Subscription Requirements

Customer Winback emails let you automatically engage with customers who haven't bought from you in a while. This is big because winback emails are a crucial component of any customer retention strategy. No matter what you're selling, you should be sending winback emails to encourage existing customers to return to your store. The repeat customers created as a result of your actions are 9x more likely to convert, spend 3x your average order value, and are 20% more profitable for your business.

Note: To send customer winback emails, you need to be integrated with Shopify, Shopify Plus, or BigCommerce so that your customers' order history is available to Privy.

Best practices

Make contacts feel noticed. Let your contacts know that you've noticed their absence. Using subject lines that include phrasing like "It’s been a while" or "We've missed you" make it clear why they're hearing from you and help make them feel valued.

Update and incentivize. Let your contacts know what they've missed since becoming inactive. An update often includes new products, new policies (e.g., Support, Warranties, etc.), or other important changes that add value to their relationship with your business. If contacts feel like they’ve missed out on something, they’ll be more likely to return. To drive this point home and create some urgency, consider including a temporary discount or promotion.

Allow for easy communication management. Don't be afraid to prompt your contacts to unsubscribe from your emails if they no longer want to hear from you. This approach helps you avoid the spam folder for email clients that learn from users’ neglectful behaviors. For example, if a customer using Gmail never opens your emails, they’re more likely to be filtered into the spam folder.

Remain positive. A winback email shouldn't make the recipient feel guilty. The content should remain positive and encourage/empower the contact to return.

Create and send a winback email

To create a Customer Winback email:

Navigate to Emails + Texts > Customer Winback.
Click the New email button. If this is your account's first winback email, click the Get Started button on the dashboard instead.
Click the Edit() icon, provide a non-default name, and then click the Update button. This name change will make it easier to locate the email later.

In the Trigger Settings section, set how many days should pass between a customer's last purchase and the winback email's send.

Determining the appropriate timing depends on your industry and the types of products you sell. Take some time to review your typical sales cycle and determine the frequency you can expect customers to buy. For example, if you sell mattresses, you’d expect customers to purchase a lot less frequently than a store that sells makeup or clothing.

Note: The trigger setting is not retroactive. If an order were placed before the Customer Winback email was activated, that order would not receive a Customer Winback email. Only orders placed after the winback email is activated will start the timer and receive an email.

In the Coupon code section, determine if you'd like to include an incentive in the winback email. If there are no options in the dropdown menu, select the Create more coupons option, and follow the steps outlined in this guide.

Customize the email

Select the Design card to access the email editor. A default customer winback email template will appear. Use the drag and drop email editor to customize the email's content and branding. If you decided to add a coupon earlier, ensure the email contains a Coupon Code merge tag. This tag will populate with the coupon code when the email is sent to customers.

Configure the email sender info

Next, click into the sender info section at the top of the email editor and configure the options.

Confirm or select a reply-to address. Any replies to the email will go to this address.
Edit the subject line. Keep it interesting, on-brand, and concise. A subject line no longer than 7 words or around 40 characters is recommended.
Provide preview text. The text appears after your subject line when viewing the email in the inbox and allows the addition of compelling copy that helps boost open rates and engagement. The text should be 35 to 55 characters and does support Merge Tags.

Note: The default From Name and From Address can be updated in the Sender Options section of your Business Settings. Additionally, you should update your sending domain to be your domain if you have not yet done so.

Click the Done button once the options are configured.

Test and save the email

Select the Send Test Email option at the top of the email editor to ensure all of the content displays as expected in your inbox.
Once the email's design is to your liking, click the Save button at the top-right.

Activate the winback email

Click the Activate button. The winback email will start sending to qualifying customers automatically.

Review performance

Now that you are using newsletters to communicate with customers:

Learn how to evaluate their success via reporting in this guide.
Discover which customers will ultimately receive your emails and why in this guide.