If you are looking to improve customer service, generate more sales, and turn one-time buyers into loyal, repeat customers you’re in the right place.
Marketing automation is becoming a must for ecommerce companies, big and small alike. But while the idea of automating your marketing campaigns and processes isn’t necessarily new, choosing the right ecommerce marketing automation solution store is only becoming more challenging.
To save you time and money and help you make a more informed decision, I picked and reviewed the 13 best marketing automation apps for Shopify websites based on their features, functionalities, user-friendliness, and overall quality.
Here are the tools we’ve reviewed:
- GetResponse
- Omnisend
- ActiveCampaign
- Klaviyo
- LeftBrain
- PostPilot
- Flashyapp
- ContactPigeon
- MailerLite
- Brevo
- Retargetapp
- Back in Stock
- Limespot
Why compare marketing automation apps?
The marketing automation space continues to grow, with new apps emerging all the time.
Ecommerce store owners can benefit from knowing what tools are available on the market and how their capabilities can improve their marketing strategy.
While most marketing automation software has robust capabilities built with ecommerce stores in mind, not all of them will support your businesses equally.
For example, some marketing tools focus mostly on one particular channel, say email marketing. Others, on the other hand, offer a more versatile range of features, e.g., popups, transactional emails, SMS marketing campaigns, promo codes, live chats, paid ads, or web pushes.
As a store owner – no matter if it’s a Shopify store or one built using some other platform – you’ll want to choose a solution that’ll support you fully and help you reach your customers no matter where or where they engage.
Working for a mid-sized or large ecommerce enterprise? This is the ultimate list of marketing automation tools for you!
Naturally, you could sign up for several different tools and achieve similar goals as you’d do with a single, more robust platform. That, however, will require extra time spent integrating them and likely also be more expensive.
In addition to the software’s key features, you’ll also want to confirm that your marketing automation app integrates with the rest of your tech stack. Whether you’re using Google Analytics to analyze your website’s performance, Facebook ads to run ad retargeting campaigns, or some other platform to collect social proof – you’ll want to make sure your marketing automation software will
Finally, these tools are often quite different when it comes to UX and ease of use. You don’t want to end up getting an app that’s too complex or causing too much frustration while doing even the simplest tasks. And even if that happens, you should at least pick an app that offers top-class customer service so they can successfully walk your team through it.
What do you need to know before seeing results?
The key lesson here is: there’s no one-size-fits-all solution that’ll promote your Shopify store for you. Your choice will depend on several different factors.
First of all, you need to know your customers, your audience, and your market in general.
Of course, good marketing automation software will help you get to know these better, but you need to have at least a basic idea of what kind of marketing approach would work for your demography. Then, you will pick the tool that can help you get the most out of your strategy.
Second, it’s not enough to just find a good tool to see results. Obviously, you’ll need a good product that sells, but apart from that, you’ll also need content and microcopy that perform well.
You’ll be providing product descriptions, sending personalized emails, retargeting lost customers, and a lot more. For all this, you’ll need well-written, well-designed, and engaging content.
You can expect to see results only once you have all three: a reliable tool, superb market intelligence, and a top-notch creative strategy.
Now let’s move on to a quick features table and see what are the best features in these 13 marketing automation apps for Shopify.
Looking for information on marketing automation? Read our article on marketing automation best practices!
