Thank You Email Templates & Examples for eCommerce

A Thank You email, as the name implies, is an automated message sent to customers as an expression of gratitude. These emails are sent as automated messages to customers when they subscribe, make a purchase, or interact with an eCommerce website. Apart from appreciation messages, they also include product recommendations based on the customer’s interests, and discounts and coupon codes as a token of gratitude. Let’s have a look at the thank you email templates along with thank you email examples.

The success of your eCommerce business is tied to the relationships and memories you create with your customers.

Appreciating customers using thank you emails is a great way of showing that you care about them beyond the money they bring in. 

Unlike physical stores whereby you deal with walk-in customers, eCommerce is a different channel, requiring a unique approach when it comes to making customers feel appreciated.

To ensure the message is engaging, honest, and meaningful, you must craft personalized thank you templates that you can share with customers at the end of the sale.

Interactive thank you emails will essentially help in converting new customers into loyal clients, hence increased sales and profits. 

Elements like design, content and value creation are factors you must consider when creating highly converting thank you email templates, and this article will show you how to achieve this using successful eCommerce examples.

What are the benefits of sending thank-you emails?

Thank-you emails are an expression of gratitude and courtesy, and your eCommerce store stands to gain a lot from them if created and shared wisely.

Some of the benefits include:

For communication purposes

When you appreciate your customers for buying from you, you create an open line of two-way communication.

Customers love it when they feel that they are interacting with a fellow human and there is no better way of achieving this than through interactive thank-you emails.

For building trust

Thank-you emails uplift customers’ spirits because they make them feel valued and appreciated. Such interactions help build customer loyalty, increasing the chances of converting your regular subscribers into repeat customers.

Serves as a sales promotion tactic

Adding promotional materials like gifts and discounts to your thank-you emails helps drive more traffic to your eCommerce site, leading to more sales from already interested customers. 

Improved social media presence

Use thank-you emails to encourage your customers to follow you on your social media pages. You should still refrain from the aggressive promotion of upgraded products and services in the emails. 

Understanding the advantages associated with thank-you emails is only the beginning. You still need to design thank you email templates that will cause your recipients to feel genuinely appreciated and grow fond of your business. 

Here are tips to craft highly engaging and converting thank-you emails, according to their purpose along the customer journey. 

Thank you email templates & examples for eCommerce

Welcome and new subscriber emails

When a new customer subscribes to or signs up for your services, newsletter, or promotional mail list, it is always good practice to send them a welcome email to thank them.

Being the most common thank-you email, the welcome email is sent automatically whenever a new user or subscriber submits their name and contacts to your database using contact forms. 

The email is a confirmation of successful signup, registration, or enrollment for a particular service. It also displays the nature of the product or service the customer has subscribed to, as well as appreciating them for their interest and effort.

Sample welcome email template

Template #1

Template #2

Here is an example of a Welcome email sent by The Hustle when you subscribe to their newsletter. This welcome email is engaging, community-focused, and uses informal language. It contains necessary information and focuses on initiating customer interaction. 

Huckberry, an online shop that sells lifestyle attire and accessories for active and adventurous guys, stands out in the design of its welcome emails. The subject line makes new subscribers feel a sense of belonging to the community.

The introductory part is also catchy because it reduces the focus on making sales, while making the customer feel appreciated, informed, and proud to be a member of a credible brand. 

Completed purchase email

Also known as an order confirmation email, the “thank you for your order email” is sent to customers to appreciate them for completing a purchase.

Your goal in sending the email should be to confirm that the purchase has been completed successfully while building customer trust and making the buyer feel comfortable with the purchase.

In addition to the thank-you note, it is always important to list down details of the products ordered, the expected delivery time and shipping details, and the return policy.  

Many eCommerce stores use this opportunity to promote other related products, but you do not have to if this is not in line with your marketing strategy. 

Sample order confirmation email template:

Basic-piece’s order confirmation email contains all the mentioned elements, including a thank-you note, order summary, order total, billing and shipping information, payment method, and a button to view the order on the eCommerce page.

Once the order has been received by the customer, you can send a follow-up email to confirm the delivery, as well as collect feedback and product rating.

This email serves multiple purposes, with one being to thank the customer and the other, to gather more information to inform you of the satisfaction rate.

