Email marketing remains the highest-ROI channel for ecommerce. For every pound spent on email marketing, UK ecommerce brands typically see a return of £35-45. No other marketing channel comes close to this level of efficiency, which is why email should be the first channel you invest in after getting your store and product pages right.
The email marketing platform you choose for your Shopify store affects every aspect of your email programme — from how effectively you segment your audience to how sophisticated your automated flows can be. Some platforms are built specifically for ecommerce; others are general-purpose tools adapted for online selling. The difference in results between these approaches is significant.
I have set up and managed email marketing on all the major platforms across dozens of Shopify stores. This guide covers what I have learned about each platform's real-world strengths and weaknesses, including the things their sales teams will not tell you. For a deeper look at one of these platforms, our guide to essential Klaviyo flows covers the automated sequences that drive the most revenue.
Why email marketing matters for Shopify stores
Email marketing's value for ecommerce goes beyond the headline ROI figures. It is one of the few channels where you own the relationship directly. Your email list is an asset you control — unlike social media followers or search rankings, which can disappear with an algorithm change.
For Shopify stores specifically, email marketing drives revenue through two mechanisms. First, automated flows — welcome series, abandoned cart recovery, post-purchase sequences, browse abandonment, and win-back campaigns — generate revenue on autopilot. A well-configured set of flows typically generates 25-40% of a store's total email revenue. Second, campaign emails — product launches, promotions, content, and seasonal sends — drive additional revenue through regular communication with your list.
The platform you choose determines how effectively you can execute both mechanisms. A platform with deep Shopify integration gives you access to real-time customer data — purchase history, browsing behaviour, cart contents, order values — that powers personalised, high-converting email content. A platform with basic integration limits what you can do with that data.
What to look for in a Shopify email marketing platform
Shopify integration depth. The most important factor. Deep integration means real-time syncing of customer profiles, purchase events, browsing data, cart data, and product catalogues. This data powers segmentation, personalisation, and triggered automations. Shallow integration limits your ability to send the right message to the right person at the right time.
Flow builder quality. The visual flow builder is where you create automated email sequences. It should support conditional splits based on customer behaviour, time delays, A/B testing within flows, and multiple trigger types. The quality of the flow builder directly affects how sophisticated and effective your automations can be.
Segmentation capabilities. The ability to segment your email list based on purchase behaviour, engagement, predicted lifetime value, product preferences, and custom properties. Advanced segmentation means more relevant emails, which means higher open rates, click rates, and revenue per send.
Deliverability. Your emails need to reach the inbox, not the spam folder. Platform-level deliverability depends on the provider's sending infrastructure, reputation management, and compliance enforcement. Individual deliverability depends on your sending practices, list hygiene, and content quality. Our guide to Mailchimp vs Klaviyo covers deliverability differences between these two platforms.
Klaviyo
Overview
Klaviyo is the dominant email marketing platform for Shopify ecommerce. Built from the ground up for online retail, every feature is designed around purchase behaviour, customer lifecycle, and revenue generation. Klaviyo's market position in the Shopify ecosystem is comparable to what Salesforce is for enterprise CRM — it is the established standard that other platforms are measured against.
Pricing
Klaviyo offers a Free plan (up to 250 contacts, 500 emails/month), Email plans starting at $20/month (251-500 contacts), and Email + SMS plans at higher tiers. Pricing scales with your contact list size: 5,000 contacts costs approximately $100/month, 15,000 contacts approximately $350/month, and 50,000 contacts approximately $720/month. For a detailed cost breakdown, see our guide to Klaviyo management costs.
Strengths
Klaviyo's Shopify integration is the deepest available. It syncs over 200 data points from Shopify in real-time, including viewed products, added-to-cart events, checkout started, order placed, order fulfilled, and product-specific interactions. This data powers sophisticated segmentation that no other platform matches for Shopify stores.
The flow builder is powerful and intuitive, supporting complex conditional logic, A/B testing at every stage, and detailed analytics per flow step. Predictive analytics — including predicted next order date, expected lifetime value, and churn risk — enable proactive marketing that anticipates customer behaviour rather than just reacting to it.
