What is email segmentation? 7 proven strategies to get started

Email segmentation is the key to delivering messages that truly resonate with your audience. Instead of sending the same email to everyone, segmentation allows you to group subscribers by various criteria, ensuring each message feels relevant and personalized.

For instance, with Omnisend you can segment subscribers by channel preferences, purchase behavior, website activity, engagement metrics (such as subscribers that have clicked on a message in the last 45 days), demographics, custom events, and anniversaries.

Even basic segmentation, such as by age and location, will improve the targeting of your messaging for better results. There’s much more to cover, so join us below to discover seven proven segmentation strategies and expert tips for getting them right.

What is email segmentation?

Email segmentation divides your email subscribers based on criteria like demographics, behaviors, purchase history, and engagement levels. You can then send personalized content to each group rather than sending the same message to everyone.

Creating personalized content and targeting customers based on unique characteristics and actions can dramatically improve your email marketing results.

When you send content that matches each segment’s interests and needs, subscribers feel more understood and valued, leading to stronger relationships with your brand.

You’ll see higher open rates, increased click-throughs, and significantly better conversion rates than one-size-fits-all approaches like generic email blasts.

With an email segmentation strategy, you’ll gather more data about what works best for different customer groups, helping you refine your approach over time.

Benefits of email segmentation

Email segmentation offers more than improved campaign performance — it fundamentally transforms how you connect with your audience.

Rather than treating your email list as one homogeneous group, segmentation lets you create meaningful distinctions that lead to more purposeful, effective communication.

Here are the benefits of segmentation:

• Subscriber retention: Your well-timed messages reflect where customers are in their journey, from first purchase to loyal fans. Engaged subscribers stay active longer because every message matches their evolving relationship with your brand.
• Targeted precision: Messages based on customer behavior and purchase patterns cut through inbox noise with meaningful content. Your customers receive fewer, more relevant emails that speak directly to their interests.
• Product recommendations: Segmenting website browsing patterns reveals what interests each customer group. Your conversion rates climb as people see the products they’ll most likely buy at the perfect moment.
• List health management: Specialized re-engagement campaigns for inactive subscribers work alongside momentum-building content for active ones. Your email list naturally strengthens as each group receives relevant content.
• Revenue growth: Purchase history and average order value segmentation reveal your most valuable customer opportunities. Your profits increase as you focus on subscribers who are most likely to make significant purchases.
• Customer experience: Segmenting helps you send the right content at optimal times, creating smooth, intuitive interactions with your brand. Your subscribers enjoy opening your emails because each message feels natural and well-timed.
• Relationship building: Milestone and anniversary tracking enables meaningful moments of connection throughout the customer journey. Your campaigns create emotional resonance through perfectly timed personalized celebrations.

“Segmentation takes email from a promotional broadcast into a targeted conversation. Every customer gets messages that genuinely matter to them, driving a better ROI for your business.” Evaldas Mockus, VP of Growth at Omnisend

Types of email segmentation

There are five main types of email segmentation:

1. Demographic: WHO the customer is (age, location)
2. Behavioral: WHAT they do on the site (browsing, cart actions)
3. Transactional: HOW they purchase (frequency, value)
4. Lifecycle: WHERE they are in the journey (new, loyal, at-risk)
5. Engagement: WHAT they do with communications (opens, clicks)

Here’s a more thorough explanation for each:

Demographic segmentation

Demographic segmentation separates subscribers based on personal characteristics, creating natural groupings that share common traits and likely similar interests.

For instance, segmenting by location, age, gender, income, and education could help you create personalized campaigns targeting college students with campus dining promotions or targeting new parents with baby care products.

Here’s an example of the location segment filter in Omnisend:

Demographic insights also reveal cultural and societal factors influencing decisions, helping you craft campaigns that respect customers’ backgrounds and lifestyles.