See below example by Drop (Formerly Massdrop), an American eCommerce outlet that specializes in developing audio products and mechanical keyboards based on community data and insights.

The email thanks the customer for purchasing specific highlighted items and goes ahead to ask the buyer to rate the product.

Appreciation email

There are many reasons and opportunities to appreciate your customers and some of these are not always obvious but you can capitalize on them to develop a loyal bond with your clientele.

For instance, when your company achieves a certain milestone, you can send a thank-you email to appreciate customers who have supported you all the way. 

Celebrating with customers during seasons like Christmas, Thanksgiving day, or even over an anniversary also helps them feel valued, while creating an opportunity to interact with your brand, especially for those who may not have made a purchase for a while.

Appreciation does not always have to come with any attachments, and many brands have mastered how to craft a thank-you note once in a while, just to simply say that they appreciate the customer.

An email of this nature does not create the impression that there are other hidden intentions like a quick-sale, hence, their high-converting nature – just remember to not send the note too frequently otherwise it will not appear genuine.

A hand-written thank-you note sent via post or email can work even more wonders in creating special moments with your customers.

When customers share their reviews or feedback either through survey forms or by raising queries and complaints through your support team, it is prudent to send them a follow-up email thanking them for their time and collecting other important insights.

The below appreciation email by Airbnb shows that the company cares about its customers and is genuinely concerned about the quality of services they receive from the firm’s support team. 

Remember to thank customers before asking them for feedback, as this practice makes the respondent feel calm and willing to respond to your questions.

This appreciation email from Abercrombie & Fitch conveys heartfelt gratitude to their customers. Here, the company is trying to establish an emotional connection with the customer. Even though not obvious, towards the end of the message, they try to use the emotional connection to casually encourage the customers towards future purchases.

Participation/Membership enrollment email

You can send emails to thank customers for participating or enrolling in a challenge or event, and in the same email, you can gather customers’ opinions about the event.

Here is an example of an email sent to thank customers for participating in an event;

Thank you emails are also sent when customers enroll for paid or unpaid memberships, clubs, and loyalty programs.

They present a great opportunity to welcome a new customer to the program and express your appreciation for their input and contribution in your business.

Starbucks sends thank-you emails to its loyal customers to appreciate them for reaching a certain milestone.

The email comes with clear directions on how to redeem their reward, and in the process, the company is able to interact effectively with the customer. 

To show customers that you value their loyalty, you can also send them a thank-you email to celebrate anniversaries, such as their birthdays or the number of years they have been with your brand.  

Sample loyalty program thank-you email template:

Many eCommerce stores prefer to attach promotional materials like freebies, coupons, and discounts in their thank-you emails to loyal customers, creating room for increased sales.  

The image below shows how Starbucks designed a birthday email with an exclusive offer for its customer. It also includes details on how to redeem the offer and prompts the use of their app.

Referral thank you email

How do you appreciate customers that go out of their way to recommend your brand, products, and services to their friends and family?

The best way to appreciate such customers is to send them a personalized thank-you note with incentives in the form of offers, discounts, coupons, cash-backs, or freebies in their upcoming purchases.  

Offers attached to a cool thank-you email are irresistible, and many customers who have had a good experience with your brand will not hesitate to refer even more people.

This technique will definitely win the hearts of your loyal customers, leading to more sales. 

Referral can come from your customers, employees, business partners or stakeholders, etc, meaning that you should customize your responses to suit the recipients accordingly.

Sample referral thank-you note

The below example from Athleta shows you how to craft a simple, highly-converting referral thank-you email.

The note thanks the customer in advance for making the referral while incentivizing them with a 20% discount on their next purchase.

Remember to add a call-to-action (CTA) button that customers can use to refer friends and keep earning rewards.

The referral thank you email by bioclarity includes an appreciation note, which helps in deepening customer relationships and loyalty. The gesture of gratitude is showcased in the form of gift cards and free subscription offers.

This is a good way of enhancing engagement with your customers while gaining sales from an inexpensive marketing strategy. 

Promotional thank you email

There are countless ways of personalizing your thank-you emails. Extending offers/giveaways, discounts, and other freebies is a great way of enticing customers to continue buying from you.

Ensure your thank-you emails are personalized in such a way that whatever the offer is, it matches the customer’s interests or shopping history.

