Email Marketing
Grow your business with powerful email marketing tools. Build your subscriber list, organize contacts with tags, create automated drip sequences, recover abandoned carts, and track performance — all from your Vaendora dashboard.
Overview
The Email Marketing module is a full-featured system for engaging your customers through email. It includes six main areas, each accessible from the Email Marketing section of your sidebar:
- Marketing Agents – AI specialists that build complete email sequences for you in minutes, from birthday campaigns to product launches
- Subscribers – Your contact database with search, filtering, import/export, and bulk operations
- Tags – Labels for organizing and segmenting your subscriber list
- Automations – Drip email sequences triggered by customer actions or enrolled manually
- Abandoned Carts – Customers who left items in their cart without completing checkout, with recovery tracking
- Back In Stock – Automatic notifications when out-of-stock products become available again
Together, these tools let you send the right message to the right people at the right time — automatically.
Write Emails with AI
Marketing AI Agents
Marketing AI Agents takes email marketing beyond the blank-canvas approach. Instead of building sequences from scratch, you choose a specialist agent, answer two quick questions, and the agent writes a complete, ready-to-activate email sequence using live data from your store.
Navigate to Email Marketing → Marketing Agents to see the full agent roster. Each card shows the agent's name, a description of what it builds, and its current status.
Growth Plan Feature
The Agent Roster
Eight specialist agents are available, each focused on a specific marketing goal:
Builds a 3-email recovery sequence for customers who left items in their cart. Emails go out at 1 hour, 24 hours, and 72 hours after abandonment, with escalating urgency. Uses your store's actual abandoned cart data.
Builds a 3-email nurture sequence triggered by a new order. Covers a warm thank-you, a review or social share request, and a recommendation to buy again. Goal is determined by what matters most to you: reviews, repeat purchase, or loyalty.
Builds a 3-email welcome series for new subscribers. Introduces your brand story, showcases your bestsellers, and closes with a first-purchase incentive. Triggered when someone joins your mailing list.
Writes a single broadcast email on demand. Tell the agent what you want to feature this week – new products, a promotion, a milestone – and it produces a complete newsletter ready to send.
Builds a 3-email re-engagement sequence for subscribers who have gone quiet. A warm opening, a “look what's new” email, and a final offer to bring them back. Triggered manually against your dormant segment.
Builds a 3-email birthday sequence: a birthday greeting (with an optional offer), a reminder that the offer is still waiting, and a last-chance email before it expires. Once activated, this sequence runs fully automatically – customers are enrolled on their birthday every year with no manual effort. See the Birthday Email Automation section for full details.
Builds a 3-email campaign for any holiday or occasion – Christmas, New Year, Eid, Valentine's Day, Detty December, Easter, Back-to-School, or any occasion you specify. A teaser email, the main campaign reveal, and a final push before the offer ends.
Builds a 3-email launch sequence for a new product or collection. A teaser that builds intrigue without revealing everything, the full launch announcement with product details, and a follow-up that captures late buyers or reminds them of an early-bird offer.
Using an Agent
Choose Your Agent
On the Marketing Agents page, click Set Up on the agent you want to use. This opens the agent wizard.
Chat with the Agent
The agent opens with a greeting that references your actual store data – your subscriber count, recent orders, abandoned carts, and more. It will ask you at most two targeted questions: usually your preferred tone, and whether you want to include an incentive or promotion.
Review the Sequence
As the agent generates your sequence, a live preview appears on the right side of the screen. Each email shows its send delay, subject line, and a preview of the body copy. You can scroll through all emails in the sequence before activating.
Activate
When the sequence looks right, click Activate. The agent creates the automation sequence and redirects you to your Automations page, where the new sequence is live and ready.
Start Over Any Time
Subscribers
Subscribers are the people on your email list. Every contact has an email address, optional name and phone number, a status, a source that shows how they were added, and any tags you assign.
The Subscriber List
Navigate to Email Marketing → Subscribers to see your full list. The table shows each contact's email, name, status badge, assigned tags, source, and the date they were added.
