Email marketing remains the highest-ROI channel for ecommerce. According to Litmus, email generates $36 for every $1 spent — and that figure is even higher for WooCommerce stores that leverage transactional email touchpoints. Every order confirmation, shipping notification, and abandoned cart reminder is an opportunity to drive repeat purchases.
Yet most WooCommerce store owners treat email as an afterthought. They install a basic SMTP plugin, leave the default WooCommerce emails untouched, and wonder why customers never come back. This guide covers the best email marketing plugins for WooCommerce, the automation flows that actually drive revenue, and how to build an email strategy that turns one-time buyers into repeat customers. For strategies to recover lost sales before they even leave, see our guide on abandoned cart recovery strategies.
The 5 Best Email Marketing Plugins for WooCommerce
1. MailPoet — Best All-in-One Solution
MailPoet is a WordPress-native email marketing plugin that handles both transactional and marketing emails from inside your dashboard. No external platform needed.
- WooCommerce integration: Automatic customer segmentation by purchase history, product category, lifetime value, and order count
- Email builder: Drag-and-drop editor with WooCommerce-specific blocks (product recommendations, abandoned cart content, order details)
- Automation: Pre-built flows for welcome series, post-purchase follow-ups, abandoned cart recovery, and win-back campaigns
- Deliverability: Built-in sending service (MailPoet Sending Service) with strong inbox placement rates
- Pricing: Free up to 500 subscribers. Paid plans from $10/month based on list size
Best for: Small to mid-size WooCommerce stores that want everything in one WordPress plugin without external SaaS tools.
2. Klaviyo — Best for Data-Driven Stores
Klaviyo is the gold standard for ecommerce email marketing. Its deep WooCommerce integration syncs every customer action — page views, add-to-carts, purchases, refunds — into customer profiles that power hyper-targeted campaigns.
- WooCommerce integration: Real-time sync of orders, products, customer data, and browsing behavior via official plugin
- Segmentation: Predictive analytics including expected next order date, churn risk score, and predicted lifetime value
- Automation: Visual flow builder with conditional splits, A/B testing, and time delays
- SMS: Combined email + SMS marketing in one platform
- Pricing: Free up to 250 contacts and 500 email sends. Paid plans from $20/month
Best for: Growing stores that want advanced segmentation, predictive analytics, and combined email + SMS capabilities.
3. AutomateWoo — Best for WooCommerce-Native Automation
AutomateWoo ($99/year) is built specifically for WooCommerce automation. It does not try to be a full email marketing platform — instead, it focuses on triggered workflows that respond to customer behavior.
- Triggers: Abandoned cart, order status changes, subscription renewals, review requests, wishlist reminders, custom date-based triggers
- Actions: Send emails, apply coupons, add tags, change subscription status, send SMS via Twilio, trigger webhooks
- Unique features: Personalized coupon generation per customer, refer-a-friend system, automatic VIP tier assignment based on spend
- Pricing: $99/year from WooCommerce.com
Best for: Stores already using an external ESP (like Mailchimp) that need WooCommerce-specific automation on top of their existing email setup.
4. Mailchimp for WooCommerce — Best for Beginners
Mailchimp needs no introduction. The official WooCommerce integration syncs customer and order data to Mailchimp for segmented campaigns, automated journeys, and landing pages.
- WooCommerce integration: Automatic product sync, purchase tracking, customer segmentation by purchase behavior
- Templates: Hundreds of pre-built email templates with product recommendation blocks
- Automation: Customer journeys with pre-built flows for abandoned carts, post-purchase, and re-engagement
- Extras: Landing pages, social ads, postcards, and A/B testing
- Pricing: Free up to 500 contacts. Paid from $13/month
Best for: Beginners and small stores that want a familiar, well-documented platform with easy setup.
5. FluentCRM — Best Self-Hosted Alternative
FluentCRM runs entirely inside WordPress with no external dependencies. Your data stays on your server, there are no per-subscriber fees, and you control deliverability through your own SMTP.
- WooCommerce integration: Order-based triggers, customer lifetime value tracking, product-specific automation
- CRM: Full customer profiles with purchase history, email engagement, and custom fields
- Automation: Visual funnel builder with conditional logic, delays, and multi-step sequences
- Pricing: $103/year for single site. No per-subscriber fees
Best for: Privacy-conscious stores, high-volume senders who want to avoid per-subscriber pricing, and stores with technical capability to manage their own SMTP.