Segmentation is where Klaviyo truly differentiates. You can build segments based on any combination of purchase history, browsing behaviour, email engagement, predicted metrics, and custom properties. Dynamic segments update in real-time, ensuring your targeting is always current.
SMS marketing is integrated natively, allowing you to build flows that combine email and SMS touchpoints. For UK brands, Klaviyo's SMS compliance features handle the GDPR and PECR requirements specific to the UK market.
Weaknesses
Klaviyo is the most expensive option on this list at scale. A store with 25,000 contacts will pay significantly more than on competing platforms. The learning curve is steeper than simpler platforms — getting the most from Klaviyo requires understanding segmentation strategy, flow logic, and data-driven marketing principles.
The template builder, while functional, is not as visually polished as some competitors. Creating truly custom email designs can require HTML/CSS knowledge. Customer support on lower-tier plans relies heavily on chat and email, with phone support reserved for higher-spend accounts.
Best for
Shopify stores doing £10,000+ in monthly revenue where email is (or should be) a significant revenue channel. Klaviyo's advanced features justify its cost when you have enough data and traffic to leverage segmentation, predictive analytics, and sophisticated flows. For stores serious about ecommerce email, Klaviyo is the platform we recommend and implement through our Klaviyo email marketing services.
Omnisend
Overview
Omnisend is the leading mid-market alternative to Klaviyo for Shopify email marketing. The platform offers a strong balance of ecommerce-specific features and accessible pricing, making it popular with growing DTC brands that need more than basic tools but are not yet ready for Klaviyo's pricing.
Pricing
Omnisend offers a Free plan (250 contacts, 500 emails/month, 60 SMS), Standard at $16/month (500 contacts, 6,000 emails/month), and Pro at $59/month (500 contacts, unlimited emails, SMS credits). Pricing increases with contact count but remains lower than Klaviyo at equivalent list sizes.
Strengths
Omnisend's Shopify integration is solid, syncing purchase data, browsing behaviour, and customer profiles. The pre-built automation workflows are well-designed and can be activated with minimal configuration — welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase, and browse abandonment flows come as ready-to-use templates.
The email builder is more visually intuitive than Klaviyo's, with drag-and-drop product blocks that pull directly from your Shopify catalogue. The platform also handles SMS and push notifications natively, providing omnichannel capabilities without additional platforms.
The free plan is genuinely useful for small stores, and the Standard plan at $16/month provides good value for growing brands. The pricing remains competitive even as your list grows, typically costing 30-50% less than Klaviyo at equivalent contact counts.
Weaknesses
Omnisend's segmentation is less sophisticated than Klaviyo's. Predictive analytics are more basic, and the depth of behavioural data available for segmentation is narrower. For brands that want to build highly targeted segments based on complex purchase patterns, Omnisend's capabilities may feel limiting as your programme matures.
The flow builder is capable but less flexible than Klaviyo's for complex conditional logic. Advanced A/B testing within flows is limited on lower-tier plans. Reporting and analytics are adequate but less detailed than what Klaviyo provides.
Best for
Growing Shopify stores doing £5,000-£30,000/month in revenue that want strong ecommerce email capabilities without Klaviyo's pricing. Omnisend is an excellent stepping stone that delivers meaningful results while keeping costs manageable.
Drip
Overview
Drip positions itself as a marketing automation platform for ecommerce, with strengths in visual workflow building and multi-channel customer engagement. The platform has carved out a niche among brands that want sophisticated automation without the complexity of Klaviyo.
Pricing
Drip costs $39/month for up to 2,500 contacts, scaling to $99/month for 5,000 contacts and higher. There is a 14-day free trial but no permanent free plan. The pricing is competitive with Klaviyo's lower tiers but diverges at higher contact counts.
Strengths
Drip's visual workflow builder is one of the best in the category, presenting automation logic as clear flowcharts that are easy to understand and modify. The platform's approach to customer data is comprehensive, tracking behaviours across email, website, and social touchpoints. Integration with Shopify is good, with purchase and browsing data synced for segmentation and automation triggers.
Weaknesses
Drip lacks some ecommerce-specific features that Klaviyo and Omnisend provide natively, such as product recommendation blocks and integrated SMS. The platform has less market share in the Shopify ecosystem, which means fewer Shopify-specific resources, templates, and community support. Customer support is email-based, which can result in slower resolution for urgent issues.
