The four email flows that earn their keep

Email remains the highest-margin channel in commerce, and most stores run a fraction of it: a newsletter when someone remembers, maybe a welcome discount. Four automated flows earn the bulk of lifecycle revenue. Build these before anything clever.

Welcome: set expectations

Three emails, not one. The first delivers the promised incentive immediately. The second tells the brand story and points at bestsellers. The third answers the questions hesitant buyers ask. Measure revenue per recipient, not open rate.

Abandonment: recover, don't nag

Cart and browse abandonment together recover a low-single-digit share of otherwise lost checkouts — which compounds on real traffic. One reminder, one objection-handler (shipping, returns, reviews), one last nudge. Then stop. A fourth email doesn't persuade; it trains people to ignore you.

Post-purchase: earn the second order

Order confirmation, shipping, delivery, then a well-timed check-in with usage tips and complementary products. The second purchase is the cheapest revenue a store can earn, and this flow is where it comes from.

Winback: prune or revive

Customers who haven't bought in 90–180 days get a short sequence — then either return or leave the list. A smaller engaged list outperforms a large cold one on deliverability and on every metric that matters.