9 Essential Email Marketing Templates to Drive Sales in 2025

Boost your ROI with these 9 customizable email marketing templates for 2025. From welcome emails to flash sales, learn how to engage customers effectively.

The average return on investment for email marketing is 36 times—that means for every dollar you put into email marketing, you can expect $36 in return. While email marketing offers an exciting opportunity to generate sales, creating professional-looking emails can be time-consuming.

Email marketing templates save you time by formatting your email automatically. Instead of resizing fonts, arranging photos, and writing text from scratch for each message, templates handle the formatting for you.

To make email creation even easier, Shopify Email’s professionally designed, responsive templates store your brand identity elements like your color scheme, logo, and fonts. This means you won’t need to manually add these stylistic elements to every marketing email you create.

Shopify Email includes more than 100 customizable, free templates. Here are nine you can quickly adapt and send, giving you more time to grow your list and generate sales.

Automated email templates

• Welcome email template
• Abandoned cart email template
• Product restock email template
• VIP welcome email

Automated emails include messages like abandoned cart reminders, welcome emails, and order confirmation emails. Unlike traditional marketing campaigns, these emails are triggered by specific customer actions, such as signing up for your email list or placing an order. Once set up, Shopify Email sends them automatically—no additional work required.

To get started with an automated email template from your Shopify admin, go to Marketing > Automations > View templates. Here are a few worth setting up:

Welcome email template

Welcome emails introduce new subscribers to your store. They’re powerful tools that bring subscribers up to speed with your brand—whether through founder introductions, bestselling product showcases, or a preview of your brand story.

“Always set up the welcome email automation,” says Desirae Odjick, a senior product marketing lead at Shopify who works on Shopify Email. “Make sure that when someone decides to take that step and gives you their email address, you’re ready to welcome them.”

Desirae also recommends including any discounts you promised during signup alongside your brand introduction. “There should always be some kind of offer for signing up for your email list. That could be a discount (like 20% off your first order), or it could be early access to new drops or exclusive content.”

Shopify offers two welcome email series templates. Customize them by:

• Replacing the default headline with an attention-grabbing tagline (while following email marketing best practices to avoid the spam folder)

• Showcasing your bestselling products

• Introducing subscribers to the people and story behind your brand

• Previewing what subscribers can expect from future emails

Abandoned cart email template

Shopify Email users have abandoned checkout turned on by default—when a customer leaves your store mid-checkout, they’ll receive an automated email reminding them of what they left behind.

But customers don’t always make it to checkout. Sometimes, they add products to their cart, then exit your store. When that happens, “try to bring them back by showing them specifically in the email what they left in their cart,” Desirae says.

Use Shopify’s abandoned cart email template to showcase the exact products your customer left behind, and include a direct link to their cart. This makes it as easy for customers to quickly resume shopping.

The abandoned cart email template automatically displays the items a shopper abandoned before leaving your store. It’s responsive and works on mobile devices. Since it’s automated, you won’t need to manually fill in each customer’s information—they’ll get it at exactly the right time (by default, four hours after abandoning their cart).

Product restock email template

Shopify Email integrates with Seguno to let customers request restock notifications for specific products. When customers sign up for notifications on an out-of-stock product page, they receive a tag in Shopify. When the product comes back in stock, they get an email and the tag is removed.

You can also send non-automated restock emails announcing the return of popular products to a segment of your mailing list. This helps reengage subscribers by giving you a reason to contact customers who haven’t interacted with your emails recently.

Sold-out products also function as social proof—they show potential buyers that other people love what you sell. This can be the nudge that convinces them to buy.

Drive sales using the product restock template by:

• Writing a catchy title and subject line, such as “Look what’s back” or “Reintroducing…”

• Showing a large image of the product and a Shop Now call-to-action button

• Displaying social proof tied to the product, such as five-star ratings, influencer endorsements, or user-generated content

VIP welcome email

Automated emails to new VIPs are a great way to show customer appreciation. You can group loyal customers by creating a VIP list in Shopify Forms, then notify new members with a special welcome email.