Best for
Brands that value visual workflow building and want a capable mid-market platform with a slightly different approach to automation. Drip works well for stores with content-heavy marketing strategies where blog readership and content engagement are important segmentation criteria alongside purchase data.
Mailchimp
Overview
Mailchimp is the most recognised name in email marketing globally, though its relationship with Shopify has been complicated. After being removed from the Shopify App Store for several years, Mailchimp has re-established its integration. The platform has evolved from a simple email tool into a broader marketing platform, though its ecommerce capabilities lag behind specialist platforms.
Pricing
Mailchimp offers a Free plan (500 contacts, 1,000 sends/month), Essentials at $13/month (500 contacts, 5,000 sends), Standard at $20/month (500 contacts, 6,000 sends), and Premium at $350/month (10,000 contacts). Contact pricing scales up from these base tiers.
Strengths
Mailchimp's email builder is polished and user-friendly, making it easy to create professional-looking emails without design expertise. The platform's brand recognition means extensive documentation, tutorials, and community resources. The free plan is functional for small stores getting started with email marketing.
Mailchimp offers broader marketing tools beyond email, including landing pages, social media posting, and basic CRM features. For businesses that want a single platform for multiple marketing activities, this breadth has appeal.
Weaknesses
Mailchimp's Shopify integration, while restored, is not as deep as Klaviyo's or Omnisend's. Ecommerce-specific features like browse abandonment, predictive analytics based on purchase data, and product recommendation engines are less sophisticated. The automation builder is capable for basic flows but limited for complex ecommerce sequences.
The pricing model has become less competitive, particularly at scale. Mailchimp charges based on contacts including unsubscribed profiles (unless you archive them), which inflates costs. The platform's generalist approach means it does many things adequately but does not excel at ecommerce email the way specialist platforms do.
Best for
Stores that already have significant Mailchimp experience and a small list where migration cost exceeds the benefit. For new stores choosing a platform, we generally recommend Klaviyo or Omnisend instead, as covered in our Mailchimp vs Klaviyo comparison.
Shopify Email
Overview
Shopify Email is Shopify's native email marketing tool, built directly into the Shopify admin. It provides basic email campaign and automation capabilities without requiring a third-party app. The tool has improved steadily since its launch and now covers the basics reasonably well.
Pricing
Shopify Email is free for the first 10,000 emails per month, then $1 per 1,000 additional emails, then $0.65 per 1,000 above 300,000, then $0.55 per 1,000 above 750,000. There is no charge based on subscriber count, which is a meaningful advantage over contact-based pricing models.
Strengths
The pricing is genuinely compelling. A store sending 10,000 emails per month pays nothing for email marketing. The integration with Shopify is inherently seamless — product blocks, discount codes, and customer data are available without any sync configuration. The email builder pulls product images, prices, and descriptions directly from your catalogue.
Setup is instant — there is no app to install, no integration to configure, and no learning curve for the Shopify admin. For stores that need to send basic campaigns and have not yet invested in email marketing strategy, Shopify Email gets you started with zero friction.
Weaknesses
The automation capabilities are basic. You can create simple flows (welcome, first purchase, abandoned checkout), but the conditional logic, branching, and sophistication available in Klaviyo or Omnisend is absent. Segmentation is limited to basic criteria like purchase history and email engagement.
There are no predictive analytics, no A/B testing within flows, limited reporting beyond opens and clicks, and no SMS capability. For stores where email is a significant revenue driver, Shopify Email will leave considerable revenue on the table compared to a dedicated platform.
Best for
Brand new Shopify stores with small lists that need to send basic campaigns. Shopify Email is an excellent starting point, but most growing stores will outgrow its capabilities within 6-12 months and benefit from migrating to Klaviyo or Omnisend.
Postscript (SMS)
Overview
Postscript is a dedicated SMS marketing platform for Shopify, included here because SMS is increasingly part of the email marketing conversation. While not an email platform, Postscript excels at the SMS channel that complements email marketing. For brands using Klaviyo's built-in SMS, Postscript offers a specialist alternative.