Behavioral segmentation

Behavioral segmentation helps you understand how customers shop and interact with your store and emails rather than their purchase patterns (transactional) or relationship stages (lifecycle). It can group customers by several filters, including:

• Website browsing habits (product views, time spent)
• Research behavior (comparison shopping, review reading)
• Cart interactions (abandonment, saved items)
• Email interactions (opening product recommendations)

Omnisend has pre-built segments for behavioral segments, including those who have added products to the cart but didn’t place an order:

Those pre-built ecommerce email segmentation examples are just a snapshot of Omnisend’s behavioral segments. Clicking Create from scratch lets you build unique workflows.

Behavioral footprints show clear patterns, from thorough researchers comparing multiple products to quick-decision shoppers responding to promotions.

That information helps create strategic promotional campaigns. It allows you to send cart abandoners timely discounts, recommend complementary items to recent purchasers, and offer comparison guides to detailed researchers.

Transactional segmentation

Transactional segmentation groups customers by purchasing patterns. It helps reveal spending behaviors, such as:

• How much they spend (order value)
• What they buy (product types)
• When they buy (timing patterns)
• How they buy (full price vs. discounts)

These groups can include consistent high-value purchasers, occasional browsers, those who only buy with discount codes, and seasonal shoppers.

Sending personalized content to these segments can significantly increase sales. Bundles, bulk purchase incentives, tiered loyalty rewards, and seasonal reactivation campaigns are on the cards to encourage additional spending.

Lifecycle stage segmentation

Lifecycle segmentation uses purchase history and time between orders to reveal which customers will likely purchase again and which are at risk of churning. It can reveal:

• New customers making first purchases
• Growing customers increasing purchase frequency
• Mature loyal customers with steady buying patterns
• At-risk customers showing declining engagement
• Lapsed customers who haven’t purchased in a while

You can then create separate campaigns to target recent buyers, those who haven’t bought anything for several months, and those showing signs of engagement, such as adding items to their wish list or abandoning checkout.

Here’s an Omnisend segment workflow showing a filter for all contacts who have placed an order at least one time not in the last two weeks:

You can then personalize your messaging for different customers. For example, regular customers can receive VIP offers based on their high order value. New customers who haven’t made a purchase but have items in their basket could receive a one-time discount code.

Engagement-based segmentation

Engagement segmentation categorizes subscribers based on their direct response to communications, measured through email opens, link clicks, page views, and message receipts.

Here’s an example of an engagement segment workflow in Omnisend for contacts who have opened a message at least one time in the last 30 days:

These interactions separate highly engaged readers who open every notification from occasional scanners and completely inactive subscribers.

The value in these groups comes from matching marketing intensity to engagement levels — highly engaged subscribers receive more frequent, premium communications, while inactive subscribers receive carefully timed re-engagement efforts.

You could also get granular, sending exclusive “early access” product launches to subscribers with 80%+ open rates and testing new subject lines with your moderate engagers (40-60% open rates) to boost interaction.

Email segmentation strategies for your campaigns

Once you have a few segments, you can build targeted campaigns and automated workflows that match your marketing objectives.

Try these email segmentation ideas to boost engagement and sales:

1. Welcome new subscribers with onboarding emails

Start building relationships immediately by welcoming new subscribers with a strategic onboarding sequence.

You could launch with a warm welcome message introducing your brand story and values, showcasing your most popular products, and offering a discount to encourage new subscribers to make their first purchase.

Sparkling drink retailer Wildwonder uses discount codes in its welcome series to get new subscribers to start a shopping session:

It’s best practice to send welcome emails instantly or within a few hours, followed by value-building content every few days while interest is high. Add clear calls to action and social proof throughout the series to encourage click-throughs.

2. Re-engage inactive users with special offers

Segment subscribers who haven’t opened or clicked emails in 60-90 days and launch targeted re-engagement campaigns.

Use an attention-grabbing subject line acknowledging their absence, then offer compelling reasons to return — such as exclusive discounts, new product launches, or improved features.

