Manually sending emails to your eCommerce store isn’t a feasible long-term strategy.
This is because the only way to send personalized emails that’ll be relevant to every single customer is to set up triggered emails.
However, sending effective trigger emails involves knowing when and what to send.
In this post, we’ll explain what trigger emails are and share some examples you can consider setting up for your eCommerce store.
What are Trigger Emails?
Trigger emails are automated emails that are scheduled and sent based on certain user behavior.
These emails are automatically triggered and vary depending on where the user is in their purchasing journey.
For example, a customer might get an email nudging them to complete their abandoned cart, while another gets a discount for their recent purchase.
Why Do Triggered Emails Work So Well?
One of the most effective strategies for email marketing is automated email campaigns with a 71% conversion rate.
And this is why they are so effective;
- It nurtures customers and improves their user experience: Trigger emails have a 75% open rate when compared to the other emails you send.
Since these emails are more personalized to their experience, they resonate with it more. So it’s a great way to build a relationship with your customers.
- Helps acquire new users: Users are more influenced to purchase from your store when they get a marketing email from your business.
59% of users say that marketing emails have influenced their purchases. And that all depends on sending the emails when they are so close to making up their minds.
This might be linked to how users are nudged to purchase their abandoned cart, the loyalty messages they get, and discount codes.
All of this contributes to their purchasing behavior which then drives sales.
- Improves marketing productivity: Automating emails helps cut down the time and effort that goes into manual emails.
Your team can simply set up these preset templates, schedule it to the right audience and it’ll always go out at the right time.
At best, you only need to optimize them now and then.
13 Trigger Based Emails to Set Up for Your eCommerce Store
Not sure about what types of emails you’d like to automate? Here are a few real-life triggered email examples and tips that’ll inspire yours.
1. Give your first-time shoppers a warm welcome
First impressions last longer which is why you should always send a trigger email when there’s a new signup.
It’s also a great time to give details on what your brand can offer them.
Using this trigger email example from Underamour, you can consider showing;
- What are the perks of choosing your business? Do they get free shipping? What unique features do you have that make you stand out?
- Resources you think they might find useful. This could be a link to your blog, YouTube channel, community, or social channels.
- A sneak peek of what you stand for as a business - Do you support communities? You could also share your mission like our example above.
A welcome discount code is also a sure way to guarantee that first purchase. So if you can include this, be sure to make it bold.
2. Nudge shoppers with cart abandonment emails
After a few hours of abandoning their cart, you should always set a triggered email to remind a user to complete their purchase.
This is so they don’t end up purchasing from another store.
See how the bedding company Casper uses humor to reel its users back in;
Some tips to consider while setting up triggerd emails are;
- Include trust badges like reviews to help calm any fear they might have about purchasing from your store
- Ensure the CTA redirects them to their cart so they can complete the checkout in one click
- You don’t even have to wait until they abandon their cart. You can also send a trigger email a few hours after they’ve browsed a particular category.
- Add product recommendations to browsing abandon emails so they can see other options
Recommended reading: 40 Abandoned Cart Email Examples That Actually Win Back Lost Customers
3. Send transactional emails
The first set of trigger emails you should set up are your transactional emails.
These emails keep your users updated on the status of their transactions.
It could be an alert for a failed payment or that they’ve successfully canceled an order.
Tips for transactional triggered emails:
- Set up notifications for subscription-based deliveries or packages
- Make it easy for your users to either resubscribe or make another purchase directly from this email
- Give them an alternative reason to stay around. Think of other resources they might just find useful
Do read: Healthcare Email Marketing: 26 High-Converting Examples (+Templates)
4. Always send an order confirmation
After completing a purchase, your subscribers will want to have a payment receipt or confirmation order for their records.
This is why you should trigger an order confirmation email with key information every time they make a successful purchase.
Some tips to design better triggered emails:
- In your order information, be sure to include their order details and shipping address
- Add tracking information and details they might need
- Be also sure to highlight how long shipping will take, your cancellation and refund policy
- Communicate if you’ll be sending a separate email with more details like our example above.
5. Ask for ways to improve their experience with review emails
Your trigger emails are a great way to get user reviews that’ll help boost your business credibility.
They will also come in handy when you need to improve your user experience.
In your product review trigger emails, include;
- A one-question NPS so they aren’t discouraged from responding
- Add an incentive to nudge them into leaving valuable reviews
- Include any disclaimers that you’re sure will affect the quality reviews you’ll get. For example, if your users experience shipping delays, explain why so they don’t focus on this in their reviews
- For better results, schedule the trigger after they’ve successfully made a purchase or received their order
6. Bring back your inactive users with reactivation emails
45% of your inactive customers who receive reactivation emails, read them. This means there’s a chance of getting those customers back full-time.
This is why you should set up reactivation emails targeting this audience segment just like our example below.
Some strategies for your win-back emails you could consider implementing include;
- Asking them to update their contact information for something in return
- Offering a discount or freebie they can’t refuse
- Give them a rundown of everything they’ve missed while they were away. This could include new catalogs, features, or collaborations
- Most importantly, be sure you’re sending it to the right people. For example, a customer on a quarterly subscription box shouldn't be getting emails two months after their last purchase
7. Make your users feel seen on their special days with event emails
Users love knowing that you prioritize them.
So nurture a relationship with them by celebrating the days that are important to them.
A great example is by sending them a birthday email.
- Don’t just stop by saying a happy birthday, give them an incentive to take action on your store.
- Depending on what kind of store you run, collect data on their events. For example, a pet store might want to celebrate a pet’s birthday instead.
- You don’t have to stick to birthdays alone. You could celebrate their graduation, anniversaries, and other similar events.
