Brevo for Ecommerce: How to Boost Sales with Email & SMS Automation (2025)
If you run an online store, automation is the single tactic that separates predictable revenue from feast-or-famine sales. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) combines email, SMS, WhatsApp and transactional messaging with an affordable automation engine — a stack that’s especially attractive to small and mid-sized ecommerce brands. This guide explains, step-by-step, how to use Brevo to increase conversions, recover lost carts, and lift lifetime value, with concrete flows, messaging examples, KPIs to track, and pro tips you can use today.
I tested competing resources and vendor docs to give you a practical, up-to-date playbook that beats generic how-tos. Where I make platform claims I cite official Brevo sources so you can verify features and benchmarks.
Why Brevo makes sense for ecommerce in 2025 — quick context
Brevo is an “all-in-one” communication platform that integrates directly with Shopify and other stores, supports email + SMS + WhatsApp automation, and includes a transactional email API — all at price points that undercut many competitors. Because it syncs orders and customer data in real time, Brevo lets you trigger highly relevant automations (abandoned cart, post-purchase, browse abandonment) that reliably convert.
Key platform advantages for ecommerce:
- Native Shopify integration and real-time data sync.
- Built-in SMS and WhatsApp campaigns for multi-channel automation.
- Transactional email API with strong deliverability claims (critical for order messages).
The revenue plays: 6 automation flows every ecommerce store should run
These are proven, high-ROI automations. Implement them first — they’ll typically pay back your platform cost.
- Abandoned cart recovery (email → SMS fallback) — immediate nudges to recover lost carts.
- Welcome & onboarding series — convert new subscribers into first-time buyers.
- Browse abandonment — follow up when shoppers view product pages but don’t add to cart.
- Post-purchase sequence — confirmation → shipping → upsell → review request.
- Win-back / re-engagement — reactivate dormant buyers with tailored offers.
- VIP/loyalty flow — reward high-value customers with exclusive offers and early access.
Below is a quick comparison table that shows typical impact and priority.
| Flow | Priority | Typical Impact (range) |
|---|---|---|
| Abandoned cart (email + SMS) | High | Recovers 3–12% of lost carts |
| Welcome series | High | Increases 1st-order conversion by 5–20% |
| Post-purchase | High | Raises repeat purchase rate 10–30% |
| Browse abandonment | Medium | Lifts product page conversion by 2–8% |
| Re-engagement | Medium | Reduces list churn; recovers a portion of dormant buyers |
| VIP program | Low/High (strategic) | Improves LTV and retention |
(Ranges depend on vertical, list quality and merchant pricing.)
How to set up an effective abandoned cart flow in Brevo (step-by-step)
Abandoned cart is the highest-value automation for most ecommerce stores. Brevo provides Shopify-specific abandoned cart triggers and templates to accelerate setup.
Recommended 3-message sequence (email + SMS fallback):
- Email #1 — 1 hour after abandonment
Subject: “Did you forget something?”
Body: Product image, single CTA (“Return to your cart”), social proof (star rating), free shipping reminder (if applicable). - SMS — 6–12 hours after abandonment (only if email unopened)
Text: “Hi [FirstName] — your items are still available. Complete your order now: [short link].”
Keep it short, include a link and a clear CTA. - Email #2 — 24 hours after abandonment
Subject: “Items in your cart are waiting — 10% off if you order within 24h”
Body: CTA + small discount code (optional), urgency, one customer testimonial. - Email #3 — 72 hours after abandonment
Subject: “Last chance: your cart expires soon”
Body: Final reminder, highlight scarcity or limited time coupon.
Implementation tips in Brevo
- Use the Shopify integration so cart details (products, prices) are pulled into emails automatically.
- Add dynamic product blocks in email templates so each customer sees the exact items they left behind.
- Use SMS as a fallback for unopened emails (Brevo supports SMS campaigns and pay-as-you-go send).
KPIs to track
- Recovery rate (% of abandoned carts recovered)
- Revenue per recovered cart
- Unsubscribe/complaint rate on cart messages
Example welcome series tailored for ecommerce (3 emails)
A strong welcome series warms customers and nudges first purchase.
- Welcome Email 1 (immediate): Deliver lead magnet/discount; short brand story; CTA to shop bestsellers.
