Email marketing is one of the highest-ROI channels in ecommerce. It brings customers back, recovers abandoned carts, and turns one-time buyers into repeat shoppers — all for a fraction of the cost of paid ads.
But here’s the catch: many store owners run their email marketing on a separate tool, disconnected from their store. That means juggling two subscriptions, syncing customer data by hand, and losing sales when the integration breaks.
There’s a simpler way: choose an ecommerce platform with built-in email marketing. Everything lives in one place — your products, your customers, your orders, and your campaigns. Let’s look at why that matters, what features to expect, and how to put it to work.
What Is Built-in Email Marketing?
Built-in email marketing means your ecommerce platform comes with email tools out of the box — no third-party app required. Instead of exporting customer lists or paying for a separate service, you can:
- Build and send email campaigns from your store admin
- Automate messages triggered by customer behavior
- Manage audiences with lists, segments, and contacts
- Design emails with ready-made templates
Because the tools share the same database as your store, every email can use real-time order and customer data — no syncing delays, no missing information.
Why Built-in Beats Bolt-on
1. Your data is already there
When email marketing lives inside your ecommerce platform, there’s nothing to connect. New customers are added to your contact list automatically when they sign up or check out. Purchase history, abandoned carts, and browsing behavior are available for targeting the moment they happen.
2. One subscription, one login
Separate email tools charge by contact count, and costs grow as your list grows. A platform with built-in email marketing rolls it into your store plan, so you can scale your list without watching a second bill climb.
3. Faster workflows
No switching tabs, no CSV exports, no “integration failed” errors. You design a campaign, pick a segment, and send — all from the same dashboard where you manage products and orders.
Key Features to Look For
Not all built-in email tools are equal. Here’s what a strong one should include:
- Email campaigns — create one-off campaigns with a name, description, target audience, and subject line
- Automations — triggered sequences that send the right message at the right time, automatically
- Audiences — organize contacts into lists and segments so every message reaches the right people
- Email templates — pre-built designs you can customize with your logo, colors, and footer
- Sender management — control the sender identity customers see in their inbox
- Abandoned cart recovery — automatic reminders when shoppers leave checkout unfinished
How It Works in FastCommerce
FastCommerce includes a full email marketing suite in its Marketing section — no add-ons needed. Here’s a quick tour:
Email Campaigns. Go to Marketing > Email Campaigns and click New Email Campaign. Give it a name and description, choose a segment or list as recipients, pick your email content, and set the subject line. See the knowledge base for step-by-step guides.
Automations. Under Marketing > Automations, you can build automated workflows triggered by customer behavior or conditions you define — welcome series, order follow-ups, and more.
Audiences. Contacts are organized into Lists, Segments, and Contacts, so you can target precisely: new subscribers, repeat buyers, or shoppers who browsed but never purchased.
Contents. These are your email designs. Start from pre-built templates or build your own from scratch in the content editor (Marketing > Audiences > Contents).
Sender Management. Add and manage sender identities under Marketing > Email Campaigns > Settings, so every email arrives from a name your customers recognize.
Abandoned Checkouts. When a customer leaves checkout without paying, FastCommerce moves the order to Abandoned Checkouts and automatically sends a recovery email — you can even attach a discount to sweeten the deal.
5 Email Automations Every Store Should Run
- Welcome series — greet new subscribers, introduce your brand, and offer a first-order incentive.
- Abandoned cart emails — remind shoppers what they left behind; a small discount often seals the deal.
- Post-purchase follow-up — thank buyers, share care tips, and suggest related products.
- Win-back campaigns — re-engage customers who haven’t ordered in a while with a “we miss you” offer.
- Newsletters — keep your list warm with new arrivals, stories, and exclusive deals.
Set these up once, and they keep working for you around the clock.
Best Practices for Ecommerce Email Marketing
- Segment your audience. A message to first-time visitors shouldn’t read like one to loyal customers. Use lists and segments to keep every email relevant.
- Write subject lines that earn the open. Keep them short, specific, and honest — curiosity beats clickbait.
- Design for mobile. Most shoppers read email on their phones. Use a clean layout, large tap targets, and short paragraphs.
- Test and measure. Watch open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Small tweaks to timing and copy add up fast.
- Stay consistent, not spammy. A regular cadence builds trust; blasting your list daily burns it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an ecommerce platform with built-in email marketing?
It’s an ecommerce platform that includes email campaign and automation tools natively, so you can manage marketing from the same dashboard as your store — without a separate email service.
Do I still need Mailchimp or Klaviyo if my platform has built-in email marketing?
For most small and mid-sized stores, no. Built-in tools cover campaigns, automations, segmentation, and abandoned cart recovery. Larger brands with advanced needs may still layer on a specialized tool.
How do abandoned cart emails work?
When a shopper starts checkout but doesn’t complete the purchase, the platform automatically sends a reminder email — often with a discount — to bring them back and finish the order.
Is built-in email marketing good for SEO?
Indirectly, yes. Email drives repeat traffic and engagement, which supports your store’s overall growth — and blogging about your marketing features (like this post!) helps attract organic search traffic too.
Ready to Market from One Dashboard?
Running your store and your email marketing in one place saves time, cuts costs, and keeps your customer data exactly where you need it. If you’re choosing a platform — or rethinking the one you have — put built-in email marketing at the top of your checklist.
Start your FastCommerce store today and turn your dashboard into your marketing engine.
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