Dotdigital Automation: Building Revenue Programmes for E-Commerce

Automation is where e-commerce email marketing makes or loses most of its revenue. A single abandoned cart programme, built correctly and running continuously, can generate 15–25% of total email revenue with no ongoing manual effort. The welcome series converts new subscribers before their interest fades. Post-purchase automation drives repeat purchase rates. Win-back campaigns recover customers who would otherwise be lost.

Dotdigital has a long history as an e-commerce email platform, and its automation tools — built into the Program Builder — are well-suited to delivering these core revenue sequences. This guide covers how the platform works and how to build each programme that drives meaningful e-commerce revenue.

How Dotdigital’s Program Builder Works

Dotdigital’s automation lives in a visual canvas called the Program Builder. You construct a programme by connecting nodes — each node represents an action, a decision, or a delay. The programme executes in real time as contacts enter and move through it.

Every programme begins with an entry node, which defines what triggers a contact to enter. Entry can be triggered by:

• Being added to a specific contact list (e.g., a “new subscribers” list)
• A data field change (e.g., a customer’s status changes from “prospect” to “customer”)
• An enrolment trigger from an integrated e-commerce platform (Magento, Shopify, Salesforce Commerce Cloud)
• An abandoned cart event passed via the platform integration
• A date/time condition (e.g., X days after a purchase date)

Once inside the programme, contacts move through nodes that can send emails, add or remove them from lists, update data fields, evaluate conditions, or wait for a defined period. Decision nodes branch the flow based on whether a contact has opened an email, clicked a link, or matches a data condition.

The Welcome Series

The welcome series is typically the highest-revenue automation per recipient for e-commerce brands — not because individual emails are the most valuable, but because every new subscriber enters it, and the conversion rate from new subscriber to first purchase is where acquisition ROI is decided.

Entry Trigger

Enter via list enrolment: when a contact is added to your “new subscribers” list. This fires whether they subscribed via a pop-up, a checkout opt-in, or a competition entry form.

Programme Structure

Email 1 — Send immediately: The brand introduction. Don’t sell in the first email. Deliver on the promise you made when they subscribed (the discount code, the free guide, the exclusive content). Set the tone for the brand — your values, what makes you different, what they can expect from being on your list. Include a single, clear CTA to browse the most popular product category.

Wait 24 hours

Decision node: Did they click through from Email 1?

• Yes → Segment them to a “high engagement” path. Send Email 2 with a product-focused recommendation based on the category they browsed (if personalisation data is available) or a bestsellers showcase.
• No → Segment to a “low engagement” path. Send Email 2 as a lighter brand touchpoint — a customer review showcase or brand story piece — before attempting a product push.

Wait 48 hours

Email 3 — The purchase incentive: If they haven’t yet purchased (check via Dotdigital’s e-commerce integration data), send the discount or offer to convert. Time-limit the offer (72 hours, or tied to a specific end date) to create appropriate urgency.

Wait 72 hours

Decision node: Have they purchased?

• Yes → Remove from welcome series. Add to post-purchase programme.
• No → Send Email 4 — a final urgency email reminding them of the expiring offer. Keep it brief and focused entirely on the CTA.

Suppression Logic

Anyone who purchases at any point during the series should exit immediately. Build a suppression condition at every email node: “Do not send if contact has made a purchase in the last X days.” Without this, you’ll send a discount code to someone who bought at full price 24 hours ago — damaging trust and margin simultaneously.

Abandoned Cart Programme

The abandoned cart programme is typically the single highest-revenue automation in an e-commerce email programme. It targets customers who added items to their cart and started the checkout process but did not complete a purchase.

Entry Trigger

This requires your e-commerce integration to pass cart abandonment events to Dotdigital. Dotdigital has native integrations with Magento (Adobe Commerce), Shopify, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Once the integration is configured, Dotdigital receives cart data — items, quantities, prices, product images, cart total — and can populate emails with this information using dynamic product content blocks.

The entry trigger is typically a cart abandoned event with a 1-hour delay: fire after the cart has been idle for 60 minutes with no purchase.

Programme Structure

Email 1 (1 hour after abandonment): A gentle reminder showing the exact items they left behind. Use Dotdigital’s dynamic product content to display product images, names, prices, and a direct link back to their cart. No discount at this stage — a significant proportion of abandoners will return and purchase without one. Reserve the discount for later emails to protect margin.

Wait 24 hours

Decision node: Have they purchased?

• Yes → Exit programme.
• No → Continue to Email 2.

