Here’s a number that surprises most e-commerce founders: the best-performing Shopify brands generate 30-40% of their total revenue from email.
Not 5%. Not 10%. A third or more.
And they’re not doing it by sending daily discount codes. They’re doing it with a system — automated flows that run in the background, campaigns that feel personal, and a strategy that treats email as a revenue channel, not an afterthought.
If your email revenue share is under 20%, you’re leaving serious money on the table. Here’s how to fix that.
Why email revenue matters more than you think
Every sale from email is a sale you didn’t pay for with ads. Think about that.
When someone buys through a Meta ad, you paid for that click. When someone buys through an email, your only cost was the Klaviyo subscription you’re already paying for.
Email is your highest-margin revenue channel. The more revenue you can shift to email, the more profitable your business becomes — even if total revenue stays the same.
Here’s the maths:
- A brand doing £50,000/month with 10% from email = £5,000 email revenue
- That same brand at 35% from email = £17,500 email revenue
- The difference: £12,500/month in revenue that costs almost nothing to generate
That’s £150,000 per year. From a channel most brands neglect.
The two types of email revenue
Email revenue comes from two sources, and you need both:
1. Flows (automated emails) — target: 50-60% of email revenue
Flows are automated sequences triggered by customer behaviour. Someone abandons their cart, they get a cart abandonment email. Someone makes a purchase, they get a post-purchase sequence.
You set them up once, and they run forever. The essential flows:
- Welcome series — convert new subscribers into first-time buyers
- Abandoned cart — recover 10-15% of abandoned carts
- Browse abandonment — follow up on viewed products
- Post-purchase — thank, educate, cross-sell, request reviews
- Win-back — re-engage customers who haven’t bought in 60-90 days
- Sunset — clean out unengaged subscribers
For a deep dive on all the flows you need, read our Klaviyo flows guide.
2. Campaigns (manual sends) — target: 40-50% of email revenue
Campaigns are the emails you send on a schedule — weekly newsletters, product launches, seasonal promotions, content roundups.
Most brands either send too few campaigns (one a month) or send too many without a plan (daily discounts). Neither works.
The sweet spot: 2-4 campaigns per week.
Yes, really. If your content is genuinely useful and relevant, your audience won’t mind hearing from you. The key word is “useful.”
Building your flow foundation
If you’re starting from scratch, build flows in this order of revenue impact:
Priority 1: Abandoned cart flow
This is almost always the highest-revenue flow. Someone chose a product, added it to their cart, and left. The intent is there — they just need a nudge.
Structure:
- Email 1 (1 hour after): Soft reminder with cart contents
- Email 2 (24 hours): Address objections (free returns, free shipping)
- Email 3 (48 hours): Urgency or social proof
Benchmark: 5-10% of abandoned carts recovered.
Priority 2: Welcome series
Your welcome sequence converts new subscribers into first-time buyers. It should be 4 emails over 7 days: deliver the offer, tell your story, show proof, gentle sell.
Benchmark: 3-5% conversion rate from subscriber to first purchase.
Priority 3: Post-purchase flow
The sale isn’t the end — it’s the beginning of the relationship. Post-purchase flows drive repeat purchases and increase customer lifetime value.
Structure:
- Email 1 (immediately): Order confirmation with brand personality
- Email 2 (3-5 days): Usage tips or “how to get the most from your purchase”
- Email 3 (7-10 days): Review request
- Email 4 (14-21 days): Cross-sell related products
- Email 5 (30 days): Replenishment reminder (if applicable)
Benchmark: 10-15% of first-time buyers make a second purchase within 60 days.
Priority 4: Browse abandonment
Someone viewed a product but didn’t add to cart. Lower intent than cart abandonment, but still warm.
Structure:
- Email 1 (2-4 hours): “Still thinking about [product]?”
- Email 2 (24 hours): Social proof for the products they viewed
Benchmark: 2-4% conversion rate.
Priority 5: Win-back flow
Customers who haven’t purchased in 60-90 days are at risk of churning. Win them back before they forget you.