Consider sending a feedback survey to understand their preferences or pain points. To keep your list clean, ask your most unengaged subscribers if they still want to receive communications.

3. Reward loyal customers with exclusive deals

Track purchase frequency, order value, and engagement metrics to identify your top customers and reward their loyalty with early access to new products, members-only discounts, or exclusive event invitations.

Encourage continued engagement and higher spending levels with a tiered reward system with vouchers, gift cards, and freebies.

Personal touches like anniversary rewards or birthday offers strengthen these valuable relationships and drive repeat purchases.

4. Recover lost sales with cart abandonment emails

Automated follow-up sequences for abandoned carts sent within a few hours can encourage subscribers to complete their purchases.

A simple message about items left in their cart could do, but adding social proof, such as product reviews or customer testimonials, can give your subscribers that little extra push to purchase. If needed, offer a limited-time discount to overcome price objections.

Another way to increase conversions in abandoned cart emails is with urgent messaging like “limited time only.” Coffee retailer Javy does just that in its follow-up series, stating, “We can’t guarantee that the products left in your cart will be around for long”:

Test different messaging approaches — from helpful reminders to urgency-driven offers — to find what resonates with your audience.

5. Send personalized offers using purchase data

Let past purchases guide future recommendations. Analyze buying patterns to identify complementary products, typical reorder schedules, and preferred categories. Send targeted emails suggesting related items that enhance previous purchases.

Alert customers when it’s time to restock consumable products. Use purchase history to customize promotional offers and product launches to each customer’s demonstrated interests.

6. Target audiences with location-based promotions

Leverage geographic data to create locally relevant campaigns. Promote in-store events or location-specific deals to nearby customers.

Adjust messaging and product recommendations based on regional weather patterns, cultural preferences, or local events.

When scheduling, consider time zones and optimal email send times. Reference local landmarks or community features to build connections. Create special campaigns for regions with unique needs or opportunities.

7. Reach seasonal shoppers with timely discounts

Identify customers who purchase during seasons or holidays, such as Black Friday or the lead-up to Thanksgiving, and then target them with perfectly timed offers.

Luxury baggage retailer Paravel uses discounts in its emails to target seasonal shoppers. The example below is interesting because it also uses information about the weather, specifically a “snow day,” to enhance its relevance:

Look for patterns in past purchase data to predict when seasonal shoppers will likely return (e.g., December). Start promotional campaigns early to capture planning phases while maintaining urgency through limited-time offers.

To encourage sales and larger purchases, create campaigns with gift guides, product bundles, and offers appealing to seasonal shopping motivations.

How to segment your email lists with Omnisend

Omnisend makes it incredibly intuitive to navigate email marketing segmentation. You can use pre-built and custom segments to create targeted groups based on their behavior, engagement, purchase patterns, and more.

For example, you can segment your subscribers by tracking their shopping history, website activity, and email engagement to create personalized marketing campaigns that drive results.

Getting started with segments

Access the segment builder through Audience > Segments and click Create segment:

You can then Choose a pre-built segment or Create from scratch:

Click whichever option is most appropriate to be taken to the segment builder:

Choose demographic filters like location, engagement metrics such as email opens, or shopping behavior filters that track purchase history.

You can also segment by anniversary dates, web activity, and custom events. Each filter adds another layer of precision to your email marketing.

Automatic list updates

Your segments automatically update as customers act, ensuring your campaigns reach the right audience without manual list maintenance. Set rules once and let Omnisend track customer behavior, keeping your targeting fresh and relevant.

You can fine-tune your segment settings anytime to match your campaign needs, whether expanding a purchase window from 30 to 90 days or adding new engagement filters.

Each adjustment helps you target more precisely while creating multiple segments lets you test different approaches with your audience.

This video explains in detail how easy it is to create segments with Omnisend:

Email segmentation: FAQs