--- title: "How to Create Shopify Automated Emails (Complete 2026 Guide)" description: "Learn how to set up automated email flows in Shopify. Welcome series, abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase follow-ups, win-back campaigns, and review requests." url: https://easyappsecom.com/guides/how-to-create-shopify-automated-emails.html date: 2026-03-20 --- # How to Create Shopify Automated Emails (Complete 2026 Guide) EasyApps Ecommerce Last updated: March 2026 How to Create Shopify Automated Emails (Complete 2026 Guide) By Jack Smith · Updated March 19, 2026 · 19 min read TL;DR: Automated emails generate revenue while you sleep. Shopify supports built-in automations for abandoned cart recovery, order confirmations, and shipping notifications, plus Shopify Email and Shopify Flow for custom automated sequences. The five essential automations every store needs: welcome series (captures new subscribers), abandoned cart recovery (recovers 5-15% of lost sales), post-purchase follow-up (drives repeat purchases), review requests (builds social proof), and win-back campaigns (re-engages lapsed customers). Capture more email subscribers with EA Email Popup & Spin Wheel . Why Email Automation Is Non-Negotiable Email marketing generates $36 for every $1 spent, making it the highest-ROI marketing channel available to ecommerce merchants. But the real power of email is not in one-time campaigns — it is in automation. Automated emails send the right message to the right person at the right time, triggered by specific customer actions, without any manual effort from you. Consider the numbers: automated abandoned cart emails recover 5-15% of abandoned carts. Welcome series convert 50% more subscribers into first-time buyers compared to a single welcome email. Post-purchase sequences increase repeat purchase rates by 20-30%. Win-back campaigns recover 10-15% of churning customers. These automations run 24/7, generating revenue while you focus on other aspects of your business. The cost of not having email automation is real and measurable. Without abandoned cart emails, you lose the 70% of shoppers who add items to their cart but do not complete checkout. Without welcome sequences, new subscribers go cold within days. Without post-purchase follow-ups, first-time buyers never become repeat customers. Every day without these automations is lost revenue. Shopify provides several built-in email automation tools, and the ecosystem of email marketing apps extends these capabilities further. This guide covers both native Shopify tools and strategies you can implement immediately, regardless of which email platform you use. Shopify Built-In Email Notifications Shopify includes a set of transactional email notifications that are active by default. These are not marketing emails — they are operational messages triggered by order events: Order confirmation: Sent immediately when a customer completes checkout. Includes order details, items purchased, shipping address, and estimated delivery time. This is the most opened email your store sends (open rates typically exceed 80%), making it a prime opportunity to include marketing elements like related products or social media links. Shipping confirmation: Sent when you fulfill an order and add tracking information. Includes the tracking number and a link to track the shipment. Customers expect this email and will contact support if they do not receive it. Delivery confirmation: Sent when the carrier reports the package as delivered. Shopify integrates with major carriers to detect delivery status automatically. Abandoned checkout email: Shopify includes a basic abandoned checkout email that sends automatically to customers who enter their email at checkout but do not complete the purchase. Go to Settings > Checkout to enable it and choose the timing (1 hour, 6 hours, 10 hours, or 24 hours after abandonment). Customizing notification templates: Go to Settings > Notifications to view and edit all notification templates. You can customize the subject line, body text, and design. Add your brand colors, logo, and tone of voice. While the templates use Liquid code, many customizations can be made without coding knowledge. Setting Up a Welcome Email Series A welcome series is a sequence of emails sent to new subscribers over their first 1-2 weeks. It is your chance to introduce your brand, build trust, and drive the first purchase. Here is a proven 5-email welcome series structure: Email 1 (Immediate): Welcome and deliver the promised incentive. If the subscriber signed up through a popup offering 10% off, deliver the discount code immediately. Include a brief brand introduction (2-3 sentences about who you are and what you stand for) and a clear CTA to shop with the discount. Email 2 (Day 2): Tell your brand story. Share why you started, what makes your products different, and what your customers love about you. Include customer testimonials or review quotes. This builds emotional connection and trust. No hard sell — this is about relationship building. Email 3 (Day 4): Showcase your best sellers. Feature your 3-5 top-selling products with images, brief descriptions, and links. Social proof is powerful here — mention that these are "customer favorites" or "our most-reviewed products." Include a subtle reminder of their discount code if they have not used it. Email 4 (Day 7): Address common objections. Share your shipping policy (especially if you offer free shipping), your return policy, and any guarantees. Link to customer reviews or UGC (user-generated content). The goal is to remove the remaining barriers between the subscriber and their first purchase. Email 5 (Day 10): Create urgency. If you offered a welcome discount, remind them it expires soon (set an actual expiration on the discount code to make this genuine). Feature a curated selection of products and make the CTA prominent. This is your strongest push for the first purchase conversion. To capture email subscribers effectively, use EA Email Popup & Spin Wheel which gamifies the signup process and achieves 2-3x higher opt-in rates than standard popups. Abandoned Cart Recovery Automation Abandoned cart emails are the single most revenue-generating automation for most Shopify stores. With 70% of carts being abandoned, even recovering a small percentage translates to significant revenue. Timing strategy: Send a sequence of 3 emails with escalating urgency and incentives: Email 1 (1 hour after abandonment): A gentle reminder. Subject line: "You left something behind." Show the specific products in their cart with images and prices. Include a direct link back to their cart. No discount yet — many customers simply got distracted and will complete the purchase with just a reminder. This first email typically recovers 3-5% of abandoned carts. Email 2 (24 hours after abandonment): Social proof and reassurance. Show the cart items again, add customer reviews for those products, mention your return policy and shipping guarantees. Address the subconscious reasons for hesitation (quality concerns, buyer remorse, trust). Still no discount — save it for the final push. Email 3 (48-72 hours after abandonment): The incentive email. Offer a time-limited discount (5-10% off or free shipping) to close the deal. Create genuine urgency with a 24-48 hour expiration. This email recovers an additional 2-5% of abandoned carts. Use a unique, single-use discount code to prevent abuse. Implementation: Shopify built-in abandoned checkout email handles basic recovery. For a multi-email sequence, use Shopify Email automations or a third-party email platform like Klaviyo, Mailchimp, or Omnisend that integrates with Shopify and supports multi-step abandoned cart flows. Subject line optimization: Test different subject lines. Top performers include: "Did you forget something?" "Your cart is waiting," "Still thinking about it?" and personalized lines that include the product name. Avoid spammy language like "BUY NOW" or excessive exclamation marks. Post-Purchase Follow-Up Sequences The period after a customer first purchase is the most critical window for building a long-term relationship. A post-purchase sequence nurtures that relationship and drives repeat purchases: Email 1 (Day 1 after delivery): Ask how it is going. Check if the product arrived in good condition, offer help if there a...