Above the table you will find:
- Search bar – Instantly filter by email or name
- Status filter – Show only Active, Unsubscribed, Bounced, or Complained contacts
- Tag filter – Show only contacts with a specific tag
Results are paginated with 25 contacts per page. Use the Previous / Next buttons at the bottom to navigate through your list.
Adding a Subscriber Manually
Open the Add Dialog
Click the + Add Subscriber button in the top-right corner.
Fill in Details
Enter the subscriber's email address (required). Optionally provide their first name, last name, and phone number.
Save
Click Add Subscriber. The contact will appear in your list with status “Active” and source “Manual”.
Importing Subscribers from CSV
You can bulk-import subscribers from a CSV file:
Prepare Your CSV
Create a CSV file with a header row. The required column is email. Optional columns: first_name, last_name, phone.
Click Import
Click the Import button on the Subscribers page.
Upload the File
Click Select File or drag and drop your CSV into the upload area. The system will automatically parse the file and create new subscribers.
Review Results
After processing, you'll see how many contacts were created and how many duplicates were skipped.
Permission Required
Exporting Subscribers
Click the Export button to download your entire subscriber list as a CSV file. The export includes email, first name, last name, phone, status, source, and creation date for every contact currently visible (respecting any active filters).
Editing a Subscriber
Open the Actions Menu
Click the … (three dots) button on the subscriber's row.
Click Edit
Select Edit from the dropdown. A dialog will open with the subscriber's current details.
Update and Save
Change the email, name, phone, or status as needed. Click Save Changes.
Subscriber Statuses
Each subscriber has one of four statuses:
Opted in and will receive your emails. This is the default status for new subscribers.
Has opted out. They remain in your list for record-keeping but will not receive any further emails.
The email address is invalid or the mailbox is full. Emails to this address have failed delivery.
The recipient marked one of your emails as spam. Continuing to email this contact could harm your sender reputation.
Unsubscribe vs. Delete
Deleting a Subscriber
Open the … menu on a subscriber row and click Delete. You will be asked to confirm. This permanently removes the contact and all their tag assignments.
Managing Tags on a Subscriber
You can assign or remove tags from any individual subscriber directly from the subscriber list:
Open the Actions Menu
Click the … button on the subscriber's row.
Click Manage Tags
Select Manage Tags. A dialog will appear showing all your available tags as checkboxes. Tags already assigned to this subscriber will be pre-checked.
Check or Uncheck Tags
Check tags you want to add, and uncheck tags you want to remove. Each tag is shown with its color dot and name.
Save
Click Save Tags. The subscriber's tags will be updated immediately and the list will refresh to show the changes.
Create Tags First
Bulk Tag Assignment
When you need to tag many subscribers at once, use the bulk selection feature:
Select Subscribers
Use the checkboxes on the left side of each row to select the subscribers you want to tag. You can also use the checkbox in the header row to select all visible subscribers at once.
Click Add Tags
When one or more subscribers are selected, a toolbar appears above the list showing how many are selected. Click the Add Tags button in this toolbar.
Choose Tags
A dialog will appear with checkboxes for each of your tags. Check all the tags you want to apply to the selected subscribers.
Apply
Click Apply Tags. The selected tags will be added to every selected subscriber. (Existing tags are preserved — this operation only adds, it does not remove existing tags.)
To clear your selection without applying tags, click the Clear button in the toolbar.
Tags
Tags are colored labels you create to organize your subscribers into meaningful groups. For example, you might create tags like “VIP Customer”, “Newsletter”, “Product Launch Interest”, or “Lagos Region”.
Tags serve several purposes:
- Filtering – Quickly view only subscribers with a specific tag on the Subscribers page
- Automation enrollment – Enroll subscribers into an automation by selecting a tag (all contacts with that tag will be enrolled)
- Segmentation – Send targeted content to the right audience based on their interests or behavior
Creating a Tag
Navigate to Tags
Go to Email Marketing → Tags in your dashboard.
