How To Use Email and Retargeting for E-commerce

Image: E-commerce shoppers often leave carts behind. Email marketing and retargeting help bring them back.

Online shoppers abandon carts at alarming rates, about 70–75% of carts are left unpurchased . In fact, only about 2% of visitors buy on their first visit.

Email marketing and retargeting give these visitors a second chance. A well-timed abandoned-cart email can recover roughly 15% of lost sales . Combined with targeted ads on Facebook, Google remarketing, or display networks, these tactics can dramatically boost revenue. Retargeting has been shown to raise conversion rates by about 150%.

Why Email Marketing Must Be in Sync With All Your Marketing Initiatives

Before diving into tactics, it is worth noting that email should never run on its own track. When your emails match the tone, timing, and offers from other campaigns such as social, ads, or PR, you create a unified brand experience. That consistency builds trust, keeps your message clear, and makes every channel more effective.

If you do not align them, here is what can happen:

• Confusion: Customers see different offers in ads and emails.

• Missed momentum: Email launches after the main promo push, wasting ad spend.

• Customer fatigue: Overlapping but uncoordinated sends cause too many touchpoints.

  
  

Marketing managers who sync email with the overall calendar can turn it into a multiplier for other initiatives, not just a standalone task.

Key Takeaways for Marketing Managers

• Segment and personalize your email list for targeted messaging.

• Automate follow-ups such as welcome flows, abandoned cart, upsell, and re-engagement.

• Use urgency and relevance in retargeting campaigns.

• Combine email and ad retargeting for up to 2× higher conversions.

• Align email marketing with all marketing initiatives for consistent messaging.

• Continuously test and optimize subject lines, send times, and creative.

Best Email Marketing Strategies for

E-commerce Success

A strong email program starts with a high-quality subscriber list. Add signup forms on your site in pop-ups or footers and on social channels. Offer incentives like coupons, free guides, or 15% off for new sign-ups.

Example – Payton Jewelry: This boutique jewelry brand uses a smart mix of incentives and brand storytelling to grow its email list. When visitors land on the site, they are greeted with a stylish pop-up offering 15% off their first purchase in exchange for an email address. The form is short, just first name and email, making it easy to sign up.

What makes their approach stand out is what happens after the signup:

• Welcome Email 1: A warm thank-you note with the discount code front and center, plus a few high-quality images of best-selling pieces.

• Welcome Email 2 (sent two days later): A behind-the-scenes story about how the jewelry is made, building brand connection.

• Welcome Email 3 (day five): A style guide showing how to pair their products with everyday outfits, plus a reminder that the discount code expires soon.

This three-step welcome flow nudges new subscribers to buy quickly and builds emotional attachment to the brand. According to Payton Jewelry’s own reporting, this sequence captures more first-time purchases than one-off welcome emails.

Collect first-party data such as purchase history and preferences.

Segment your list so messages are relevant to each group:

• Demographics & Location – Age, gender, city.

• Behavior – Past purchases, browsing activity.

• Lifecycle Stage – New subscribers vs. loyal vs. inactive customers.

Tailored content drives engagement. Use dynamic fields and personalized product recommendations. For example, if a customer browsed cameras, send an email with related accessories or a 10% off coupon.

Automation is key. Use email-marketing tools like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or Contact to create triggered flows:

• Welcome series for new sign-ups.

• Abandoned-cart reminders.

• Post-purchase upsell or cross-sell emails.

• Re-engagement campaigns for inactive subscribers.

Sending abandoned-cart emails within one hour of abandonment is critical. Open rates can hit 40% and click-throughs 20%. Keep messages concise, mobile-friendly, and with a clear CTA. Always A/B test subject lines and comply with email laws (CAN-SPAM, GDPR, CCPA).

Proven Retargeting Campaign Strategies for E-commerce

Retargeting means re-engaging visitors who showed interest but did not buy.

Key scenarios include:

1. Abandoned Cart Retargeting Emails – Reference the exact products left behind and use urgency such as “Only 2 left in stock.” Offer free shipping or a discount if high shipping costs caused the drop-off.