Your VIP benchmarks are up to you. For example, VIP customers might be those who spent at least $500 at your store in the past year or placed at least five orders.

“When someone hits that [milestone], acknowledge them proactively,” Desirae says. “Say, ‘Hey, you matter to us. Here’s what you get for being in our VIP segment: We’re going to give you first access on a sale,’ or, ‘Here’s a special discount.’” 

Here’s what you might include in a new VIP email:

• Personalized product recommendations

• Outline of VIP perks

• Discount codes

Non-automated email templates

• Product launch template
• Holiday email template
• Flash sale email template
• Upcoming event template
• Payment installment email template

Your email marketing strategy should include both triggered automations and emails sent to entire segments of your list. While automated emails excel at personalization, there are times when you want to reach a broader audience—like when you launch a new product or host an event.

In your Shopify admin, you can find more than 70 templates for your next email campaign. Here are a few:

Product launch template

Launching a new item? Tell subscribers about it using a product announcement email. Write an intriguing subject line and preview text, use large, high-resolution product images, and add a call-to-action button that links directly to the new product.

Make the most out of the product launch template by:

• Offering a time-sensitive discount to celebrate the launch

• Split-testing whether hiding the product price increases click-through rate

• Inviting subscribers to share the new products on social media and tag your brand, perhaps in exchange for entry in a product giveaway

Holiday email template

Shopify Email includes templates for annual events like spring, fall, Lunar New Year, and Father’s Day. You can capitalize on seasons and holidays by promoting relevant products (like advertising swimwear for the Summer Solstice) or encouraging specific behaviors (like urging Valentine’s Day gift purchases).

Smart ways to use holiday templates in your campaigns include:

• Adding a themed discount code, such as SINGLE10 or LOVEMYMOM

• Highlighting timely seasonal products

• Promoting gift cards for gift-giving holidays

Flash sale email template

A flash sale is a time-sensitive deal that expires after a set period. These sales create a sense of urgency for your subscribers.

“While supplies last” messaging encourages people to buy sooner rather than later. Shopify even has a separate “sale ending” template that lets customers know time is running out.

Customize your flash sale email template to generate sales by:

• Reinforcing urgency with time-sensitive discounts

• Using a countdown timer to show when the deal ends

• Showcasing bestselling products to increase click-through rates

• Using urgent call-to-action button text like Secure the Deal or Shop Now

• Sending customers directly to checkout with express checkout buttons on popular products

Upcoming event template

Experiential retail, which includes in-person events, can provide benefits, from gathering direct customer feedback to differentiating your brand from competitors. If you’re incorporating experiential marketing, use Shopify’s upcoming event template to keep subscribers informed.

Important things to include in your event invitations:

• The date, time, and location of the event

• Travel information, such as parking or nearby transit options

• What attendees can expect, such as free gifts or live demonstrations

• How to register and secure a spot

Payment installment email template

Not everyone can pay for products in full—more than 40% of American shoppers used buy now, pay later (BNPL) services in 2024. Help customers manage their purchases with Shop Pay Installments, the payment plan service available through Shopify’s native checkout Shop Pay.

Promote your BNPL options with an email template that shares:

• How customers can use BNPL options

• When their payment will be due

• The amount billed at each point in the billing cycle

Email marketing template FAQ

What is the best size for an email template?

• Template width: 600 pixels

• Template height: 1500 pixels

• Logo size: Less than 500 pixels square

• Header: 700 pixels tall and 150 pixels wide

• Email file size: Less than 20 MB

What is the best format for email marketing?

The best format depends on the type of marketing email you’re sending. Product announcements might benefit from image-heavy layouts, while personalized discount emails might work better with simpler, text-driven formats. You’ll find suggested formats for different types of marketing emails in Shopify Email’s professionally designed templates.

Does Shopify have free email templates?

Yes, Shopify offers dozens of responsive email templates through the Shopify Email app. Stores with an active Shopify plan can access a library of pre-built, free templates. Use the drag-and-drop editor to customize each template before sending to your subscribers.