Click Create Tag
Click the Create Tag button. A dialog will open.
Enter Tag Details
Provide a name for the tag (e.g., “VIP Customers”). Choose a color to make it visually distinct. Optionally add a description to remind yourself what this tag is for.
Save
Click Save to create the tag.
Editing and Deleting Tags
On the Tags page, each tag is displayed as a card showing its name, color, description, and the number of subscribers assigned to it. Use the … menu on each card to:
- Edit – Change the name, color, or description
- Delete – Permanently remove the tag. This also removes it from all subscribers who had it assigned.
Deleting a Tag
Ways to Assign Tags
There are three ways to assign tags to subscribers:
- Individual subscriber – Click the … menu on a subscriber row, then Manage Tags to check/uncheck tags in a dialog
- Bulk assignment – Select multiple subscribers using checkboxes, then click Add Tags in the toolbar to apply tags to all selected contacts at once
- Via CSV import – If your import file includes a tag column, tags can be assigned during the import process
Automations (Drip Campaigns)
Automations are multi-step email sequences that send automatically. Each automation has a trigger that determines when subscribers are enrolled, and one or more steps (emails) that are sent at configurable intervals.
Automations are perfect for:
- Welcome email sequences for new subscribers
- Post-purchase follow-ups and thank-you emails
- Re-engagement campaigns for inactive customers
- Onboarding series for new customers
- Refund follow-ups to gather feedback
- Abandoned cart recovery sequences
- One-time email blasts (create a single-step automation with manual trigger)
The Automations Page
Navigate to Email Marketing → Automations to see all your automation sequences. Each card shows:
- Name and description
- Trigger type (e.g., New Order, Abandoned Cart, Manual)
- Status – Active or Paused
- Number of steps in the sequence
- Total enrolled – How many subscribers have been enrolled
- Completion rate – Percentage of enrollees who received all steps
Creating an Automation
Click New Automation
On the Automations page, click the New Automation button.
Set Basic Details
Enter a name for internal reference (e.g., “Welcome Series”) and an optional description.
Choose a Trigger
Select what event should automatically enroll subscribers into this sequence. See the full list of triggers below.
Save
Click Create. You will be taken to the automation detail page where you can add email steps.
Trigger Types
The trigger determines when subscribers are automatically enrolled into the automation. Available triggers:
No automatic enrollment. You manually enroll subscribers individually or by tag. Ideal for one-time campaigns or targeted sends.
Triggers when someone joins your mailing list. Great for welcome emails and onboarding sequences.
Triggers when any customer places an order. Use for post-purchase follow-ups, review requests, or cross-sell emails.
Triggers only on a customer's very first order. Perfect for first-time buyer welcome sequences.
Triggers when a returning customer places another order. Use for loyalty rewards or VIP acknowledgments.
Triggers when an order's status is updated (e.g., from processing to shipped).
Triggers when a refund is processed. Use for feedback requests or win-back campaigns.
Triggers when a customer leaves items in their cart without completing checkout. Enrollment runs every 15 minutes — see the Abandoned Cart Recovery section for full details on setup and timing.
The Automation Detail Page
When you open an automation, you'll see three tabs:
- Steps – Build and manage the email sequence
- Enrollments – View all enrolled subscribers and their progress
- Analytics – Track open rates, click rates, and per-step performance
Adding Email Steps
Each step in an automation is an individual email that gets sent at a specified delay after the previous step (or after enrollment for the first step).
Click Add Step
On the Steps tab, click the + Add Step button at the bottom of the step list.
Name the Step and Set the Delay
Give the step an internal name (e.g., “Day 1 Welcome”). Then set the Delay Before Sending in days and/or hours. For example, “2 days, 6 hours” means the email is sent 2 days and 6 hours after the previous step. Setting 0 days and 0 hours sends immediately upon enrollment.
Design the Email
Enter the subject line, then choose how you want to compose the email:
- Write with AI – Describe your email in a sentence or two and let AI generate a complete, ready-to-send email. See the AI Email Copywriter section for full details.