These emails don’t have to be sent at the end of purchase or achievement of a given milestone. Rather, they are sent randomly to thank customers or subscribers for trusting in you.

You should use the opportunity to offer value to the customer.  

Here is an example of a personalized promotional template for an email sent from Methodical Coffee thanking the customer for purchase, as well as encouraging them to shop more with a discount.

The reward is linked to the customer’s card and can be activated easily through the click of a button.

The promotional thank-you email from Loeffler Randall is a very simple and straightforward expression of gratitude, accompanied by a coupon code. The message acquires a personal feel by framing the invitation as an exclusive early access offer. This helps establish a good rapport with the customers.

This promotional strategy helps your eCommerce convert ready customers who are eager to explore more options at a discounted price.

You will hardly go wrong by incentivizing your customers with promotional items attached to your thank-you emails.

Wondering where to get thank you email templates for your eCommerce? Hubspot offers free templates, which you can customize to suit your email marketing needs.  

Tips for designing thank you email templates

Even with the knowledge of the different types of thank-you emails, you still need ideas on how to create interactive templates. 

Here are some thank-you email template subject lines to experiment with:

• “We really appreciate you!”
• “Thank you for your purchase/order!”
• “Thank you for your payment.”
• “We are honored to have you back!”
• “Thank you for supporting us/for being a part of our community.”
• “Welcome to the family.”
• “Happy Anniversary [Customer name].”

Ensure to make your email copy engaging (human) so that it appears well thought-out and meaningful, rather than a random, regular, automated piece. 

To achieve this, follow the following steps:

• Greet customers by their name.
• Express appreciation and gratitude by thanking the customer – this tone should be seen on the email subject line and the first header.
• Outline specifics regarding your email (depends on the purpose of the email).
• Add promotional material, if necessary.
• Close appropriately, either with a final thank-you note or with a CTA. 

Conclusion 

Thank you emails are so important in promoting customer loyalty and building relationships that every eCommerce store today is investing in one of these modes of communication or the other.

Well-crafted and designed thank-you templates will surely help improve your sales conversions and brand awareness through increased social media shares.

The most common thank-you emails are sent to welcome new customers and subscribers, upon completion of a purchase, and to appreciate customers for supporting your business or for achieving certain milestones.

Participation in events or enrollment in loyalty programs and referrals also deserve to be appreciated with a personalized thank-you note.

In the process, adding promotional materials to your emails can help boost your sales, but remember to keep these items at the bottom of the template. 

Thank-you emails should be short, simple, and precise, and any promotions and CTAs should come last.

Remember to also keep the design of your thank-you notes visually appealing and in line with your brand guidelines. 

Acowebs are developers of Woocommerce bulk discounts that will help you add bulk discounts to products on your stores. It also has developed various other plugins like the popular plugin for managing the checkout form fields in WooCommerce, called Woocommerce Checkout Manager, which is highly feature-oriented yet lightweight and fast. There is also a free version of this plugin available in the WordPress directory named WooCommerce Checkout Field Editor.

Common frequently asked questions (FAQs)

How frequently should a thank you email be sent?

You are free to send short emails at the end of every purchase and to follow up with another one a few days after delivery.

Although it is unwise to spam a customer’s inbox, order confirmation emails are to be expected at the end of every purchase, and a customer would hardly feel uncomfortable receiving such every time they buy an item from your eCommerce store. 

However, keep in mind to send follow-up and promotional thank-you emails sparingly to avoid causing hesitation and churn because customers can sense desperation to make a sale.

What is the appropriate length of a thank-you email?

Keep your thank-you emails short and precise because their main focus is to appreciate the customer.

The heading, main sections, and close should comprise clear and easy-to-follow information to avoid overwhelming the reader. 

Additionally, ensure to use a few CTAs and display the most important information first (such as product details, billing and shipping details, expected order delivery time, etc.).

Cross-selling and upselling should come later, at the bottom of your thank-you email template.

Which visual aspects should I consider?

The first thing to keep in mind is your brand guidelines, such as colors, fonts, logo, etc. For this, make sure to use a logo maker for a professional brand logo or hire a graphic designer. Keeping these consistent is important in creating familiarity, wherein customers feel comfortable interacting with a brand they know. 

Be creative and incorporate some appealing and relaxed images in your templates, whose colors contrast well with the email background. The CTAs and any headers should stand out to make them visible and highly-converting.