- Email 2 (Day 2): Social proof + top categories; highlight benefits (fast shipping/returns).
- Email 3 (Day 7): Time-limited offer (“Use discount in 48 hours”) + product recommendations.
Welcome sequences often show the highest open rates of all messages — make them count. Use personalization and product recommendations from synced Shopify data.
Using SMS and WhatsApp the right way (frequency, timing, compliance)
SMS is powerful because open/read rates are massive and immediate — Brevo advertises >90% read rates within minutes. But SMS is intimate; overuse drives unsubscribes. Use SMS for transactional alerts, cart recovery fallback, limited time offers, and shipping updates.
WhatsApp works well for two-way customer service, order confirmations, and personalized messages — Brevo supports WhatsApp campaigns through Conversations for verified business messaging. Use WhatsApp for higher-touch audiences who opt in.
Compliance & consent
- Explicit opt-in required for SMS/WhatsApp in many regions.
- Store consent source in Brevo (integration preserves opt-in status).
Pro tip: Use SMS only when the expected revenue per send justifies the cost. Reserve it for high-intent flows (cart recovery, shipping updates).
Optimizing content & personalization for better conversions
Personalization drives conversions — and Brevo lets you inject product fields, customer names, and order info into both emails and SMS via templating and transactional API. Examples:
- Show “Customers who bought X also bought Y” using purchase history.
- Use dynamic discount codes with expiration.
- Recommend products based on browsing or past purchases.
Design rules
- Mobile-first (most opens on mobile) — single-column layout, large CTA.
- One primary CTA per message.
- Short, benefit-led subject lines and preheaders.
Pro tip: Replace image-heavy layouts with a hero image + text — many recipients disable images.
Transactional emails — the backbone of trust and conversions
Transactional emails (order confirmations, shipping notices) are opened at much higher rates than marketing emails and are critical for customer experience. Brevo’s transactional email API promises high deliverability and easy templating for order info — an advantage for ecommerce merchants who need reliable confirmations.
Use transactional emails to upsell: Add recommended products, cross-sell suggestions, and discount invites within the confirmation or shipping emails — subtle placements convert well.
Measurement framework — what to track and targets
To measure success, focus on revenue and conversion signals, not vanity metrics.
Primary KPIs
- Revenue per recipient (RPR) — primary ROI metric for campaigns.
- Abandoned cart recovery rate — target 3–10% as a starter (varies by niche).
- Average order value (AOV) uplift from post-purchase flows.
- Repeat purchase rate — measure lift after implementing post-purchase automations.
- Delivery & open/click metrics — monitor deliverability (bounce rate), and CTR.
Brevo publishes industry benchmarks you can use to compare your performance; use them as a sanity check for open and click rates.
Common pitfalls & how to avoid them
- Overmessaging with SMS: keep SMS for urgent/transactional messages.
- Poor list hygiene: remove hard bounces and unengaged contacts to protect deliverability.
- No backup for failed sends: use multi-channel sequences (email first, SMS fallback) to improve reach.
- Generic recommendations: use real purchase/browse data for product suggestions.
Quick implementation checklist (minimum viable setup)
- Install Brevo Shopify integration and sync data.
- Authenticate sending domain (SPF/DKIM) and test transactional API.
- Build and enable: Welcome series, Abandoned cart (email + SMS fallback), Post-purchase flow.
- Segment by engagement and buyer status; route customers to appropriate flows.
- Add UTMs for campaign links; measure RPR and recovery rate.
- Run a 30- to 90-day optimization loop (A/B subject lines, timing, coupon amounts).
Final verdict — is Brevo the right choice for ecommerce?
If you’re a small to mid-sized ecommerce merchant looking for a cost-efficient, multichannel stack (email + SMS + WhatsApp + transactional) with solid automation and Shopify integration, Brevo is an excellent option. It reduces tool sprawl, supports key ecommerce automations, and puts transactional and marketing messages under one roof — which simplifies attribution and reduces operational friction.
Larger merchants or enterprise brands that rely on ultra-advanced predictive segmentation or deep AI customer modeling (e.g., high-end Klaviyo use cases) may eventually prefer a specialized platform. But for most stores the ROI from building the flows in this guide will justify the choice quickly.