You'd like to read: 12 Reasons Your eCommerce Pet Store Has Low Conversions (+ Infographic)
8. Create room for feedback and offer support after a purchase
93% of customers are likely to shop again with a brand after a good customer experience.
So foster a welcoming environment by sending automated emails with support immediately after a purchase.
Like Crate and Barrel, some things you should consider including are;
- Your shopping and refund FAQs or policy
- Your contact information, particularly one they can reach out to concerning their order.
Do check out: 41 Marketing Ideas For Online Pet Stores (With Examples)
9. Keep them updated on your stock levels with inventory updates
Give your specific shoppers a reason to shop again with back-in-stock emails.
Set up email notifications so they know when a best-selling item becomes available again.
Some more tips to design a better triggered email:
- Create opt-in forms for users who want to be notified when a certain item is back in stock. This way you can easily know who to send what to.
- Set up back-in-stock notifications from your Shopify or WooCommerce by visiting your events center.
- Add a sense of urgency in your copy so they can be prompted to purchase it immediately when it comes back.
- Include a picture of the item so they can easily recall what the product was and why they wanted to purchase it.
Don't forget to read: 20 Unique Ideas to Improve WooCommerce Product Page Conversion Rates (Updated 2024)
10. Send triggers when you have a new product
Launching a new product soon?
Putting up a banner on your store isn’t enough. Send a product launch email to all your contacts so they know what’s new.
A great way to use this kind of trigger email is if;
- You’ve had a product everyone has been asking you to stock.
- You finally launched your physical store and you’d like to drive traffic there.
- Finally, set it up days ahead of your launch date and even afterward so you can maximize the number of potential leads you’ll get.
11. Encourage them to join your loyalty program with details
As part of your onboarding or welcome emails, we recommend adding a loyalty program starter email.
Here, your customers can learn about your loyalty programs, the requirements, and what they can benefit from it.
Some more ways to design trigger email:
- In this email, be as extensive as possible when highlighting the details
- Add a link to a contact form where they can ask questions about what’s unclear
- Send this after their first purchase. You have a higher chance of converting them then
12. Bring back your users with re-engagement emails
The major difference between re-engagement and reactivation emails is that the latter focuses on users who haven’t been active for a longer period in a bid to win them back.
Reengagement emails are a way to ensure that those who are slipping away, don’t.
Some more ways to design trigger email:
- Create FOMO by sharing a rundown of all they’ve missed while they haven’t been on your website
- Add a discount code or coupon to nudge them into coming back
- Give them an exclusive peek into a new stock
13. Offer discounts now and then
If there’s one thing that has been consistent in this article, it’s how discount codes are effective.
83% of shoppers say discount codes have influenced their shopping behavior.
Some more tips to design a better trigger email:
- We recommend only sharing discounts infrequently so your users don’t get desensitized to it
- You can share these discounts when the other strategies you’ve implemented don’t work
- Add a condition to it. For example, they can share a review or invite their friends to claim this discount
7 Best Practices for Triggered Emails
To get the most out of your trigger emails, there are some key practices to implement. The most important ones include;
1. Choose the right automation tools
Don’t just choose a one-size-fits-all email automation system. Instead, choose one that closely aligns with your needs as an eCommerce store.
For example, it should prioritize revenue reporting and offer templates that are aligned with every step of your user journey.
ConvertCart is a great option to consider.
For starters, this brand solely focuses on eCommerce email marketing. There are tons of email workflows designed specifically for eCommerce.
2. Send very targeted messages
Tracking behavioral data will help you know what your users want and how to present your emails in a way they’d find appealing.
Some behavioral data you might want to track are shopping recency, frequency, the ads they interact with, their typical session duration, and more.
You can collect this information by investing in tools that are designed for this like HotJar, Full Story, and other options. Alternatively, you can ask your customers directly through forms and surveys.
3. Outline trigger events and user segments
Now you don’t want to send an order confirmation email to a user who has never purchased from your store.
So segment your users based on certain categories but do this using preset filters in your automation tool.
For example, a churned customer could be a customer who hasn’t directly purchased a product in the last six months.
Once you set up these filters, allow the preset categories to automatically populate with users who fall into that criteria.
Also check out: 29 easy-to-copy confirmation email templates (eCommerce)
4. Give them a reason to look forward to your emails
Always have a section of your email your readers will look forward to reading.
For example, if you’re a household appliance store, your newsletter could include housekeeping tips.
So every email shouldn’t be about the product or a discount. It could just be old-fashioned good advice or resources you think they’d find useful.
5. Regularly update your user data
You’ll still have to maintain a healthy database and that your users get the right message.
Ensure you’re identifying what your users have done and where they are in the user journey. Do this using relevant tracking events.
A great start is by recording your events with Google Tag Manager. Make sure all tags work fine and test it out with a dummy user account you should have.
6. Schedule emails
69% of users unsubscribe because they get too many emails. So, please don’t implement all types of email triggers if they aren’t relevant to your store.
You also want to make sure that these emails are scheduled at least a few days apart.
Now, you might get away with sending three emails over an hour if they sign up and purchase their first order immediately.
However, for the rest not so much. So ensure that you set up a condition that allows them to ‘wait’ at least a day before getting the next mail.
7. Track your results
Like other types of emails, you also have to constantly review the emails to ensure they are up to date.
For example, if your shipping terms have changed, your automated emails will have to reflect that.
We also recommend A/B testing some of the emails you send. This way you can know what version works best.
Before you go...
Trigger emails are a powerful tool for eCommerce businesses to increase sales and engagement.
However, all customers are not the same.
So personalize your trigger emails based on their preferences and how they engage with your eCommerce store.
Start by building it with ConvertCart here.
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