Get Inspired: 5 Email Remarketing Campaign Ideas That Really Work

Adeel Qayum - Writer for Fast Simon
By Adeel Qayum
Kelly Hendrickse - Editor for Fast Simon
Edited by Kelly Hendrickse
Oli Kashti - Writer and Fact-Checker for Fast Simon
Fact-check by Oli Kashti

Published October 14, 2024.

A man checks his inbox on his phone.

Did you know that almost 70% of eCommerce shoppers abandon their carts? But email remarketing campaign ideas can successfully work to fix this and help you get inspired. Also referred to as email retargeting, this strategy involves sending personalized emails to customers and leads who have become inactive.

It can be a successful tactic to recover lost sales. For instance, a study shows that cart abandonment emails led to a 24.87% conversion rate.

So, let's look at five remarketing email campaign ideas you can try today.

» Compare remarketing and retargeting

1. Abandoned Cart Reminder

An abandoned cart strategy is essential to reeling in shoppers who never finished the checkout process. When you do it right, an abandoned cart email can remind customers of what they're missing and entice them to complete the purchase, increasing your sales and conversions.

Here are some tips for crafting an abandoned cart email:

  • Use persuasive copy that shows personality.
  • Leverage email marketing tools like Klaviyo.
  • Include product images.
  • Create a sense of urgency.
  • Give a clear call-to-action (CTA).
  • Send in a timely manner—ideally within 24 hours of abandonment.
  • Include customer reviews for the item(s).

Let's look at an example. Food 52 sends a short and sweet abandoned cart reminder. It has a light and casual tone, showing a photo of the item that's in the shopper's cart to remind them of what they were looking at. The CTA button takes them straight to the cart to finish checkout.



Food 52 uses email retargeting to encourage customers to complete their orders.






2. Win-Back Campaign

A win-back campaign is a type of retainment remarketing email that aims to "wake up" and re-engage an inactive customer (typically someone who hasn't made a purchase in 3 to 6 months).

These emails usually draw the customer back in with a special offer (such as great upsell products), promotion, discount, or simply a reminder of what's on offer. If you do it right, you can boost your sales, increase your customer lifetime value (CLV), and improve customer experience.

Some tips include:

  • Try sending between 3 to 6 emails, spaced out every 1 to 3 days.
  • Create a sense of urgency for them to act now.
  • Be direct and concise.
  • Offer a clear CTA for their next steps.
  • Use branding and imagery, including product photos.

In this example, beauty brand Aillea sends a friendly, broad win-back email to an inactive customer, encouraging them to browse more products. This method can also utilize personalization, as you can use the customer's interests based on previous purchases.



Aillea uses win-back emails to help re-engage inactive customers.






3. Post-Purchase Upsell

Upselling is an extremely valuable eCommerce merchandising technique for growing your average order value (AOV) and overall revenue.

Post-purchase upselling involves suggesting an "upgrade" from what a customer has just purchased.

Your approach should be methodical. In your upsell offer, consider products that are related to the most recent purchase.

To send a great post-purchase upsell email, you can use these tactics:

  • Try including the upsell offer in the customer's order confirmation email.
  • Personalize the recommendations based on the user's purchase history.
  • Use a simple, clear CTA.
  • Include discounts and special offers to sweeten the deal.
  • Add social proof for the recommended products, like customer reviews.
  • Include visuals like branding and product images.

For instance, viral men's hygiene brand Dollar Shave Club takes advantage of the period right after a purchase, offering to toss more items into the customer's package before it's shipped.



Dollar Shave Club uses a post-purchase upsell to add items to an order before shipping.




» Want to know more? Find out the benefits of upsell and cross-sell personalization



4. Limited-Time Offer

A limited-time offer can cover any type of occasion, from a holiday sale to a product launch celebration to a "just because" personalized special offer.

The important factor is that you're prominently showcasing the value and the expiring time period of the offer so customers know exactly what to expect.

For a strong limited-time offer, check out these tips:

  • Be clear about the offer and how long they have to buy.
  • Use standout graphics and colors to illustrate the offer.
  • Include visuals like branding and product photos.
  • Create a compelling CTA.
  • Personalize the offer to your customer base if possible.

In this example, Targus, a computer accessory online store, uses bright CTAs to highlight what the offer is (15% off), where to purchase, and how long the offer is available ("Today"). Also, with a clear copy ("limited edition"), the brand also implies a sense of exclusivity, which can encourage conversion.

Targus uses limited-time offers to encourage conversion.



5. Product Recommendations

With the help of sophisticated algorithms, personalized product recommendations can be tailored to better match shoppers' intent. This strategy uses customer behavior data, like browsing and purchase history, as well as data from other customers with similar habits.

Here are some ways to use customer data to fuel product recommendations:

  • Suggest similar products to those already purchased.
  • Show an additional product that's frequently bought together with a recent purchase.
  • Highlight the most popular and best-selling products.
  • Break up the most popular products per specific category.
  • Push top-selling products based on lookalike audience segments.
  • Remarket products recently viewed by the consumer.

Take the fashion brand Princess Polly as an example. This brand suggests items that are similar to ones you've viewed or purchased, plus extra items you can purchase to "complete the look". This encourages additional purchases and shows personalized attention, which can help boost retention.

Princess Polly suggest similar items based on your purchase.

Princess Polly suggests complementary items based on your purchase.


» Learn why personalization for large audiences through anonymous data works



Fast-Track Your eCommerce Sales

If you're trying to find new ways to captivate customers, these email remarketing campaign ideas may be the tools you've been looking for. When you thoughtfully re-engage your current leads and customers who have gone stagnant, you can help create long-lasting relationships.

This, in turn, can boost sales, customer retention, and the overall success of your business. So, why not try these ideas?