10 retail email campaigns we love and how to create your own

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.

That’s why in this post, we’ll examine 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 (orange and green) 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 highlight 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 puts O’Neill right on target with their surfing demographic.

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.

Start designing your retail email campaign today and harness the power of email marketing.