscribers, send browse abandonment emails offering an incentive to try the product out – and, for the rest, re-introduce the product, once more 

P.S. Feature the newly launched product periodically in your monthly newsletters (Color Standard does the same).

FURTHER READING: 10 product launch email examples that drove massive sales (+ templates)

13. Holiday / Seasonal Emails

Brand: Crocs

Subject Line: Father’s Day Gifting Made Easy

Preview Text: Show Dad he’s #1 with all-day comfort and Dad-approved styles. Free shipping on qualified orders.

👉 Key takeaway: Seasonal emails are perfect for showcasing your humor – but you should use them for curating products – because shoppers are looking for inspiration – here are some ideas you can try:

• Start early and remind subscribers to buy at a discounted price (early shoppers are always down for discounts)
• Introduce collections or product ranges in line with the seasonality (like red white and blue napkins for the 4th of July)
• Close to the end of the sale, offer shoppers express delivery options like next-day delivery or pick-up in-store 
• End your seasonal flow with a newsletter email, thanking shoppers for shopping

FURTHER READING: Best-Performing Holiday Email Templates for eCommerce (+ Brand Examples)

14. Upsell / Cross-sell Emails

Brand: Vaporfi

Subject Line: Price Drops ↘️ Kits Starting at $7.99

Preview Text: Quality Kits at Rock Bottom Prices

👉 Key takeaway: Combine upsells with cross-sells by categorizing intelligently (Vaporfi does this by sorting products by price). Other than that, you can also try these ideas for upselling/cross-selling:

• Show a product comparison chart in your emails out of your recommendations
• Offer pre-created bundles (or create their own bundle) out of your product recommendations 
• Use the decoy effect – which means you should change some attributes of a listing to make it more attractive
• Showcase seasonality in your upsells/cross-sells

P.S. Avoid recommending more than 3 products in a row – this will help you avoid creating choice paralysis for shoppers.

FURTHER READING: eCommerce Upsell Emails: High-converting Examples (+ Templates)

15. Discount / Promotional Emails

Brand: Origins

👉 Key takeaway: Try framing your discounts in such a way that shoppers can’t afford to miss them – note how Origins makes customers feel they will lose out on a ‘just for them’ offer:

• The email copy feels extremely personalized (note the “our bestsellers just for you”)
• Shows animated images in the hero section to show different combinations of bundles
• Changes the value of the offer in each email to maximize the value proposition (note how the second email shows “$186 value” instead of “$99 value”)

P.S. You can use this exact method to clear out your slow-moving inventory (all while increasing your AOV).

FURTHER READING: 40 Discount Email Templates (& Examples) for eCommerce Stores

16. Newsletter Emails

Brand: Stumptown Coffee Roasters

­

👉 Key takeaway: Use your newsletters as a way to connect with and celebrate your customers – here are some ideas we've sourced from across the best email marketing retail examples:

• Monthly roundups of brand updates, bestselling products, newly launched collections
• Factoids on products, showing research, and testimonials
• Community roundups, showcasing user-generated content, or sowing ideas for a cause
• Celebrating seasonal events like New Years, Back to School, etc
• Post-purchase education, showing customers how to take care of their purchases

FURTHER READING: eCommerce Newsletter: 20 Ways To Stand Out And Actually Drive Sales

> Post Purchase Emails

In 2026, ensure your post purchase emails:

👉 Validate the buying decision creatively 

👉 Throw light on the “experience of the product”

👉 Show customer support options super clearly

17. Thank You / Order Confirmation Emails

Brand: MeUndies

Subject Line: Order Received (Thanks!)

👉 Key takeaway: Order confirmation emails can be fun and light-hearted, but must be deeply functional. In your retail email campaigns, remember to:

• Follow up with an account confirmation email, to help convert shoppers who’ve made their first purchase using guest checkout.
• Include a section showing how to use the product a customer has purchased
• Provide a breakdown of your order with clear delivery instructions and date 

P.S. Consider modifying this template for sending at the end of giveaway campaigns – try showcasing social proof with photos and videos of giveaway winners with the products. If you’re running a giveaway for a cause, show your impact on the cause (like no. of donations raised, amount raised, etc.). 

FURTHER READING: Top 20 eCommerce Thank You Email Examples That Convert

18. Shipping Emails

Brand: Vuori

Subject Line: Your Order Is Making Moves

👉 Key takeaway: Always offer content to handle post-purchase regret in your eCommerce email campaigns – along with options to:

• Track rewards and increase user retention 
• Option to download invoices
• Check policies regarding warranty, shipping 
• Option to find service points

FURTHER READING: 29 easy-to-copy confirmation email templates (eCommerce)

19. Review Emails

Brand: Chewy

Subject Line: Tell us what you think

👉 Key takeaway: Apart from dynamically loading products from past purchases and asking shoppers to review those, try following up in this manner:

• For negative reviews, follow up with a separate survey and winback flow (offer benefits like flat $X off or flat X% off)
• For positive reviews, show them that you’ve featured their review on your website
• For non-engagers, ask what went wrong – and, offer incentives to review (like a referral bonus)

P.S. Make sure you aren’t triggering review emails, way too quickly – for example, products with a longer shelf life should be ideally followed up within 20 to 30 days of usage (like cellphones, earphones, etc).

