The short answer: Good email subject lines for ecommerce say what's inside in the first few words, fit the campaign type (a sale, a launch, a restock, a seasonal deadline or a newsletter), sound like your brand and promise only what the email delivers. Pair each one with preview text that adds a second reason to open.
Below are subject lines for online stores grouped by campaign type, ready to adapt with your own products, offers and dates. Abandoned cart lines have their own guide: see abandoned cart email subject lines.
What makes good email subject lines for ecommerce?
- It's clear before it's clever. "20% off all knitwear until Sunday" beats a pun nobody gets.
- The point comes first. Phones cut long subject lines short, so lead with the offer, product or deadline.
- It matches the campaign. A launch should sound new; a last-chance email should sound final.
- It's true. In the US, the CAN-SPAM Act says the subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message. If it says "ends tonight", it must end tonight.
- It sounds like your store. Write it the way you'd say it to a customer in your shop.
- It works with the preview text. The preview is a second line, not a repeat. Use it for the detail: the code, the date, the product.
Sale and promotional email subject lines
Promotional emails work best when the offer is specific. Name the amount, the products and the end date.
Percentage or amount off
- [Number]% off everything in [category]
- Our [season] sale starts now
- Up to [number]% off, while sizes last
- [Amount] off orders over [amount] this weekend
- Your favourites, now [number]% off
- The sale you've been waiting for
Free delivery and gifts
- Free delivery on everything, this weekend only
- Free [gift] with every order over [amount]
- Delivery's on us until [day]
- Spend [amount], get [gift]
Flash sales and last chance
- 24 hours only: [offer]
- Ends at midnight: [offer]
- Last day for [number]% off
- Final hours of our [season] sale
- Going, going: [category] at sale prices
Early access and VIP
- You're in early: our sale starts today for you
- Subscribers first: [offer] before anyone else
- A private sale for our best customers
- Early access ends tonight
Only say "best customers" if the email really goes to a segment of them, such as people with several orders.
Product launch and new arrival subject lines
- New: [product]
- Meet [product], our [description]
- Just landed: the [collection] collection
- It's here: [product] in [colours]
- First look at [collection]
- The [product] you asked for
- [Number] new pieces for [season]
- Coming [day]: [product]
"The [product] you asked for" only works if customers really did ask: mention the reviews, messages or votes in the email.
Back in stock and low stock subject lines
- Back in stock: [product]
- It's back, in every size
- [Product] is back (and it went fast last time)
- Restocked: your favourites
- Only [number] left: [product]
- Last few in [size or colour]
Use the "went fast" line only if it did, and the stock numbers only if your inventory says so.
Seasonal and holiday email subject lines
Seasonal emails do best when the subject line carries the deadline or the occasion. Check delivery cut-offs with your carriers before you put a date in a subject line.
| Occasion | Subject lines to adapt |
|---|---|
| New Year | Fresh start, fresh [category] · Our January sale is on · [Number] picks to start the year |
| Valentine's Day | Gifts they'll actually love · Order by [date] for Valentine's delivery · Treat yourself, too |
| Mother's and Father's Day | Gifts for every kind of mum · Dad's gift, sorted · Last day to order for [day] |
| Spring and summer | Spring refresh: new [category] · Summer essentials, all in one place · Ready for the holidays? |
| Back to school | Back-to-school kit, sorted · Everything they need for [term] |
| Halloween | Treats, no tricks: [offer] · Spooky season starts here |
| Black Friday and Cyber Monday | Our Black Friday sale is live · Early access: Black Friday starts now for you · Cyber Monday: last chance for [offer] |
| Christmas | Gifts under [amount] · Last order date for Christmas: [date] · Too late to post? Gift cards arrive instantly |
For full seasonal plans, see our Black Friday and Cyber Monday email calendar.
Newsletter and content subject lines
Not every email needs an offer. Newsletters keep customers reading between sales, so give them a reason to open that isn't a discount.
- This week at [store]: [topic]
- How to [use or care for product] in [number] steps
- [Number] ways to wear [product]
- What we're loving this month
- Behind the scenes: how we make [product]
- Your [season] guide to [topic]
- Customer favourites this month
- The story behind [product]
Keep the same opening for a weekly newsletter ("This week at [store]") so readers recognise it, and change the rest.
Store news and announcement subject lines
Announcements need plain, factual subject lines. Customers should understand the news from the inbox alone.
- Our new [store or studio] is open
- Delivery is changing from [date]: what it means for you
- Free returns are here
- Our holiday opening hours
- We've moved to [new packaging or material]
- A note about prices from [date]
- Thank you for [number] years of [store]
Put changes that affect orders, such as delivery or returns, in a separate email from any promotion, so they don't get lost.
