How Shopify Merchants Can Turn Retention Into a Profit Engine

If you’re running a Shopify business and still treating email like an afterthought, you’re leaving serious money on the table. Here’s a stat that hit me like a brick: only 2% of emails most brands send are automations, yet they account for nearly 40% of email revenue. That’s right. Two percent of the work. Forty percent of the payoff. If that doesn’t make you rethink your strategy, I don’t know what will.

I just had an amazing conversation with Jimmy Kim, cofounder of Sendlane, host of The ASOM Pod, and one of the sharpest minds in retention marketing. Jimmy’s story is wild. He built multiple companies, scaled Sendlane into one of the fastest-growing ESPs for ecommerce, and now spends his time teaching brands how to make customers stick around. Our chat was packed with insights that every Shopify merchant should be applying yesterday.

Automations Are the Secret Weapon

Stop hammering out “blast” emails that barely move the needle. Focus on automations. Think welcome flows, abandoned cart, post-purchase, shipping updates, and win-back campaigns. These are the messages that work 24/7 and bring customers back at the exact right time.

Jimmy pointed out that automated emails consistently get 2–3x higher open and click-through rates than campaigns. Klaviyo reports that automated emails generate over 50% higher revenue per recipient than one-off campaigns. Translation: your flows are where the money is hiding.

The Compounding Power of Repeat Orders

Here’s another jaw-dropper: after a customer’s second purchase, they are 26% more likely to buy again. After the third purchase, that number jumps to 39%. After the fourth, it’s 48%. That’s when loyalty kicks in and lifetime value starts to compound.

As Shopify merchants, we obsess over new customer acquisition, but the real growth engine is repeat buyers. Imagine if you shifted just 10% more of your customers into that “third order” zone. The ripple effect on your bottom line would be massive.

Segmentation Doesn’t Need to Be Complicated

We talked a lot about RFM analysis (Recency, Frequency, Monetary value). Sounds fancy, but it’s really just a smart way to bucket customers based on their behavior. Who just bought? Who buys the most often? Who spends the most?

Once you’ve got those buckets, you can tailor messages instead of sending the same 15% off coupon to everyone. The result? Higher engagement, less unsubscribes, and a list that actually makes you money instead of costing you.

Email + SMS: The Retention Dream Team

Email is the marathon. SMS is the sprint. When you need immediate action — like a flash sale or a shipping update — SMS is unbeatable. According to Attentive, SMS campaigns see 95% open rates and click-through rates up to 20%.

Pair that with email’s long-term nurturing and you’ve got a one-two punch that keeps your Shopify customers engaged across channels. The key is balance. Don’t spam. Nobody wants 17 texts in a week from the protein powder company.

Forget ROAS, Start Tracking CLTV-to-CAC

This one hit home for me. We love to brag about ad ROAS, but what really matters is your CLTV-to-CAC ratio (Customer Lifetime Value vs. Customer Acquisition Cost). If you’re spending $100 to acquire a customer but that customer spends $400 over their lifetime, that’s a win. If they only buy once and spend $80, that’s a slow bleed.

Jimmy’s advice? Build marketing programs that maximize repeat purchases so that every dollar you spend acquiring a customer goes further. Shopify merchants who master this are the ones scaling profitably while others burn cash.

My Final Thoughts

Retention isn’t the sexy part of Shopify growth. It’s not as flashy as TikTok ads or influencer campaigns. But it’s the difference between building a business that’s constantly chasing new customers and one that thrives on loyal, repeat buyers.

Jimmy Kim nailed it when he said merchants need to “send more emails” — but the right ones. Automate, segment, and nurture. Your future revenue depends on it.

If you’re serious about building a Shopify business that lasts, stop treating retention as an afterthought. Make it your superpower.