WooCommerce powers about 25% of all online stores. It's flexible, open-source, and runs on WordPress. But WooCommerce's built-in email capabilities are basically just order notifications. If you want real email marketing, you need a separate tool.

This guide covers how to pick the right email platform for WooCommerce, what automations to set up, and how to build an email program that actually drives revenue.

WooCommerce's Built-in Emails (and Why They're Not Enough)

Out of the box, WooCommerce sends transactional emails: order confirmation, shipping notification, and a few admin alerts. These are functional but ugly, and there's no way to customize them much without code.

More importantly, WooCommerce doesn't give you:

Abandoned cart recovery
Post-purchase sequences
Customer segmentation
Marketing campaigns
Welcome series for new subscribers

For any of that, you need an email marketing platform that integrates with WooCommerce.

Best Email Platforms for WooCommerce

Not every email platform plays well with WooCommerce. Here are the ones that have real integrations.

Klaviyo

The gold standard for e-commerce email. Deep WooCommerce integration that syncs customer data, purchase history, and browsing behavior. Product recommendations, predictive analytics, and solid segmentation. If budget isn't a concern and you want the most powerful option, Klaviyo is hard to beat.

Price: $150+/month at 10k subscribers Best for: Stores that want the deepest feature set and can invest in learning the platform

Drip

Built specifically for e-commerce with strong WooCommerce integration. Good automation builder, abandoned cart recovery, and product recommendations. Slightly more approachable than Klaviyo.

Price: ~$154/month at 10k subscribers Best for: E-commerce stores that want powerful automation without Klaviyo's complexity

Omnisend

Email, SMS, and push notifications in one platform. Solid WooCommerce plugin with cart recovery and product blocks. Good middle ground in terms of features and price.

Price: $115-150/month at 10k subscribers Best for: Stores that want multichannel marketing (email + SMS + push)

Mailchimp

The name everyone knows. Has a WooCommerce integration, though it's had a rocky history. Good for simpler needs but not as deep on e-commerce automation as the options above.

Price: $87-350/month at 10k subscribers depending on plan Best for: Stores with basic email needs that already use Mailchimp

AutomateWoo

A WooCommerce plugin, not a standalone platform. Lives inside your WordPress admin. Handles cart recovery, follow-ups, and coupons. No separate dashboard to learn.

Price: $99/year (one-time WooCommerce plugin) Best for: Small stores that want basic automations without a monthly subscription

What About Sequenzy?

Sequenzy currently integrates with Shopify but not WooCommerce. If you're on WooCommerce, the options above are better fits. If you're considering migrating to Shopify, or if you also run a SaaS product alongside your store, check out Sequenzy's Shopify integration and Stripe integration. We're honest about this: WooCommerce stores should use a platform with native WooCommerce support.

Essential Email Automations for WooCommerce

Once you've picked a platform, here are the automations that matter most. Set these up in this order.

1. Abandoned Cart Recovery

This is the highest-ROI automation for any online store. WooCommerce doesn't handle this natively, which is why you need a third-party tool.

Set up a 3-email sequence:

1 hour: Simple reminder with cart contents
24 hours: Social proof and reviews for the products
48-72 hours: Final nudge, optionally with a small incentive

For more detail on timing and copy, read our cart abandonment strategies guide.

2. Welcome Series

When someone subscribes to your list (checkout opt-in, popup, footer form), start a welcome sequence:

Immediately: Welcome + any promised offer. Introduce your brand.
Day 2: Your story. What makes your products different.
Day 4: Bestsellers with social proof.
Day 7: If no purchase, a reason to act now.

3. Post-Purchase Follow-Up

After someone buys, don't go silent. This is where you build repeat customers.

Day 0: Order confirmation (WooCommerce handles this, but customize it)
Day 3-5: Shipping/delivery follow-up
Day 7-14: Ask for a review
Day 21-30: Cross-sell related products

4. Win-Back Sequence

Customers who haven't bought in 60-90 days need a nudge:

60 days: "We miss you" + what's new
75 days: Customer stories or bestseller roundup
90 days: Special offer to come back

5. VIP Treatment

Segment your top customers by lifetime value and treat them differently:

Early access to new products
Exclusive discounts
Birthday or anniversary emails
Personal thank-you notes

WooCommerce-Specific Tips

Customize Your Transactional Emails

WooCommerce's default order emails are plain and forgettable. Most email plugins let you customize these with your branding, product images, and upsell blocks. A well-designed order confirmation email sets the tone for the entire post-purchase experience.

Use Customer Data for Segmentation

WooCommerce stores have rich customer data: order count, total spend, products purchased, time since last order. Use this for segmentation:

First-time buyers get trust-building content
Repeat customers get loyalty rewards
High spenders get VIP treatment
Lapsed customers get win-back campaigns

Sync Product Data

Make sure your email platform pulls product data from WooCommerce (images, prices, descriptions). This lets you create dynamic product blocks in emails without manually updating them every time you change a price or add a new product.

Watch Your Plugin Conflicts

WooCommerce runs on WordPress, which means plugins can conflict. When adding an email marketing plugin:

Test on a staging site first
Check for JavaScript conflicts on checkout pages
Make sure cart tracking doesn't slow down your site
Verify that coupons generated by your email platform work correctly

Measuring Email Performance for WooCommerce

The metrics that matter for WooCommerce stores:

Revenue per email: How much revenue does each email generate? This tells you which automations and campaigns are worth your time.

Cart recovery rate: What percentage of abandoned carts do you recover? 5-15% is good. Below 3%, something's off.

Repeat purchase rate: What percentage of first-time buyers come back? This is the metric that tells you whether your post-purchase sequence is working.

List growth rate: Are you growing your subscriber list faster than people are unsubscribing? A healthy list grows 2-5% per month.

Revenue from email as % of total: What portion of your total revenue comes from email? For a healthy e-commerce email program, 20-30% is a good target.

Common Mistakes

Relying on WooCommerce's built-in emails. They're transactional notifications, not marketing tools. You need a real email platform.

Not setting up cart recovery. This is literally free money if you have any meaningful traffic. Set it up before anything else.

Over-emailing new subscribers. A welcome series should be 3-5 emails over 1-2 weeks. Don't hit someone with 10 emails in their first week.

Ignoring mobile. Most WooCommerce customers browse and buy on mobile. Your emails need to look good on small screens.

Not cleaning your list. WordPress/WooCommerce setups tend to accumulate stale contacts. Remove or suppress people who haven't engaged in 6+ months.

Getting Started

If you're starting from zero:

Pick one of the email platforms above based on your budget and needs
Install the WooCommerce integration
Set up abandoned cart recovery (priority #1)
Create a basic welcome series
Customize your transactional emails
Start a regular newsletter (weekly or bi-weekly)
Add post-purchase and win-back sequences as you have time

The most important thing is getting your cart recovery running. Everything else can come later.