Best Marketing Automation Software for Ecommerce Customer Retention

How this list was selected

Products chosen because their own current pages document a distinct retention job for ecommerce stores. Order follows the three kinds of work, not quality.

Selection method reviewed 2026-11-12.

Retention is three kinds of work

Separate scheduled messages, store operations and shopper conversations before buying. A post-purchase sequence, an order tag and an answer to a customer’s product question have different inputs and responsibilities. One platform may cover several of them, but the proposal should show which product and owner handles each job.

Lifecycle platforms that run the program

Klaviyo documents email, SMS, mobile push and reviews on unified profiles, plus behavior-triggered flows. Its SMS credits vary by recipient country. Evaluate whether those documented channels and flows cover your retention program, and confirm the products and implementation work included in your quote.

Braze documents a standard integration for Shopify online stores and a custom SDK route for Hydrogen or headless storefronts. Its engagement channels include in-app messages, email and SMS. If those channels fit your retention program, ask which identity, forms and subscription work the proposed setup includes. Its Shopify documentation says website sessions count toward the active-user allotment, so price that scope alongside messaging.

Attentive centres on a retail text and email program with AI Journeys for triggered messages and AI Grow for sign-ups. Its distinguishing retention asset is Concierge, where live agents and conversational AI answer shoppers using purchase history and browsing behaviour. If you want one vendor to supply both the program and staffed replies, it belongs on the list.

When text is the retention channel

Some Shopify brands retain mainly through SMS and keep email elsewhere. Postscript is built for that case. Its Growth plan is $100 a month with US and Canada SMS at $0.008 per message plus carrier fees, which Postscript passes through at cost and averages at $0.0033 per US SMS; a dedicated toll-free number is included, and contracts are optional with monthly billing. Every plan includes a visual flow builder with welcome, upsell, shipping and abandonment templates, and response management so your team can reply to subscribers. A separate Postscript AI plan at $699 a month adds its Shopper agentic journeys and Infinity Testing, with per message rates from $0.003 to $0.30 depending on product and message type.

An SMS-focused platform can fit a team that intends to keep email elsewhere. Confirm how the proposed connection shares the customer history and consent information you need. If you want email and SMS operated in one system, compare that requirement explicitly rather than assuming that two connected products and one platform are the same purchase.

If your store is not on Shopify

Campaigner’s current integrations page lists WooCommerce and BigCommerce in its ecommerce section. A Shopify merchant should ask Campaigner to establish the supported connection, events and maintenance scope for the proposed setup. The public list’s silence does not prove that a route is unavailable. Its SMS and MMS pricing is quote-based, with the advertised carrier and number treatment to confirm in writing.

Shopify Flow handles the operational side

Shopify Flow is a free app on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans. It watches the store for events and runs a sequence you define from triggers, conditions and actions. It is rule-based: it does what the rule says when the condition is met, which is exactly what you want for tagging a customer after a second order or routing an order for review. Some capabilities depend on plan; the Send HTTP Request action needs Grow or above, and tasks from custom partner apps need Plus.

Flow complements the rest of the retention setup. Check the actions available from your installed apps, the relevant permissions and the plan requirements for the workflow you intend to run.

When retention needs an ongoing conversation

A replenishment reminder can start a conversation your team then has to finish. A returning customer might ask about a new pack size, a previous purchase or an item they want to add. If that work is part of your retention brief, include it in the software decision.

Zobi is built to keep those exchanges in one running thread. It handles cart recovery, replies, reorders and add-ons using the cart, the last reply and purchase history. For a team choosing software to handle returning-buyer conversations, that is the relevant product job.

Bring a real repeat-purchase question from your store into the evaluation. Look at how the proposed answer uses the right product and order information, and inspect the campaign approval step and conversation transcript that Zobi describes. Confirm how it would coordinate with the lifecycle messages you intend to keep.

If your existing platform and team already cover those conversations, concentrate on the other retention work you need. If you want an ongoing conversation service for your Shopify customers, explore Zobi and apply for your store. Free to apply.

Running the evaluation

Write down the work you want handled and mark what your current setup already covers. If your lifecycle messages work, focus the next purchase on an uncovered job. If you are replacing an email platform, start with the journeys and customer information the replacement must preserve.

Ask each vendor to show the specific task using products like yours, and to state the quoted billing units, scope and implementation work. Choose the proposal that covers the job your team needs, with clear responsibility for what remains.

Sources and scope

This guide compares provider documentation for the buying decision described above. Confirm plan terms and the proposed setup with each provider before changing your store.

Klaviyo Sms · Attentive Concierge · Braze Shopify · Postscript Pricing · Campaigner Pricing · Campaigner Integrations · Shopify Flow · Zobi Dtc.