Best marketing automation apps for Shopify websites – a quick overview
| GetResponse | Complete email and marketing automation software Seamless 1-click integration with Shopify Includes stunning email templates, SMS, web push notifications, promo codes, live chats, paid ads, and transactional emails (quick no-code and advanced via API) Customer support in eight different languages Variety of payment options for Shopify store |
| Omnisend | Includes pre-built workflows Includes scratch card, wheel of fortune, and gift boxes Includes landing pages, web pushes, SMS, pop-ups, and emails Clean and intuitive design |
| ActiveCampaign | Robust marketing automation platform It includes email, SMS, chats, WhatsApp, and social media Has a good number of premade workflows Offers many integrations Good customer service |
| Klaviyo | It includes email marketing and SMS It features pre-built workflows and forms It includes a product recommendation feature Lets you build different types of cart abandonment flows |
| LeftBrain | It includes fully automated and manual email campaigns It includes personalized recommendations It includes offer-based marketing automation |
| PostPilot | It is a postcard and coupon automation tool It features design and personalization options for cards It features segmentation and pro design service |
| Flashyapp | Automations include email, marketing, SMS, and popups It includes email personalization and targeting It is a data-driven marketing app |
| ContactPigeon | It is an omnichannel for customer contacting, including SMS, WhatsApp, and Viber marketing It includes customer journey builder It includes customer segmentation |
| MailerLite | It includes website and landing pages builder It is a complete email automation tool It includes segmentation and tracking tools |
| Brevo | It includes CRM features next to marketing automation It includes a landing pages builder It includes sending time optimization |
| Retargetapp | It is a retargeting app for website visitors that abandoned carts It is a Facebook and Google ad creator It is an ad automation app for customer recovery |
| Back in Stock | Customizable templates for forms and emails Analytics and reports are available from the dashboard It integrates with email platforms |
| Limespot | It is an AI-driven personalization solution for the customer journey, sales, CTAs, etc It features marketing and email automation It features real-time customer segmentation |
Reviews of the best marketing automation apps for Shopify websites
1. GetResponse
GetResponse is one of the best Shopify email and marketing automation apps out there.
It includes an intuitive and easy-to-use email marketing and marketing automation workflow builder with stunning ready-made email templates, design tools, and a built-in photo editor.
It also includes promo codes, product recommendations, web push notifications, SMS, pop-ups, live chats, paid ads, and transactional emails.
On top of that, it includes detailed reporting that lets you see your campaigns’ performance including sales revenue data – right from your dashboard.
GetResponse also offers a complete funnel analysis, tracking the customer through the entire journey and optimizing their experience to propel them further down the funnel.
You’ll also get other features like website and landing page builders, making it a truly complete marketing automation app. It will help you create automation events that can smoothen out the customer journey across different platforms by leveraging the collected data.
To top it all off, GetResponse offers a robust knowledge library, video tutorials, 24/7 support, and a dashboard fully localized in 10+ languages.
GetResponse pricing:
GetResponse offers a generous Free plan which includes storage space for 500 contacts, 2,500 monthly email sending volume, a website builder, forms and popups. On top of that, it also gives you access to all premium features for the first 30 days.
For Shopify store owners, it also features two paid plans:
- Ecommerce marketing – starting from $99 per month for 1,000 contacts (billed annually) and includes promo codes, product recommendations, abandoned carts, revenue reports, quick transactional emails, and other advanced marketing automation features.
- MAX – custom-priced plan for store owners with larger lists or requiring more advanced features like dedicated IP address, single sign-on access, and account management.
Who should opt for GetResponse?
Shopify retailers regardless of their store size or previous marketing automation experience.
Those who are looking to create automated workflows, customer journeys, and conversion funnels with an easy-to-use drag and drop editor.
Retailers looking to build a website and highly convertible landing pages and are looking for customer support in a variety of languages to scale their business easily.
Pros and cons for GetResponse:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great automation for the entire conversion funnel, including ads, SMS, abandoned cart, and transactional emails. | The free plan includes some of the best features for 30 days only. |
| Highly customizable marketing automation workflows | |
| Customer support available in 8 languages |
Sign up for a Free-Forever plan with GetResponse and use our advanced features for 30 days!
👉 Check out the official GetResponse app in the Shopify app store.
2. Omnisend
Omnisend, as the name suggests, prides itself on solid multi-channel functionalities that include sending SMS, emails, and push notifications from a single dashboard designed for ecommerce marketers and retailers.
It also features pre-built workflows for welcoming series, product and cart abandonment, cross-selling and order confirmations.
Just like most marketing automation tools, Omnisend lets you use third-party data to create a more personalized experience for every customer. The app integrates easily with Shopify, although some features like Product Recommender or Gift Box lack direct integration.
Omnisend pricing:
The pricing will depend on the number of contacts in your list and if you are looking to add SMS marketing next to the email marketing.
The price for 1000 contacts is $16/mo, or if you choose Email & SMS, the price is $59/mo.
Who should opt for Omnisend?