Subject line and preview text pairs by campaign
| Campaign | Subject line | Preview text |
|---|---|---|
| Sale | [Number]% off everything in [category] | Until Sunday at midnight. No code needed. |
| Launch | Meet [product], our [description] | Available now in [colours], from [price]. |
| Restock | Back in stock: [product] | All sizes, for now. It sold out in [time] last time. |
| Seasonal | Order by [date] for [occasion] delivery | Free gift wrap on every order this week. |
| Newsletter | This week at [store]: [topic] | Plus three new arrivals and a customer favourite. |
As with the subject line, only include figures in the preview text that are true for that send.
Subject lines for automated emails
Automations run all the time, so it pays to get their subject lines right once. A few ideas per type; our blog has full guides to welcome, post-purchase and win-back emails.
- Welcome: Welcome to [store], here's where to start · You're in. Here's your first-order treat.
- Post-purchase: Your order's in good hands · How to get the most from your [product].
- Win-back: We've been busy since your last order · Long time no see, [first name].
Should you use personalisation and emoji?
Personalisation: a first name can help a subject line feel personal, but only if your data is clean. Set a fallback so an empty field doesn't produce "Hi ,". Personalising by what someone bought or browsed ("New in [category you shop]") is often more relevant than a name.
Emoji: use them if they suit your brand, one at a time, and make sure the line still makes sense without them. Some inboxes show emoji differently, so send yourself a test and check it on a phone.
Subject lines to avoid
- Misleading lines: a fake "Re:" or "Your order" on a promotion, or "Final hours" on a sale that's being extended.
- ALL CAPITALS and stacks of exclamation marks. They look like shouting and like spam.
- The same subject line every week. Readers stop noticing it.
- Clickbait the email doesn't pay off. A surprise-style subject line with a routine email inside costs trust next time.
- Merge fields without a fallback. One broken name looks careless across your whole list.
How to test email subject lines
- Test one idea at a time, such as the offer in the subject line against a product name.
- Judge by clicks and orders, not just opens. Apple's Mail Privacy Protection prevents senders from seeing whether an email was opened (Apple Support), so open rates are less reliable than they used to be.
- Use a big enough audience. A test on a few hundred people can flip on the next send; repeat a winning approach before you treat it as a rule.
- Keep a swipe file. Note which lines won, for which campaign type, and reuse the approach, not the exact words.
For the lines that bring shoppers back to a cart, see our abandoned cart email subject lines.
Writing subject lines with tinyAlbert
tinyAlbert is a Shopify app that plans, writes and sends your campaigns. It builds a calendar of campaigns around your store's category and retail moments, such as Halloween, Black Friday and the after-Christmas sales, and writes each campaign in the tone of voice you choose. By default it sends about one campaign a week, and you can change how many and when.
When you write or edit a campaign yourself, the campaign builder shows a live inbox preview next to your subject and preview text, along with subject-line best-practice checks. You can also ask for a rewrite with Regenerate and send yourself a test before anything goes out. See how the calendar works on the AI campaign calendar page, and read the Shopify email marketing guide for the wider plan.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a good ecommerce email subject line?
It tells the reader what's inside in the first few words, fits the type of campaign, and promises only what the email delivers. Specific beats vague: "20% off all knitwear until Sunday" says more than "Big savings inside". Add preview text that gives a second reason to open, and keep the tone the same as the rest of your brand.
How long should an email subject line be?
Short enough that the important words show on a phone, because inbox apps cut long subject lines. Put the offer, product or deadline first and move supporting detail into the preview text. Read every subject line on your own phone before sending, and compare shorter and longer versions in a test rather than following a fixed character count.
Should you put the discount in the subject line?
For a sale, usually yes: a specific offer such as "25% off all candles" tells subscribers exactly why to open. For newsletters, launches and post-purchase emails, leave discounts out so customers don't learn to wait for codes. Whatever you promise in the subject line must be in the email, with the same terms and end date.
Should you use emoji in ecommerce subject lines?
Only if they suit your brand voice. Use one at most, put it where it adds meaning rather than decoration, and check the line still reads well without it. Send yourself a test to see how it shows on a phone and in the inboxes your customers use, then compare it against the same line without emoji.
How do you test email subject lines?
Send two versions that differ in one idea to a random split of your list and compare clicks and orders, not just opens, because Apple's Mail Privacy Protection hides whether emails were opened. Run tests on large enough audiences, repeat a winning approach before treating it as a rule, and keep notes on what worked for each campaign type.
Want your campaigns planned and written for you? Install tinyAlbert for a 7-day free trial, then from $3 a month for up to 100 contacts.
tinyAlbert is an AI email marketing app for Shopify stores, made by tinyCo, the company behind tinyEmail. About tinyAlbert.