Pricing
Postscript offers a Free plan (basic features, pay-per-message), Growth at $100/month, and Professional at $500/month. SMS message costs are additional, typically 1-3p per segment in the UK depending on message length.
Strengths
Postscript's SMS capabilities are deeper than what email platforms offer as an add-on. Conversational SMS, keyword automations, and SMS-specific analytics are more developed. The platform's compliance tools are robust, handling opt-in/opt-out management, quiet hours, and regulatory requirements effectively.
Weaknesses
As an SMS-only platform, Postscript adds another tool to your stack. If you are already using Klaviyo with SMS, adding Postscript creates data fragmentation. The cost of running separate email and SMS platforms is higher than using a combined platform.
Best for
Stores that want the most advanced SMS marketing capabilities and are willing to run it as a separate channel from email. Most Shopify stores are better served by using Klaviyo or Omnisend's integrated SMS alongside email.
Side-by-side comparison
Best overall for ecommerce: Klaviyo. The deepest Shopify integration, most advanced segmentation, and strongest predictive analytics make it the clear leader for serious ecommerce email marketing.
Best value mid-market: Omnisend. Strong ecommerce features at 30-50% less than Klaviyo. The best choice for growing stores that need more than basic tools but are watching costs.
Best free option: Shopify Email for campaigns, Klaviyo's free tier for flows and segmentation with small lists.
Best for SMS: Klaviyo for integrated email + SMS. Postscript for specialist SMS-only needs.
Best ease of use: Shopify Email for absolute simplicity. Omnisend for user-friendly features with ecommerce depth.
Email vs SMS: when to use each
Email and SMS are complementary channels, not competitors. Email is better for detailed product storytelling, educational content, newsletters, and complex promotional campaigns with multiple products. SMS is better for time-sensitive communications — flash sales, limited-stock alerts, shipping notifications, and appointment reminders.
For UK brands, SMS marketing requires explicit opt-in consent under PECR regulations. This makes your SMS list smaller but more engaged than your email list. SMS open rates exceed 90% and response times are measured in minutes rather than hours. Use SMS strategically for high-impact moments, not for routine communications.
The most effective approach is to use both channels within the same platform (Klaviyo or Omnisend), creating flows that use email for the initial touchpoint and SMS for follow-up urgency. An abandoned cart flow might send an email at one hour, a follow-up email at 24 hours, and an SMS at 48 hours for the highest-value carts.
Our recommendations
Just getting started (under 500 contacts): Start with Shopify Email or Klaviyo's free plan. Focus on building your list and creating basic flows (welcome series, abandoned cart) before investing in a paid platform.
Growing store (£5k-£20k monthly revenue): Omnisend Standard or Pro. The ecommerce features are strong enough to drive meaningful email revenue, and the pricing is manageable for growing brands.
Established store (£20k+ monthly revenue): Klaviyo. The advanced segmentation, predictive analytics, and flow capabilities will drive significantly more email revenue than mid-market platforms. The higher cost is justified by the revenue it generates.
Enterprise (Shopify Plus, £100k+ monthly): Klaviyo with professional management. At this scale, the complexity of segments, flows, and campaigns justifies dedicated expertise. Our Klaviyo email marketing services cover this level of programme management.
Getting started
Regardless of which platform you choose, prioritise these actions first:
Set up core flows. Welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase, and browse abandonment flows should be running before you focus on campaigns. These automated flows generate revenue 24/7 and compound over time as your list grows.
Build your list with quality opt-ins. Use pop-ups, embedded forms, and checkout opt-ins to grow your list. Focus on capturing email addresses with clear value propositions rather than gimmicky incentives that attract low-quality subscribers.
Segment from day one. Even basic segmentation — customers vs non-customers, engaged vs unengaged, high-value vs average — improves the relevance and performance of every email you send.
Maintain list hygiene. Regularly clean your list by suppressing unengaged contacts. A smaller, engaged list will outperform a larger, unengaged one in both deliverability and revenue per send.
If you need help choosing the right email marketing platform for your Shopify store, setting up your flows, or managing your email programme for maximum revenue, get in touch. We specialise in Klaviyo email marketing for Shopify brands and can help you build an email programme that drives real revenue growth.