Shopify retailers looking to include SMS, WhatsApp, and dynamic Facebook and Google app integrations in addition to email marketing.
Pros and cons of Omnisend:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Strong omnichannel capabilities | Email and workflow templates not customizable enough |
| Powerful segmentation tools | Some features difficult to integrate |
| Affordable pricing |
👉 Check out the official Omnisend app in the Shopify app store.
3. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign offers more than 500 pre-build workflow automation, such as abandoned cart emails, welcome emails, post-purchase follow-ups, or different upsell workflows.
It focuses primarily on driving personal experiences. It has a machine learning-based engine that pulls data from your Shopify store and turns this data into personalized messages and recommendations.
This means that the tool excels in delivering conditional content and gets better at it every time it gets feedback. However, this abundance of advanced choices and alternatives is what makes it difficult to use sometimes.
ActiveCampaign pricing:
There are four plans featured, but unfortunately, ActiveCampaign doesn’t offer a free plan.
The Plus plan is priced at $49/mo for up to 1000 contacts.
The Professional plan is priced at $149/mo for up to 1000 contacts.
Who should opt for ActiveCampaign?
Shopify retailers looking to create simple and complex marketing automations.Just keep in mind that UX is somewhat technical and requires a learning curve.
Pros and cons of ActiveCampaign:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy integration of customer data | Steep learning curve |
| Intuitive contact profiles overview | Limited email editor functionality |
| Provides AI-based personal experiences |
👉 Check out the official ActiveCampaign app in the Shopify app store.
Related: ActiveCampaign alternatives and competitors review
Read more related content:
1. Guide to Email Marketing for Ecommerce
2. 5 Brands That Got Their Ecommerce Strategies Right
4. Klaviyo
Klaviyo is another all-around tool that offers a number of different automation services, from growing your list to predictive analytics and great reporting tools.
Klaviyo offers a large number of features revolving around email automation and clear, informative reports you can use to learn how to further personalize your content, recommendations, and forms.
There are a couple of downsides though, as some customers claim that their customer service can get quite slow, as well as their campaign review process.
Also, there are some complaints about costs and the fact that they seem not to provide transparent pricing for additional charges on their website.
Klaviyo pricing:
The pricing will depend on the number of contacts on your list. There are no pricing plans; all features are included in every pricing.
For example, the monthly price for 1000 contacts is $45.
Who should opt for Klaviyo?
Shopify retailers looking to automate pre-built workflows and include bulk SMS campaigns.
Pros and cons of Klaviyo:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| An impressive personalization engine | Steep pricing once your list grows |
| A lot of automation options and pre-built workflows | Offers only email and SMS features |
| Super-easy integration |
👉 Check out the official Klaviyo app in the Shopify app store.
Read more: 4 Best Klaviyo alternatives
5. LeftBrain
LeftBrain is an app that does all the left-brain work for you. It reinforces the methodical and analytical aspect of your ecommerce business by analyzing, optimizing, and automating your marketing efforts.
It tracks customer behavior and uses a set of rules to decide when and how to contact them.
The system monitors the entire customer lifecycle and acts according to a myriad of factors and information obtained over time.
The app is conceived in a way that allows users to avoid any hassle with setting initial rules and parameters.
However, this may also lead to problems as it turns out that this may be too little input for the system to understand the subtle needs of an individual business.
LeftBrain pricing:
The pricing is flexible, and it depends on the number of contacts on your list.
It is free for 1000 contacts.
For example, if you have 10000 contacts on your list, the monthly cost will be $200.
Who should opt for the LeftBrain?
Shopify retailers who are looking for a complete auto solution for setting rules and triggers. However, there are pros and cons in allowing an app to have this much control over your marketing automation.
Pros and cons of LeftBrain:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| A highly automated tool that needs very little user input | Maybe a bit too much automation? |
| Quick and easy segmentation | Only supports emails |
| Flexible pricing |
👉 Check out the official LeftBrain app in the Shopify app store.
6. PostPilot
Not all marketing automation apps have an aim to provide their users with a comprehensive automation solution.
Some simply choose to specialize in a certain aspect of marketing. PostPilot does that for postcard campaigns, both electronic and physical ones.
