Email Warm-up for E-commerce: Ensuring Your Promotions Reach Inboxes
Selling online? Discover warm-up strategies tailored for e-commerce to boost deliverability and drive more sales in 2025.
Last updated
Selling online? Discover warm-up strategies tailored for e-commerce to boost deliverability and drive more sales in 2025.
Last updated
E-commerce thrives on email. Whether it’s new product drops, flash sales, abandoned cart reminders, or loyalty programs — email is where the conversions happen.
But here's the hard truth: if your emails are going to spam, you’re losing revenue every single day.
That’s why warming up your email infrastructure isn’t just for cold outreach — it’s essential for e-commerce success in 2025. In this post, we’ll explore how e-commerce businesses can use techniques to protect inbox placement, maximize campaign ROI, and keep customers engaged.
📦 High-volume promotional sends 🎯 Short-lived campaigns with tight delivery windows 📥 Subscriber churn and list turnover 📉 Deliverability drops from sudden list spikes
Without warm-up:
Emails hit spam folders
Bounces and unsubscribes increase
Revenue from email drops
✅ Launching a new store or brand ✅ Switching ESPs (e.g., moving to Klaviyo, Mailchimp, etc.) ✅ Using a new sending domain or IP ✅ Warming a cold list after months of inactivity ✅ Preparing for Black Friday, seasonal spikes, or flash campaigns ✅ Recovering from a deliverability drop or domain block
1. Set Up Proper Authentication
Before sending anything:
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC must be in place
Custom branded tracking domain (not shared)
Verify rDNS and server identity
Tools like SenderWiz validate all DNS records and monitor deliverability health in real time.
2. Segment and Prioritize Warm Contacts
Start your warm-up with:
Recent buyers
Engaged subscribers (opened/clicked within 30–60 days)
Loyalty or VIP members
These contacts are more likely to engage — which ISPs love. 📈 After a few days, begin slowly including older, colder contacts.
3. Send Valuable, Non-Promotional Emails First
Avoid jumping straight into discounts and promotions. Instead, warm up with:
Product usage tips
Story-based content
“Thank you” or feedback requests
Sneak peeks or early access invites
These softer touchpoints help build engagement without triggering spam filters.
4. Gradually Increase Volume
📊 Suggested warm-up schedule for e-commerce:
Day
Emails per Day
1–3
10–20
4–6
25–40
7–10
50–75
11–14
100+
🛑 Adjust based on bounce rate, open rate, and engagement — not a fixed number.
5. Monitor Key Metrics Daily
Track:
Inbox vs spam placement
Bounce rate (target <2%)
Spam complaints (target <0.1%)
Opens, clicks, and unsubscribes
Revenue per campaign
Use tools like:
Gmail Postmaster Tools
Klaviyo/Mailchimp built-in analytics
6. Mix In Transactional Emails
If you're using separate IPs or domains for transactional messages (e.g., order confirmations), ensure those also go through warm-up. 💡 Bonus: Transactional emails tend to have very high engagement, making them powerful warm-up assets.
7. Automate Smart Sending Behavior
AI-based warm-up tools help you:
Rotate subject lines, offers, and product highlights
Send based on customer timezone (e.g., 9 AM – 5 PM local)
Throttle volume if bounce or spam complaints rise
Track deliverability per campaign or segment
SenderWiz lets you manage multiple inboxes, warm-up flows, and reply tracking from a single dashboard — ideal for fast-moving e-commerce teams.
✔️ Use a subdomain for promotional emails (e.g., deals.brand.com) ✔️ Avoid aggressive sales language early in warm-up ✔️ Don’t re-import old lists without re-verification ✔️ Warm up before major events (not during) ✔️ Keep warm-up running between big campaigns to maintain reputation
Every deliverability issue in e-commerce has a real cost — lost clicks, lost customers, lost sales.
By warming up your sending infrastructure:
You protect your inbox placement
You improve campaign performance
You build a reputation that lasts beyond the sale
Don’t let unprepared infrastructure hurt your marketing. Start warming up — and keep it warm.
warm-up + reputation dashboard
Looking to automate your warm-up, monitor deliverability, rotate content, and prepare your store for high-volume sends? gives e-commerce brands the power to hit the inbox — every time.