Plugin Comparison Table
| Plugin | Free Tier | Paid From | Best Feature | Hosting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MailPoet | 500 subscribers | $10/mo | All-in-one WordPress native | Self-hosted |
| Klaviyo | 250 contacts | $20/mo | Predictive analytics | SaaS |
| AutomateWoo | No | $99/yr | WooCommerce triggers | Self-hosted |
| Mailchimp | 500 contacts | $13/mo | Ease of use | SaaS |
| FluentCRM | No | $103/yr | No per-subscriber fees | Self-hosted |
5 Email Automation Flows Every WooCommerce Store Needs
1. Welcome Series (3-5 Emails)
Triggered when a new customer creates an account or makes their first purchase. This is your chance to introduce your brand, set expectations, and encourage a second purchase.
- Email 1 (Immediate): Welcome + thank you + what to expect
- Email 2 (Day 2): Your brand story or best-selling products
- Email 3 (Day 5): First-time buyer discount (10-15% off next order)
- Email 4 (Day 10): Social proof — reviews, testimonials, community highlights
Welcome series emails have 4x higher open rates than regular campaigns (Campaign Monitor). They set the tone for the entire customer relationship.
2. Abandoned Cart Recovery (3 Emails)
Sent when a customer adds items to their cart but does not complete checkout.
- Email 1 (1 hour): Friendly reminder with cart contents and direct checkout link
- Email 2 (24 hours): Address common objections — shipping info, return policy, customer support
- Email 3 (48 hours): Final nudge with a small incentive (free shipping or 5-10% discount)
Well-executed abandoned cart flows recover 5-15% of abandoned carts, which for most stores translates to thousands in recovered revenue per month.
3. Post-Purchase Follow-Up (2-3 Emails)
Sent after an order is delivered.
- Email 1 (3 days after delivery): How-to guide or usage tips for the purchased product
- Email 2 (7 days): Request a review — include a direct link to the product review form
- Email 3 (14 days): Cross-sell complementary products based on what they bought
4. Win-Back Campaign (2-3 Emails)
Triggered when a customer has not purchased in 60-90 days.
- Email 1: “We miss you” with new arrivals or best sellers
- Email 2 (7 days later): Exclusive comeback discount (15-20% off)
- Email 3 (14 days later): Last chance with urgency — discount expires
Win-back campaigns can reactivate 3-5% of lapsed customers, which is significantly cheaper than acquiring new ones.
5. Review and Referral Request
After a customer has received their order and had time to use it, ask for a review and offer a referral incentive.
- Review request: Direct link to leave a review, with a small thank-you incentive (loyalty points, future discount)
- Referral program: “Give $10, get $10” style referral with a shareable link
Reviews improve conversion rates by 270% (Spiegel Research Center). Referral programs have a 16% higher lifetime value for referred customers versus non-referred (Wharton School of Business).
Email Deliverability: The Foundation
None of these strategies matter if your emails land in spam. WooCommerce sends emails through PHP’s wp_mail() function by default, which has poor deliverability. You need a proper SMTP solution:
- WP Mail SMTP: Free plugin that routes emails through Gmail, SendGrid, Amazon SES, or any SMTP provider
- MailPoet Sending Service: Built-in if you use MailPoet, with optimized deliverability
- Amazon SES: $0.10 per 1,000 emails — the most cost-effective option for high-volume stores
- SendGrid: Free tier of 100 emails/day, strong deliverability, and detailed analytics
Always set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your domain. These authentication protocols tell email providers that your emails are legitimate. Without them, even well-crafted emails may be filtered as spam.
Measuring Email Marketing Success
| Metric | Industry Average | Good WooCommerce Target |
|---|---|---|
| Open rate | 15-25% | 25-35% |
| Click rate | 2-5% | 5-8% |
| Revenue per email | $0.10-0.30 | $0.50+ |
| Cart recovery rate | 5-10% | 10-15% |
| Unsubscribe rate | 0.2-0.5% | Below 0.3% |
Track these metrics weekly and optimize based on the data. A/B test subject lines, send times, and call-to-action placement. Small improvements in open rates compound dramatically over time.
Email marketing is not a set-and-forget channel. But with the right WooCommerce plugin and a handful of automated flows, you can build a system that generates consistent revenue from your existing customer base. For broader strategies to grow your WooCommerce store across channels, explore our guide on multichannel selling software. Start with one plugin and two automation flows. Measure for 30 days. Then expand.