Narrowing your services down like this may be a good idea sometimes. They’re laser-focused on one particular service, and their users know they’re not constantly stretched between a number of different responsibilities.
PostPilot also uses data-driven segmentation and offers different design options – you can use their templates, upload your own design, use PostPilot’s tool to create a postcard, or even take advantage of PostPilot’s free professional design services.
PostPilot pricing:
PostPilot features three pricing plans billed monthly.
- The Growth plan is priced at $199/mo.
- The Pro plan is priced at $499/mo.
- The Enterprise with a custom price calculated for you.
Who should opt for PostPilot?
Shopify retailers looking to send postcards featuring discounts via mail or post.
Pros and cons of PostPilot:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Laser-focused service | Not an all-around tool |
| Clean and easy segmentation | |
| Free design services |
👉 Check out the official PostPilot app in the Shopify app store.
7. Flashyapp
Flashyapp offers a wide array of features normally offered by other automation software, tracks each customer down their funnel, and tries to deliver the best possible personalized experience in order to influence customers to convert.
It also offers some less widespread features, such as a free academy and the community marketplace.
Flashyapp is often praised for its simplicity of use and helpful customer service. Also, they pride themselves in detailed, visually beautiful reports from which you can create actionable insights and update your strategy accordingly.
Flashyapp pricing:
Flashyapp features four pricing plans;
The Starter plan is priced at $21/mo for up to 1000 contacts.
It includes email marketing, SMS marketing and allows one user.
The Professional plan is priced at $40/mo for up to 1000 contacts.
It includes everything from the Starter plan and marketing automation, website tracking, smart popups, custom domain and up to three users.
The Master plan is priced at $99/mo for up to 1000 contacts.
It includes everything from the Professional plan plus web personalization, unlimited popups, advanced analytics, and Facebook integration. Up to 15 users and extended customer support.
The Custom plans pricing will depend on your personal preferences.
Who should opt for Flashyapp?
Shopify retailers whose budget can take $40/mo for marketing automation features or $99/mo for larger teams that work on the same project.
Pros and cons of Flashyapp:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Very user-friendly | No free plan |
| Excellent customer service | Some minor UI issues |
| Beautiful, informative reports |
8. ContactPigeon
This is another all-arounder on the list. It offers everything from email marketing to cross-selling and up-selling pop-ups to segmentation tools and a landing page builder.
ContactPigeon is an omnichannel solution, supporting email, push notifications, SMS, Viber, What’s App, as well as custom channel integrations.
It also offers a ton of pre-built workflows, such as repurchase reminders, price drop, welcome series, or re-engagement series.
Users often openly admire their customization capabilities and their customer support. And among the most common complaints, they noted ContactPigeon’s interface and the occasional lagging that happens when you overload the system with too many tasks.
ContactPigeon pricing:
Unfortunately, the pricing is not disclosed.
Who should opt for ContactPigeon?
Shopify retailers looking to use advanced pre-built workflows to automate marketing campaigns. Considering that the pricing is not available and to know more details, you have to book a demo; we can only assume that the pricing will be tailored for brands and store owners that drive a lot of revenue.
Pros and cons of ContactPigeon:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It is an autopilot app | Data presentation needs improvement |
| Numerous workflows that provide great up-sell and cross-sell opportunities | It can get slow when overloaded |
| Top-class customer service | Pricing is not available |
👉 Check out the official ContactPigeon app in the Shopify app store.
9. MailerLite
MailerLite stands out from other apps with its ease of use and intuitive interface.
Once you integrate it with Shopify, it’s quite easy to handle all the important processes from the MailerLite dashboard. It even automatically creates segments based on customers’ past behavior as soon as you sync all your Shopify contacts.
It has good deliverability rates and offers free landing pages and pop-up builders.
However, one of the reasons why it’s so easy to use is that it lacks advanced automation. But as a basic tool for basic needs, it can do a great job.
MailerLite pricing:
MailerLite is free for up to 1000 subscribers and 12000 emails/mo.
The price for up to 2500 subscribers is $15/mo, and the number of emails is unlimited.
The price for up to 5000 subscribers is $30/mo and also includes unlimited emails.
The price for up to 10000 subscribers is $50/mo.