- Design Email – Open the visual Email Builder and compose a rich, branded email using drag-and-drop content blocks. See the Email Builder section below.
- Use Template – Load one of your saved email templates as a starting point. The template's full block layout is loaded into the builder so you can customize it.
Save the Step
Click Add Drip Campaign (or Update Drip Campaign when editing) to save the step.
Steps are displayed in order with their delay, subject line, and a preview of the block count. You can edit or delete any step from the steps list.
Step Ordering
The Visual Email Builder
The Email Builder is a drag-and-drop editor for creating professional, mobile-responsive emails without writing any HTML. It opens as a full-screen editor when you click Design Email on a step or Edit Design on a saved step.
Available Content Blocks
Add blocks from the left panel by clicking them. Each block has editable settings in the right panel when selected:
Your store logo and name on a colored background. Typically the first block in any email. Uses {{store_logo}} and {{store_name}} automatically.
A paragraph or heading block. Choose a style (Heading, Subheading, Body, Small), alignment, and write your content. Supports merge tags for personalization.
A full-width image. Paste the image URL in the settings panel. Supports an optional click-through link.
A call-to-action button. Set the label, link URL, colors, and alignment. Use {{checkout_url}} for cart recovery emails or {{store_url}} for general links.
A horizontal rule to visually separate sections of your email.
A product showcase block. Uses {{product_name}} and {{product_image}} merge tags to display a featured product dynamically.
Store name, social media links, and an unsubscribe link. Every email must end with a footer block to stay compliant with anti-spam laws. The footer block is permanent - it is always present and cannot be deleted or moved. Your social media links are automatically populated from your store's profile.
Rearranging Blocks
Drag blocks up or down using the grip handle on the left side of each block in the canvas. You can also click any block to select it, then use the move controls in the right panel.
Previewing Your Email
Click the eye icon in the top bar of the Email Builder to open a full-screen preview of your email exactly as it will appear in your subscribers' inboxes. The preview renders the complete email HTML and auto-sizes to show the full email. Use this to check spacing, layout, and readability before saving.
You can also preview a step's email from the step form dialog using the eye icon next to the subject line field, so you can check the design without needing to open the full builder.
Saving Your Design
Click Save Email Design in the top-right corner of the builder. This closes the builder and returns you to the step form with the email confirmed. Your block layout is saved alongside the step, so the next time you click Edit Design, the builder reopens with all your blocks intact.
Design is Saved with the Step
Write with AI (AI Email Copywriter)
Every automation step has a Write with AI button alongside “Design Email” and “Use Template”. Instead of writing your email from scratch, describe what you want in plain language and the AI will generate a complete, branded email - subject line, body copy, and call-to-action button - loaded directly into the Email Builder.
How to Use It
Click Write with AI
On the step form (when adding or editing a step), click the Write with AI button. A dialog will open.
Describe Your Email
Type a brief description of what you want the email to say or do. You do not need to write the email yourself - just give the AI enough context.
Examples:
“Welcome new subscribers with a warm intro and invite them to browse our skincare range”
“Announce our weekend sale - 20% off everything until Sunday”
“Follow up after a purchase and ask the customer to leave a review”
Select a Tone
Choose the voice for your email: Friendly, Professional, Urgent, or Exciting. Friendly is the default and works well for most emails.
Generate
Click Generate Email. The AI will produce a complete email in a few seconds. The subject line auto-fills the subject field, and the full block layout is loaded into the Email Builder.
Review and Edit
The Email Builder opens with the generated email. Every block is fully editable - adjust the copy, change colors, swap out the CTA label, or add and remove blocks as needed. Click Save Email Design when you are happy with it, then save the step.
Regenerate Any Time
Abandoned Cart Recovery Emails
When you are working on a step inside an Abandoned Cart automation, the Write with AI dialog adapts automatically. It shows an additional Incentive toggle: if you want the email to mention a special offer (such as free shipping or a discount code), switch this on and describe the offer in the field that appears.
