Article first published April 2016, updated January 2020
If email marketing isn’t a top priority for your retail business, it might be time to reconsider your strategy.
Our data shows that, for every $1 spent, email marketing generates $38 in ROI, and that’s just one figure in a long list of email marketing statistics that prove how essential email marketing is for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
Email marketing not only helps you stay top of mind with your audience, but it drives revenue too.
Read on to discover 10 excellent examples of retail email campaigns that companies are using to boost both engagement and sales. We’ll consider what they do well and how you can replicate their effective strategies in your own email campaigns.
You’ll notice some themes as you peruse these examples, which are all central to the All-New Campaign Monitor, including big, bold hero images, text over images, customized calls to action, limitless control and flexibility, and much more.
Let’s look at the examples:
1. Seafolly
Seafolly’s bold hero image uses complementary colors and text over the image to draw the reader’s eye to this welcome email. This friendly “hello” invites subscribers to connect with the brand and be welcomed into the world of Seafolly. Above the image, Seafolly uses simple navigation links to make it easy for customers to navigate directly to their website to shop.
2. Rip Curl
To help introduce a new line of women’s wetsuits, Rip Curl created an email campaign that paired a big, bold hero image with smart, compelling copy and simple CTAs. The white backdrop helps put a strong focus on the product and allows the audience to picture themselves wearing the product in their own daily lives too.
3. Jaybird
With an attention-grabbing hero product image and feature-laden copy, Jaybird introduced their new X2 Bluetooth buds and included a single, clear CTA button that made it easy for customers interested in purchasing to start shopping right away. The spacing surrounding the bright green CTA button makes good use of whitespace, which, in turn, makes it stand out on the screen.
4. Topshop
Topshop puts a spotlight on new products with this marketing offer email and helps recipients pinpoint their perfect fit when shopping for jeans. The big, bold hero image shows the product in action, and the bottom images leverage white space to highlight attention-grabbing product shots that are paired with complementary accessories. A single, central CTA button minimizes distraction and makes it easy for subscribers to start shopping pronto.
5. Sephora
Sephora was able to drive engagement with customers through this email campaign promoting a contest and strategically placed their products below the fold. We also like that the stark black, white, and red elements create a cohesive feel that tie in with the contest’s theme and company branding.
6. Adidas
Black, white, and blue paired with a compelling celebrity image helped this email make a bold statement when Adidas introduced their Superstar collection. The sleek simplicity of the design taps into the “less is more” mentality, and is email content that stands out in a crowded email inbox.
7. Birchbox
Birchbox made gift-giving easy over the holidays thanks, in part, to email campaigns like this one that highlights its subscription service for monthly boxes of beauty goodies. Birchbox used a sense of urgency in this campaign with their time-sensitive promo code and subscriber exclusives.
And Birchbox’s email looks as awesome on a mobile device as it does on a desktop, proving that emails are more mobile-friendly than ever, which is a good thing, considering over 53% of emails are now opened on a mobile device. Making your emails mobile-friendly is a must for subscribers who are on the go.
8. Converse
The simple layout used in this Converse email campaign puts all the focus on the anniversary of the iconic Chuck Taylors and what they mean to each individual who wears them. By highlighting a few personalized pairs from real customers, they remind shoppers of all of the possibilities that are in store. We love the use of storytelling here, as this is a powerful way to add a personal touch to email.
9. Chrome Industries
Chrome Industries does a great job of showcasing their products in a lifestyle context. The bold imagery and text-over-image copy grabs attention and resonates with their city-dwelling customers who need and want reflective gear that’s stylish, safe, and warm. Bonus: the red CTA buttons really stand out and begs to be clicked.
10. O’Neill
A custom color palette brings this email campaign together for a tight, cohesive look. The colors in the photos match up with the colors of the products and put O’Neill right on target with their surfing demographic.
Bonus: even more retail emails we love
We promised you 10 retail email campaigns. However, we didn’t think that was enough To help keep your creative juices flowing, here are some bonus examples of retail emails we fell in love with.
Uber: ⭐️Bravo, Smiles Davis! You had quite a month
As we move into a new century in 2020, personalization is becoming ever more critical when it comes to your email marketing strategy. Now, when we say personalization, we mean the entire email experience, not just the email subject line.
That’s why we love this email example from Uber. Not only do they include a personalized email subject line, but the entire retail email encourages this user to keep up their Uber activities—in this case, it’s working as an Uber driver.
Source: Really Good Emails
Taking the time to outline these critical personalized facts goes a long way with your customers because it shows them that you care and pay close attention to their needs and activities.
Bubs Warehouse: Toilet Training? Check out these must-have items!
Retail emails primarily take on a promotional tone. However, studies continue to show that your subscribers want to see more informational content, as compared to promotional content.
So how can you make a retail email informational? Turn it into a newsletter of sorts, like Bubs Warehouse did with their toilet training email.
Source: Really Good Emails
The email contains a lot of product recommendations. The twist here is that they presented them as helpful tips, providing readers with helpful information.
Shoe Carnival: Save an EXTRA $10 + BOGO 1/2 & MORE!
Retail emails all share one goal: making conversions. So what better way to encourage those conversions than by sending out extra savings?
Shoe Carnival did an excellent job with their holiday retail email by enticing readers with not only a savings-packed headline, but also with a creative, intriguing email header as well:
“Express 2-Day for when 🎅 just isn’t fast enough PLUS Booties starting at $19.98.”
The subject and email header alone are enticing enough to get holiday shoppers to click and open the message. The content of the email, however, takes it to a whole new level.
Source: Gmail/Shoe Carnival
Shoe Carnival takes their retail email to the next level by breaking down and including several different holiday emails that their shoppers would most likely be interested in. So, instead of having to click through to the website to see what deals may be available, the brand puts it all directly into the body of the email.
This will help shoppers cut down on browsing time and take them directly to the deal they want the most, which significantly increases the chances of conversion.
How to create a retail email of your own
With those 10 outstanding examples for reference, you can start dreaming up your next retail email campaign too. Using the All-New Campaign Monitor, you can create bold, conversion-generating emails without needing to know a lick of HTML code.
Thanks to our DIY tools, your emails can include:
- Bold imagery that you can edit within the email builder.
- Personalization features for content, images, subject lines, content, and surveys.
- Design customization and flexibility with thousands of fonts, colors, layout designs, and easy-to-adjust padding around logos, images, and text.
- Multi-device and email client support that ensures your email campaign always displays correctly across thousands of inboxes and screen sizes.
To supercharge your campaign, you can also use data that you have in Shopify or Magento using our integrations, so you can further personalize your emails and use dynamic content to deliver the most relevant message to your subscribers.
When you’re ready, you can even launch automated campaigns and transactional emails too.
Wrap up
Need more inspiration for your next retail email campaign? Browse our gallery of the 100 best email marketing campaigns and find even more fantastic examples. With over 250,000 happy clients, we’ve got just the right email campaign templates for your brand’s needs, including:
- Retail
- Ecommerce
- Nonprofit
- Entertainment
- Media/publishing
- Travel/hospitality and more
Start harnessing the power of email marketing by requesting your live demo today!