Who should opt for MailerLite:
Shopify retailers looking to primarily automate email marketing and are not looking for advanced automations such as workflows and funnels.
Pros and cons of MailerLite
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Intuitive to use | Lacks advanced workflows |
| Some useful integration features | |
👉 Check out the official MailerLite app in the Shopify app store.
Read more: GetResponse vs. MailerLite comparison
10. Brevo (formerly Sendinblue)
Brevo provides highly-personalized experiences for customers.
Its contact management and segmentation are top-class, as well as its lead scoring capabilities.
This opens the room for dynamic, personalized content based on detailed individual customer records.
You can use a drag-and-drop tool to easily insert your products into an email and send customized trigger-based offers.
Some users report there’s a steep learning curve with automation builders and a lack of 24/7 customer support.
Brevo pricing:
Brevo features four plans, and the pricing is based on the number of emails and not contacts.
The Free plan includes up to 300 emails per day and a chat for one user.
The Lite plan is priced at $25/mo for up to 10000 emails/mo. It includes A/B testing, Brevo logo removal, and advanced statistics.
The Premium plan is priced at 65/mo for up to 20000 emails/mo. It includes marketing automation, Facebook ads, landing pages, multi-user access, and telephone support.
The Enterprise plan is customizable.
Who should opt for Brevo:
Shopify retailers who have some background in using different marketing automation tools due to its learning curve, and those who can benefit from SMS marketing next to email.
Pros and cons of Brevo:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Top-class contact management | The steep learning curve for some features |
| Superb segmentation capabilities | Lack of 24/7 customer support |
| Customizable plans |
👉 Check out the official Brevo app in the Shopify app store.
Read more: GetResponse vs. Brevo comparison
11. Adwisely (formerly Retargetapp)
This is another app that focuses on just one feature and tries to help you make the most of it.
That feature is retargeting on Facebook, Instagram, Google, or TikTok. Adwisely can be very useful as it basically chases the users who have interacted with your website around the internet, trying to give them that little additional push to conversion.
This can be done manually in many apps, but Adwisely simplifies the process and automatically does almost everything for you, guaranteeing the improvement of basically all KPIs.
The app even provides ad budget recommendations, automatic text ideas, and a personal ad manager after spending more than $400.
The downside is that it seems a bit basic, and advanced users will sometimes prefer to set the retarget workflow manually to make it more efficient.
Adwisely pricing:
The pricing is determined by the amount spent on ads within the month.
The Basic plan is priced at $99/mo for $1000 spent on ads.
The Standard plan is priced at $249/mo for $3000 spent on ads.
The Advanced plan is priced at $499 for $6000 spent on ads.
Who should opt for Adwisely?
Shopify retailers whose audiences and customers use Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads, or TikTok on a daily basis to target ads for specific store visitors who abandoned carts.
Pros and cons of Adwisely:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Very easy to use | Limited service |
| Promises to improve key metrics | Too basic for advanced users |
| Customer support issues |
👉 Check out the official Adwisely app in the Shopify app store.
Read more: 10 Top Popup Software Tools
12. Back In Stock
Back In Stock offers one single feature that may not seem too relevant at first glance but should definitely not be underestimated.
In essence, Back In Stock contacts your users by email as soon as a certain product is back in stock. A user can apply for this service by clicking on a fully customizable button on your product page.
All you need to do is choose the templates, design the button, and then set delivery settings, notification rules, and wait time.
Conversion rates will certainly be higher, as you’re reaching out to consumers who are openly interested in your product, and basically, the only thing that stopped them from buying in the first place was that it was sold out.
Users report occasional bugs, high prices for such a simple service, and slow customer support, among the most common complaints.
Back In Stock pricing:
The pricing is based on the size of your store, and there is a Free plan available.
The price for a Startup plan is $19/mo for 100 notifications, including SMS and email.
The price for a Small Store plan is $39/mo for 500 notifications.
The price for Medium Store is $59/mo for 5000 notifications.
The Price for a Large Store is $79/mo for 50000 notifications.
Who should opt for Back In Stock?
Shopify retailers who are looking to automate forms and emails to announce when products are back in stock.