2. Browse Abandonment Campaigns – Send follow-up emails highlighting viewed products. For example, Framebridge sends “hand-selected” product lists plus a 10% off coupon.

3. Post-Purchase Upsell and Cross-sell Emails – Suggest complementary products to boost customer lifetime value.

4. Re-engagement Email Campaigns – Win back inactive customers with special offers or exclusive updates.

5. Subscription Renewal and Stock Alert Emails – Remind customers when it is time to renew or when a favorite item is back in stock.

Effective retargeting relies on speed and relevance. Send emails promptly, but avoid over-messaging. Combine email with ad retargeting by uploading your email list to Meta Ads or Google Ads to show personalized ads to past visitors. Studies show 2× higher conversions when using both methods together.

B2B vs. B2C Email and Retargeting Approaches

While the fundamentals of segmentation, personalization, and timing apply to all e-commerce, the way you execute email and retargeting changes between B2B and B2C. The audience mindset, decision-making process, and purchase triggers are different, so your campaigns must adapt to your own marketing technology tack.

B2C E-commerce: Emotional, Fast-Paced, and Visual

B2C buying decisions are often impulse-driven and highly influenced by emotion, lifestyle aspirations, and perceived urgency.

Effective B2C email strategies include:

• Flash sales and time-limited offers.

• Lifestyle storytelling with visuals.

• Seasonal promotions tied to events.

• Personalized recommendations.

Retargeting for B2C should be fast, with ads and emails sent within hours or days, because interest fades quickly. Dynamic product ads showing the exact items viewed are especially effective.

B2B E-commerce: Logical, Educational, and Long-Term

B2B purchases involve larger budgets, longer timelines, and multiple decision-makers.

Effective B2B email strategies include:

• Drip campaigns over weeks or months.

• Case studies and white papers for proof.

• Webinar invitations and event promos.

• Feature updates and integration guides.

Retargeting for B2B should be slower-paced but persistent, often promoting gated content or free trials. LinkedIn Ads work well for this audience.

Key Differences:

Factor	B2C Approach	B2B Approach
Buying Cycle	Days or hours	Weeks or months
Primary Trigger	Emotion, urgency	Logic, ROI, efficiency
Content Tone	Friendly, visual, concise	Professional, educational, detailed
Retargeting Speed	Immediate (hours to days)	Gradual (days to weeks)
Best Channels	Meta Ads, Google Shopping, email offers	LinkedIn Ads, gated content, email nurturing

Real-World E-commerce Case Studies

Made.com – Coordinated Retargeting and Email for Big Gains

Used segmented remarketing campaigns tying email and display ads together. Abandoned-cart emails featured exact products left behind with style suggestions, while ads mirrored the same imagery.

Result: 36% more remarketing revenue and 31% higher open rates in three months.

AMain Performance Sports & Hobbies – Multi-Touch Retargeting for High-Intent Buyers

Three-step retargeting email flow, immediate reminder, review with free shipping, and low-stock urgency, plus dynamic Google Display ads.

Result: 775% more conversions and almost double the average order value.

Framebridge – Personalization That Feels Hand-Crafted

Browse abandonment emails sent within 24 hours, showing exact frame styles viewed, lifestyle images, and a 10% discount.

Casual, personal subject lines boosted engagement, and conversion rates among retargeted users rose significantly above baseline.

Summary

Email marketing and retargeting can dramatically improve e-commerce performance when they work in harmony with other marketing initiatives. The most successful campaigns are personalized and segmented to reflect buyer behavior, automated to respond at exactly the right moment, and integrated across ad channels to deliver a consistent offer.

Timing is especially critical for high-intent actions like cart abandonment, and the approach should match the audience, with fast, emotional campaigns for B2C and slower, logic-driven strategies for B2B. Whether you are targeting impulse shoppers or corporate decision-makers, the real impact comes from delivering the right message to the right person at the right time across every channel they use.