FURTHER READING: 17 Unconventional Post-Purchase Emails (+ How to copy them)

Also check out: 10 Questions to Ask When Hiring An eCommerce Email Marketing Agency

20. Survey Emails

Brand: Ocean Saver

Subject Line: Your chance to spill the tea ☕

Preview Text: Your feedback will help us create the future

👉 Key takeaway: Not all survey emails have to tease a reward – a common call can also help deliver the impact. If you’re wondering who you should send these survey emails to, try people who:

• Had a chat with your chatbot/live chat agent
• Made a return/complaint
• Left positive feedback
• Left negative feedback
• To non-engaging subscribers

FURTHER READING: Reduce eCommerce Returns with Intelligent UX (+ Smart Handling ideas)

> Loyalty Emails

In 2026, ensure your loyalty marketing emails:

👉 Focus on ease, usage and browsing at a more personalized level

👉 Reinforce a stronger connection between shoppers & your brand

• Reinforce shared values (between referrer and referee, for instance)
• Prioritize personal milestones of shoppers not just the brand’s
• Incentivize shoppers beyond just the immediate purchase 

21. Giveaway Emails

Brand: Act + Acre

Subject Line: Enter To Win Your Dream Hair

Preview Text: Win your custom summer hair routine valued at $200 ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ 

👉 Key takeaway: Start with the impact first – use the $ value to reel in subscribers. 

• Showcase the value and the goal in the subject and preview text 
• Show the product(s) in use along with some proof 
• Follow up with your brand benefits (check the iconography above the footer)

FURTHER READING: 12 eCommerce Brands Acing Cause Marketing in 2026

22. Anniversary Emails

Brand: The Baby Cubby

Subject Line: It's Your (First Purchase) Anniversary!

Preview Text: Enjoy a special gift inside! ­ ­ ­

👉 Key takeaway: When it comes to effective eCommerce email marketing, celebrating customer and brand milestones is key:

• Purchase anniversaries
• Engagement/wedding anniversaries (especially relevant for jewelry brands) 
• First school day
• First social media post about the brand 
• First review/impact made through reviews 

FURTHER READING: 26 Brilliant Ways To Boost eCommerce Repeat Sales

23. Rewards Emails

Brand: Hallmark

Subject Line: You just earned points from Crown Rewards!

Preview Text: Thanks for your purchase.

👉 Key takeaway: Make reward emails work as activation for new customers:

• Show suggestions based on customer history 
• Ask to create an account 
• Showcase rewards earned with a progress bar showing the top reward that can be earned
• Offer limited-time exclusive email discounts­ ­for email subscribers

Do check out: 15 Top Examples of eCommerce Teaser Emails (+ Templates)

24. Replenishment Emails

Brand: Office Depot

Subject Line: {name}, It's time for a refill.

Preview Text: Office Depot® Check your ink. Make sure you have a good supply.

👉 Key takeaway: Persistent personalization is key to driving return sales through replenishment email campaigns – however, make sure you:

• Avoid cross-selling on every replenishment email – just offer deals on quantities here (or on shipping)
• Allow users to customize their subscription preferences within the email like frequency of deliveries, adjust product quantities, or even swap out items based on their current needs

FURTHER READING: Writing Replenishment Emails That Convert

25. Referral Emails

Brand: Away

Subject Line: Give $20, get $20

👉 Key takeaways: 

• Creates an added incentive for shoppers by keeping referrals as a part of your activation as well as post-purchase flow
• You can also use referrals for days like “National Friends Day” or “Random Acts of Kindness Day” – check this awesome referral email from Kailo:

FURTHER READING:  eCommerce Referral Email: 10 Examples That Really Work

> Triggered Emails

In 2026, ensure your triggered emails:

👉 Help shoppers where they left off

• Deepen a sense of evaluation with back-in-stock emails
• Acknowledge the possible change of needs in winback emails
• Lead with the outcome if they need to complete steps through a quiz email

👉 Build more confidence as far as future buying goes

• Go beyond discounts and educate
• Go beyond bestsellers and hinge on “personal preferences”

26. Quiz Emails

Brand: Estee Lauder

Subject Line: A Flawless Quiz ✨ Find Your Foundation Match

Preview Text: Meet your perfect shade and finish.

👉 Key takeaway: This particular email in essence is a browse abandonment email, but in reality quiz emails can be used to:

• Show influencer-backed recommendations
• Create and upsell routines with products 
• Help deliver brand services like finding sizes or saving personalization like vehicle model year and type

FURTHER READING: 17 Proven Ideas to Improve Email Marketing Conversion Rate (+ Examples)

27. Out-of-Stock Emails

Brand: MVMT

Subject Line: We're Retiring These!