Pros and cons of Back In Stock:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| It brings in very high-quality leads | Advanced plans are a bit pricey |
| Easy to set up | Slow customer support |
| Sporadic bugs |
13. LimeSpot
LimeSpot Personalizer is a product recommendation app.
While many other marketing automation tools also offer some product recommendation functionality, what makes Limespot different are its customizing capabilities.
There are many different recommendation types to choose from. You can place them anywhere on your website – on product pages, collection pages, in the cart, and basically wherever you can imagine.
LimeSpot helps you sell more by personalizing all the product pages and recommendations elements, from images, text, CTAs, to HTML and rich content.
In combination with a very powerful recommendation engine that learns from users’ browsing history, in-session behavior, and purchase patterns, you should be seeing results soon.
There seem to be some annoying bugs troubling the users, and that needs to be fixed. The pricing structure is not transparent enough, so people occasionally get charged much more than expected. Also, the tool sometimes recommends products that are archived or out of stock.
LimeSpot pricing:
LimeSpot offers three main plans – Essentials that starts at $18/mo, Pay As You Grow starting at $15/mo, and a custom Premium plan.
The pricing varies on the plan you pick and your store’s revenue. With their pricing calculator, you can see that with the Essentials plan you’d pay $40/mo if your store makes around $20,000.
Who should opt for LimeSpot?
Shopify retailers who feature multiple products in their store and require personalization of various elements including images and content.
Pros and cons of LimeSpot:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great customization options | Occasional bugs |
| Comprehensive personalization features | |
| A convenient visual editor |
Best automation marketing software – which one to choose?
As we already mentioned, there’s no recipe or a single piece of advice that could direct you to the very best solution for your business.
This depends on your market, your customer base, your industry, your tech-savviness, and a lot of other factors.
Nevertheless, there are some guidelines you can follow and general qualities you should definitely look for in a marketing automation tool. Here are some of them:
Customization is key
The abundance of different customization options can never be a bad thing. Marketing automation is all about fine-tuning your preferences and presets until you get it just right.
That’s why it’s always good to have a number of different alternatives, whether you’re tagging contacts, segmenting your mailing list, or setting different triggers for follow-up messages.
Today we know that personalized marketing messages drive engagement and conversions. It’s crucial to have the ability to customize your content, your messages, your triggers, your recommendations, and your outreach strategy.
Go for a strong visual appearance
You should always look for first-rate visual appearance and design capabilities in a marketing automation tool.
In order to compete for consumers’ attention, you need well-designed emails, ads, web pages, and social media posts. In a huge ocean of flashy, annoying ads, you need to stand out.
So you either need a tool that offers numerous beautiful templates and design options or the one that allows you to design your own stuff.
Remember that user-friendliness is a big factor here, whether you choose to use pre-made templates or create them yourself. Most of the drag-and-drop builders are quite easy to use, so maybe look for this feature in an app if you’re not familiar and comfortable with advanced design tools.
Pro tip: GetResponse comes with 100+ stunning ready-made email templates you can fully customize to match your branding. Here’s a sample of email templates you’ll find in the GetResponse Email Creator:
Don’t forget customer support
Customer support is huge. Even when they’re perfectly intuitive, most of these tools are still not easy to operate, especially for a novice user.
Even if you feel like an expert, customer support is still a crucial box to check.
Marketing automation tools often have a vast number of functionalities and customization options, and it’s not always easy to find your way around. When you get stuck, you need someone by your side, and you need them quickly.
What happens if you are not a pro in English?
Most apps feature customer support only in English. GetResponse features support in eight different languages and a fully localized dashboard in 10+ languages.
Signup for GetResponse and test advanced features for free!
At the end of the day, it’s not only about the UX provided by the software. Sometimes it’s just bugs.
And even the most perfect of these apps will have them occasionally, and that’s no big deal. It’s just important that there’s always someone out there to help you out.
Conclusion
All in all, finding a Shopify marketing automation app that suits your store and fulfills all your business needs is not an easy task.
The market is growing, the technology behind automation apps is getting more powerful, and choosing the right one will bring more and more benefits to businesses.
The best is to choose an all-around tool that features all necessary automation, excellent support, and a fair price. Opting for GetResponse will cover your automation needs regardless of the store size, and it’s free to get started.