Email 2 (24 hours after abandonment): Reinforce the value. Address the most common reasons for abandonment — price uncertainty (include a trust signal or price comparison), product concern (include customer reviews for the abandoned item), or shipping cost hesitation (highlight your returns policy or free shipping threshold). Still no discount.

Wait 48 hours

Decision node: Have they purchased?

• Yes → Exit programme.
• No → Continue to Email 3 (if included in your strategy).

Email 3 (72 hours after abandonment): If you’re using a discount as a final incentive, this is where it appears. Keep the discount modest (10% is typically sufficient) and time-limited to create urgency. Some brands skip Email 3 entirely and rely on two-email sequences — test both approaches.

Post-Purchase Programme

The post-purchase sequence does the work that determines whether a customer buys again. The window immediately after a purchase is when brand affinity is highest — use it to deepen the relationship.

Entry Trigger

Triggered by a purchase event from the e-commerce integration. Set a 24-hour delay before the first email — the purchase confirmation and shipping notification are transactional emails that should come from your e-commerce platform, not your marketing automation.

Programme Structure

Email 1 (24 hours after purchase): A welcome to the customer community — distinct from the subscriber welcome, this acknowledges their purchase and sets the relationship. A handwritten-style note from the founder, a spotlight on how the product is made, a guide to getting the most from their purchase. This email should be personal and brand-building, not transactional.

Wait 3–5 days (timed to approximate product delivery)

Email 2 — Post-delivery follow-up: Ask how they’re enjoying the product. Include a review request with a direct link to leave a review. Reviews generated here power the social proof displayed in future abandon and browse emails, creating a compounding flywheel.

Wait 10–14 days

Email 3 — Cross-sell or repeat purchase prompt: Based on what they purchased (use purchase data from the e-commerce integration), suggest the logical next product. If they bought a foundation, suggest a primer and setting powder. If they bought a coffee subscription, suggest complementary blends. The more personalised this recommendation, the better it converts.

Wait 30 days

Decision node: Have they made a second purchase?

• Yes → Exit programme (they’re retained; add to your loyalty programme communication).
• No → Move them into your win-back programme entry queue.

Win-Back Programme

Win-back targets customers who purchased in the past but have since gone quiet. The programme attempts to re-engage them before they become truly lapsed.

Define “lapsed” for your brand based on your typical purchase frequency. A brand with a 30-day repurchase cycle might define lapsed as no purchase in 60 days. A brand with a 6-month repurchase cycle might set the threshold at 12 months.

Entry Trigger

Date-triggered: last_purchase_date is 60 days ago (or your defined threshold) AND no purchase has been made in the last 60 days.

Programme Structure

Email 1 — The re-engagement attempt: A “we miss you” message with a genuinely compelling reason to come back. Not just a discount — a new product launch, a bestseller they haven’t tried, a collection update. If you have personalised product recommendation data, use it here.

Wait 7 days

Decision node: Any activity (open, click) or purchase?

• Yes (purchase) → Exit programme, return to post-purchase flow.
• Yes (engaged but no purchase) → Send a targeted follow-up based on what they clicked.
• No → Continue to Email 2.

Email 2 — The incentive: At this point, a discount or free shipping offer is appropriate. These customers have already shown purchase intent once; the right incentive should be enough to bring them back.

Wait 14 days

Decision node: Purchase?

• Yes → Exit, return to post-purchase flow.
• No → Send a final sunset email: “We’ll stop emailing you unless you’d like to hear from us.” Provide a reconfirmation link. If no action, add to suppression list. This cleans your list and improves deliverability by removing confirmed disengaged contacts.

Measuring Programme Revenue

Dotdigital’s reporting dashboard shows revenue attribution per automation programme when the e-commerce integration is correctly configured. Key metrics to track:

• Revenue per entry (total revenue attributed to the programme ÷ number of people who entered)
• Conversion rate per email within the programme
• Exit point analysis (which email is the last one most people receive before exiting? If it’s Email 1 in your welcome series, your subject line or delay timing needs work)

Use these metrics to prioritise which programmes to A/B test first. The welcome series and abandoned cart typically have the highest combined entry volumes and revenue impact — start there.

Working With Excelohunt

Building Dotdigital automation programmes that work seamlessly with your e-commerce platform integration, suppression logic, and revenue reporting requires both platform expertise and e-commerce strategy. Excelohunt sets up, audits, and optimises Dotdigital automation stacks for e-commerce brands — from a clean initial build to fixing programmes that aren’t performing.

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