Preview Text: Once they're gone, they're gone for good

👉 Key takeaway: Turn your out-of-stock emails into FOMO drivers like MVMT does. Just because out-of-stock emails are transactional, doesn’t mean they can’t have a humorous edge. 

For example, you could notify users who’ve got products with low stocks added to a wishlist.

FURTHER READING: 13 Triggered Email Examples That Actually Drive Conversions

28. Back-in-Stock Emails

Brand: Chubbies

Subject Line: IT'S A LIMITED EDITION RESTOCK PARTY

Preview Text: And George Kittle is coming! ­ 

👉 Key takeaway: Not all back-in-stock emails have to be an announcement, you can take them a step further and make them limited editions, as Chubbies does. 

FURTHER READING: 24 Best Back-In-Stock Email Examples (+Templates)

29. Re-engagement Emails

Brand: Peak Chocolate (AU)

Subject Line: Is everything ok?

👉 Key takeaway: Try being genuine in your re-engagement emails. Why: new subscribers signing up and dropping off is never a good sign (and ultimately leads your emails to be marked as graymail). 

Need more ideas for your re-engagement emails?

FURTHER READING: Re-engagement Email Examples That (Actually) Win Back Subscribers

30. Winback Emails

Brand: Carparts.com

Subject Line: It's been a while!

Preview Text: Stock up on parts online.

👉 Key takeaway: Winback emails are for existing shoppers who have dropped off from your emails. 

Thus, they require something way more direct – like an incentive along with discounts on products they may need (like car accessories or parts tailored to the subscriber's vehicle model).

FURTHER READING: 11 High-Converting Win Back Email Examples (+ Templates)

How to Craft an eCommerce Email Marketing Strategy for 2026

As you cut down on paid ads, which’ll shoot up even more, you’ll have to grow your revenue through emails in 2026.

And that demands that you sharpen the way you create flows, prioritize the types of email you send and do more with less (so that you’re doing mindful marketing & shoppers are less frustrated too!)

Here are 4 aspects you’ll have to pay attention to if you want your eCommerce email marketing to leverage behavior, enhance trust and enrich continuity of experience.

👉 Include real data in your storytelling

We’re not talking big reports here, but micro data. The kind of patterns you glean from reviews or even surveys —  to the tune of “98% of customers recommend this to friends” and “most shoppers see results in 3 days flat”. 

Shoppers are already used to brands saying the best about themselves. 

But in 2026 more than ever, they’d like to know how other shoppers have taken to a product and what they’ve got to say about it.

👉 Train AI to detect where the shoppers are on their journey

Using email marketing to scale in 2026 will mean not just using AI — but using it super strategically. 

We’re talking about taking AI beyond automating product recommendations. 

We’re saying, look at behavioral shifts through the AI lens, and not just standalone actions. 

How long has it been for a shopper between visits?

How many times have they seen your website content but not bought?

This is where AI can step into see who’s still deeply explorating and who’s already transitioning between exploration and comparison, for instance.

👉 Create connected experiences over email to spike loyalty

To take your eCommerce email marketing strategy to the next level in 2026, you’ll have to move away from isolated email campaigns. 

And instead, use email as an integrated lens to create a continuum of rich experience for every subscriber. 

For one, begin to look at email as a vehicle for more than just discounts. 

Give it the edge of surprising through convenience (early access on new launches), reassuring through steady education (by including pro tips, guides etc.) and making it easier to compare products across your catalog based on browsing preferences.

👉 Shape quicker customer decisions with simple & useful content

eCommerce email marketing has all the potential under the sun to aid your shoppers in product discovery. 

But you’ll have to take the lead in this direction — and not just in how you educate “how good” a product they’re considering is. 

You’ll have to teach them “how to pick the right product quicker.”

So, this will involve you telling them how to avoid common mistakes, resolve hesitation around signals like lots of comparing without cart ads and anticipating next questions that shoppers may ask.

RECOMMENDED READING

Fashion Email Marketing: 32 Workflow Ideas (With Real Examples)

Jewelry Email Marketing: 40 Amazing Examples For Online Stores

Brilliant eCommerce Retargeting (and Remarketing) Examples

12 Better Alternatives To Buying Email Lists (For eComm Stores)

Ready to put these best email marketing examples to action?

Remember: most eCommerce store owners don’t see email as a serious revenue stream.

Ask them about the importance of email marketing, and you'll hear: “we don’t really have a major strategy,” “we mostly use generic templates,” or “we just send emails to people on our list.”

BUT AT THE SAME TIME:

There are stores out there that drive 30%+ of their revenue from email marketing. 

Engage can help you do the same – Book a free demo.

We’ll show you:

• workflows we can create for your store,
• proven ways to drive 30% or more $$ from email alone, and
• successful templates and strategies from your industry (and others).