Email marketing software

What is email marketing software?

Email marketing software is a tool for building, sending, automating, and measuring newsletters and campaign emails. Beyond the email editor itself, these platforms typically include automation flows, subscriber segmentation, and reporting on metrics like open rate, click rate, and revenue per email. The goal is to send relevant messages to the right recipients at the right time — instead of one manual blast to your whole list.

Why does email marketing software matter?

Email is an owned channel: you don’t pay per click like in advertising, and you aren’t at the mercy of a platform’s algorithm. For an online store it is often the highest-ROI channel, because you can re-engage existing customers at a low marginal cost. Automated flows like welcome series, abandoned cart, and post-purchase run on their own and recover revenue you would otherwise lose. Strong deliverability, however, depends on correct sender authentication with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC so emails don’t land in spam.

Common use cases

• Welcome flow triggered when a new subscriber signs up via a popup or at checkout.
• Abandoned cart flow triggered by browse or cart events, reminding the customer about the product.
• Newsletters and campaigns for launches, sales, and seasonal offers.
• Segmentation by purchase history and engagement, so VIPs and lapsed customers get different messages.
• A/B testing subject lines and content to lift open and click rates.

Shopify perspective

In Shopify, email software is usually installed via the App Store, where apps like Klaviyo, Omnisend, and Shopify Email sync customer, order, and event data directly from the store. Shopify Email is the built-in option, with a free monthly send allowance before usage-based pricing applies. Choose based on how advanced your automation and segmentation needs are, and see our roundup of the best Shopify email marketing apps.