Structure:
- Email 1 (60 days): “We miss you” with bestsellers
- Email 2 (75 days): Exclusive offer to return
- Email 3 (90 days): Final “is this goodbye?” with last-chance incentive
Benchmark: 3-5% reactivation rate.
Campaign strategy that doesn’t feel like spam
The difference between “valuable email” and “spam” isn’t frequency — it’s relevance. Here’s how to send 2-4 times per week without annoying people:
Mix your content types
Don’t send the same type of email every time. Rotate between:
- Product spotlight — feature one product with story, reviews, and photos
- Educational content — tips, how-tos, behind-the-scenes (link to your blog)
- Social proof — customer stories, UGC, reviews
- Promotions — sales, bundles, limited editions (keep to max 1 per week)
- Founder updates — personal notes from the founder about the brand journey
A good weekly rhythm might be:
- Tuesday: Educational or founder content
- Thursday: Product spotlight or social proof
- Saturday: Promotional (when relevant)
Segment, segment, segment
Sending the same email to your entire list is the fastest way to get unsubscribes. Segment by:
- Purchase history — past buyers vs never purchased
- Engagement — opened in last 30 days vs 30-90 days vs 90+ days
- Product interest — viewed specific categories
- Spend level — VIPs vs average customers
At minimum, separate your engaged subscribers (opened or clicked in the last 90 days) from unengaged ones. Send campaigns only to engaged subscribers — it protects your deliverability and keeps your metrics healthy.
Write subject lines people actually open
Your subject line determines whether the email gets opened. Everything else is irrelevant if no one reads it.
What works:
- Curiosity: “The product our team can’t stop talking about”
- Specificity: “How Sarah grew her store 47% with one email flow”
- Direct benefit: “3 ways to style your new [product]”
- Personal: “A quick note from Madison”
What doesn’t:
- ALL CAPS URGENCY: “LAST CHANCE SALE ENDS TONIGHT!!!!”
- Vague: “Our latest newsletter”
- Clickbait: “You won’t believe what happened”
The metrics that matter
Email revenue share
This is the north star. Total revenue attributed to email divided by total revenue.
- Under 15%: You’re significantly underperforming. Prioritise flow setup.
- 15-25%: Decent foundation. Focus on campaign frequency and segmentation.
- 25-35%: Strong. Optimise and refine what’s working.
- 35%+: Excellent. You’re in the top tier of e-commerce brands.
Revenue per recipient
How much revenue each email generates per person it was sent to. More useful than open rate or click rate because it ties directly to money.
List growth rate
Your list should grow by 3-5% per month. If it’s flat or shrinking, your popup strategy needs work.
Flow revenue vs campaign revenue
Track the split. Healthy is roughly 50/50 to 60/40 (flows/campaigns). If flows dominate, you’re not sending enough campaigns. If campaigns dominate, your flows need attention.
Common mistakes
Only sending discount emails. You’re training customers to wait for sales. Mix in value-driven content that builds the relationship.
Not cleaning your list. Dead subscribers tank your deliverability. Run a sunset flow and remove people who haven’t engaged in 120+ days.
Ignoring mobile. 60%+ of emails are opened on phones. If your emails aren’t designed mobile-first, they’re not designed.
No post-purchase strategy. Acquiring a customer costs 5-7x more than retaining one. Your post-purchase flow is the single most important thing for profitability.
Sending campaigns to your entire list. Segment by engagement at minimum. Sending to people who haven’t opened in 6 months hurts deliverability for everyone.
Key takeaways
- The best e-commerce brands get 30-40% of revenue from email — your highest-margin channel
- Build automated flows first: abandoned cart, welcome, post-purchase, browse abandonment, win-back
- Send 2-4 campaigns per week with mixed content types
- Segment by engagement and purchase history — never blast your entire list
- Track email revenue share as your north star metric
- Clean your list regularly to protect deliverability
- Combine email with retargeting ads for maximum impact
Want email that actually drives revenue?
We build and manage Klaviyo systems for e-commerce brands — flows, campaigns, segmentation, and list growth. Not templates. Custom strategy built around your brand and your customers.
Tell us about your brand and we’ll book your free clarity call.