The Email Flows Every Webshop Needs
By CodexierPublished 5 min read
Campaign emails take effort every time you send one. Automated flows are written once and triggered by what customers do: signing up, buying, receiving an order, going quiet. For a small webshop they usually matter more than the newsletter. This guide covers the four flows to build first, what each email should contain, and the Swedish consent rules that decide who may receive them.
Welcome flow for new subscribers
- Immediately: confirm the sign-up, deliver any promised discount, and say what kind of emails will follow and how often.
- Two or three days later: tell the brand story briefly, and show your best sellers or most useful guide.
- A few days after that: answer the common objections, such as shipping times, returns and payment methods like Klarna and Swish.
Stop the welcome flow as soon as the subscriber buys, and move them into the post-purchase flow instead. Nothing feels more automated than receiving a first-order discount the day after placing an order.
Post-purchase and delivery emails
These are the emails customers actually open, because they are about their money and their parcel. Treat them as part of the product, not as system messages.
| Trigger | Content that helps | |
|---|---|---|
| Order confirmation | Order placed | Items, total with VAT, delivery method, expected date, your company details |
| Shipping confirmation | Parcel handed to carrier | Tracking link, pick-up point details, what to do if something is wrong |
| Delivered or ready for pick-up | Carrier status | Care or usage tips, how to contact you |
| Usage follow-up | A week or so after delivery | How to get the most from the product, link to a guide |
Keep marketing content out of transactional emails, or they may count as marketing and require consent.
Review requests
Ask for a review when the customer has had time to use the product, not the day it ships. Link directly to the review form, ask one clear question and send at most one reminder. Ask every customer, not only those you expect to be happy; selective asking gives a distorted picture and conflicts with the consumer rules on reviews.
- Timing depends on the product: a few days for consumables, a couple of weeks for clothing, longer for products that take time to judge.
- Never offer a reward for a positive review. A reward for any review must be disclosed.
- Route low scores to customer service so problems are fixed, not hidden.
- Include an unsubscribe link, since review requests are often treated as marketing.
Win-back for lapsed customers
A customer who bought once and went quiet is cheaper to bring back than a new one is to find. Base the trigger on your own buying cycle: if customers typically reorder every two months, someone silent for four months is lapsing.
Reminder
Show what is new since their last order, or remind them of a product they may need to replenish.
Reason to return
An offer if margins allow, or useful content if not. Discount habits are hard to break.
Last check
Ask if they still want emails. Removing inactive addresses protects your sender reputation.
Consent and frequency
Under the Swedish Marketing Act, email marketing to consumers requires prior consent. There is an exception for existing customers: if you collected their email in connection with a purchase, you may market your own similar products as long as they were clearly offered an opt-out then and in every message. Keep a record of how each address was collected. Under GDPR you also need to explain the processing in your privacy notice.
- Use unticked boxes for newsletter consent at checkout.
- Honour unsubscribes immediately and across all flows.
- Limit total marketing emails per person per week, including flows and campaigns combined.
- Authenticate your sending domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC so emails reach the inbox.
When you do not need help: most email platforms that integrate with Shopify or WooCommerce ship with templates for these flows, and a founder can set them up in a few days. If your flows exist but do not produce orders, our conversion and checkout optimisation covers them together with the checkout. Read also abandoned cart emails, see the pricing page or book a short call.
Frequently asked questions
Do order confirmation emails need consent?
No. Transactional emails needed to fulfil the order are allowed without marketing consent. They lose that status if you fill them with promotions, so keep marketing content minimal or absent.
Can we email everyone who has bought from us?
Under the existing-customer exception you may market similar products of your own if the customer was given a clear chance to opt out when you collected the email and in every message. Otherwise you need consent.
Which email tool should a small webshop use?
Choose one that integrates natively with your platform, supports flows triggered by orders and supports EU data handling. The flows matter more than the tool.
How many emails per week is too many?
It depends on the product and the customer's buying cycle. Watch unsubscribes and spam complaints per send; if they rise, you are sending too often or the content is not useful enough.
Review your webshop's email flows
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