Drip
How to use Drip
Why ecommerce automation matters
Most ecommerce revenue is left on the table. Customers browse, add items to carts, then leave. Others make a purchase but never return. Without automation, you're manually writing emails to these segments, which doesn't scale. A platform that watches customer behaviour and triggers messages automatically can recover abandoned carts, encourage repeat purchases, and build loyalty without your team sending individual emails.
The shift to customer data platforms
Traditional email platforms like Mailchimp were built for generic marketing lists. They send the same message to everyone. Modern ecommerce demands behaviour-triggered messaging. If a customer buys product A but not B, they need a different message than someone who's never bought anything. That requires a system that ingests customer data continuously, segments them in real-time, and fires rules automatically. These are called customer data platforms (CDPs). Drip is a CDP built specifically for ecommerce.
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How Drip works
Drip integrates with your Shopify store, WooCommerce site, or custom ecommerce platform. It pulls in purchase history, cart activity, customer attributes, and browsing behaviour. You then define rules: if customer abandons cart, send email after 2 hours. If customer buys product X, add them to segment "product X owners" and send a follow-up email. If customer spends over £500, mark them as VIP and send exclusive offers. These rules run continuously in the background. When a customer's behaviour matches a rule, Drip automatically sends the message.
Drip vs. Klaviyo vs. Mailchimp vs. Convertkit
Klaviyo is the market leader for SMS + email automation in ecommerce. It has superior SMS capabilities, more advanced segmentation, and better analytics. It's also expensive, starting around £25/month and scaling quickly. Drip costs less and is easier to set up, but has fewer features. Mailchimp is cheaper still, but its automation is less sophisticated. Convertkit is built for creators and writers, not ecommerce. If you're selling physical products or subscriptions online and need SMS + email together, Klaviyo is the premium choice. If you want a simpler, cheaper alternative for ecommerce that still handles SMS, Drip is competitive. If you only need email, Mailchimp is fine.
Real-world use cases
A Shopify store selling coffee sets up Drip to send an abandoned cart email after 2 hours (10% discount). Customers who complete the purchase receive a "thank you" email after 3 days with a referral link. Customers who don't buy again in 30 days get a reactivation offer. A subscription box company uses Drip to send a reorder reminder 1 week before the next box ships. A fashion boutique segments customers by purchase history: customers who bought dresses get new-dress announcements, while those who bought accessories get accessory offers. These workflows run automatically, recovering revenue without manual effort.
Pricing and learning curve
Drip charges per subscriber, not per email sent. Pricing starts around £25/month for up to 1,000 subscribers and scales to £200+/month for larger lists. Setup takes a few hours if you're comfortable with Shopify or WooCommerce. The automation builder uses a visual drag-and-drop interface, so you don't need coding knowledge. Most teams launch their first campaign within a day. Documentation is adequate, and support is responsive.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths: Affordable, quick to set up, good for Shopify stores, includes SMS, simple UI, decent automation rules. Weaknesses: Reporting is less detailed than Klaviyo, feature set is smaller for power users, SMS is secondary, limited integrations outside ecommerce, not suitable for B2B use.
Verdict
Drip is a solid choice if you run a small-to-mid ecommerce store and want straightforward email and SMS automation without the cost and complexity of Klaviyo. It's significantly better than Mailchimp for behaviour-triggered campaigns. Start with Drip if you want something simple, affordable, and ecommerce-focused. Graduate to Klaviyo when you outgrow it or need advanced SMS and analytics capabilities.
How to automate Drip
Native integrations
Connect your store first. Drip lists Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce. One idea: build a flow that waits two hours after a cart is abandoned, sends an email, and sends an SMS a day later if the cart is still open.
API and webhooks
The Drip API manages subscribers, campaigns, events, orders and carts, products, workflows, forms and segments. Webhooks cover subscriber changes, email opens, clicks and bounces, and custom events. Use that to send a Slack alert when a high-value customer unsubscribes, or to push email engagement into your data warehouse.
MCP server
Drip documents an official remote MCP server, with a set-up guide in its help centre. Check the guide for which actions it exposes. A reasonable first use is asking an assistant to summarise how your last campaign performed, read-only.