Ecommerce focus

An ecommerce focus means the product is designed first for online stores. It connects directly to shop platforms such as Shopify or WooCommerce, imports products, orders and customers, and lets you build emails and messages around shopping behaviour, such as a viewed product, an abandoned basket or a repeat purchase. Reports show revenue from each campaign rather than just opens and clicks. Brevo, Drip, Klaviyo, Omnisend and Postscript are examples of tools listed with this feature.

A general email tool can send newsletters, but a shop needs to act on what customers buy and browse. Order data inside the tool allows follow-ups after purchase, win-back messages for lapsed buyers and product suggestions based on history. Revenue reporting shows which messages actually earn money.

It matters if most of your income comes from an online shop. If you sell services, run a membership or take enquiries, an ecommerce focus adds things you will not use, and a general or sales-oriented tool may fit better.

Platform support varies, so a tool that is excellent with one shop system may be only adequate with another.

• Which shop platforms does it connect to directly, and how much data does the link bring across.
• Can you trigger messages from baskets, orders and browsing, and not only from email activity.
• Does reporting show revenue per campaign and per flow.
• Does the channel mix suit you, for example email, text messages or both.