The AI generates a recovery-focused email tuned for African consumer psychology, and always includes the correct merge tags for cart data:
{{cart_items}}– The list of items the customer left behind{{cart_total}}– The total value of the abandoned cart{{checkout_url}}– The personalized link back to their pre-filled cart
These tags are always wired into the correct blocks automatically, so you never have to remember to add them yourself.
The Footer Is Always Included
Every AI-generated email automatically includes your branded footer with your store name, your configured social media links, and the required unsubscribe link. You do not need to add or configure the footer manually.
AI Credits
Build Sequence with AI
Instead of building an automation one email at a time, you can generate an entire multi-email series in a single step. Click Build with AI on the Steps tab of any automation and the AI will produce a complete drip sequence - every email with its own subject line, full block layout, and appropriate send delay - ready to activate.
How to Use It
Click Build with AI
On the Steps tab inside an automation, click the Build with AI button next to “Add Drip Campaign”. A dialog will open. If the automation has no steps yet, the same button also appears in the empty state.
Describe Your Goal
Write a brief description of what you want the sequence to achieve. The AI uses your automation's trigger type to generate context-appropriate copy, so you only need to describe the angle or goal.
Examples:
“Recover abandoned carts with a 3-email series - gentle reminder, urgency, then a final incentive”
“Welcome new subscribers, introduce our brand story, and guide them to their first purchase”
“Follow up after a purchase - thank them, ask for a review, then recommend related products”
Choose the Number of Emails and Tone
Select how many emails to generate (2 to 5) and the overall tone for the series. Each email in the generated sequence will have its own distinct angle and subject line.
Generate the Sequence
Click Generate Sequence. The AI generates all emails at once. This takes a few seconds longer than generating a single email. When it is done, the dialog switches to a preview view.
Review and Save
The preview shows each email as a numbered card with its subject line and send delay badge. Review the subject lines to confirm the series makes sense. If you want a different result, click Start Over to go back and regenerate. When you are happy, click Save All N Emails and all steps are added to your automation at once.
Review and Edit Individual Emails
Each saved step is fully editable. Click any step in the list and then Edit Design to open it in the Email Builder and adjust copy, colors, or blocks as needed before activating the automation.
Abandoned Cart Sequences
When you use Build with AI on an Abandoned Cart automation, every generated email in the series will automatically include the correct cart merge tags and a recovery CTA. Each email approaches recovery from a different angle:
- Email 1: A warm, helpful reminder sent immediately
- Email 2: Urgency and scarcity, sent 1 day later
- Email 3+: Final nudge or incentive offer, with escalating delays
You can also enable the Incentive toggle in the dialog to tell the AI about a specific offer (such as a discount code or free shipping). The AI will work it into the most effective position in the series - usually the second or third email.
Delays Are Set Automatically
AI Credits
Merge Tags (Personalization)
Merge tags are placeholders you insert into your email subject line and content blocks that get replaced with real data when the email is sent. This lets you personalize every email for its recipient automatically.
Available merge tags:
| Merge Tag | Description | Example Output |
|---|---|---|
{{first_name}} | Subscriber's first name | Adaeze |
{{last_name}} | Subscriber's last name | Okafor |
{{email}} | Subscriber's email address | adaeze@example.com |
{{store_name}} | Your business/store name | Junn Beautie |
{{store_logo}} | URL to your store's logo image | (image URL) |
{{store_url}} | Your storefront URL | https://yourstore.com |
{{order_id}} | Order reference (order-triggered sequences) | ORD-2025-0042 |
{{order_total}} | Order total amount | ₦15,000 |
{{order_status}} | Current order status | Processing |
{{product_name}} | Name of the product | Shea Butter Cream |
{{product_image}} | URL to the product's image | (image URL) |
{{cart_items}} | Comma-separated list of abandoned cart items with quantities (abandoned cart sequences only) | Shea Butter Cream x2, Vitamin C Serum x1 |
{{cart_total}} | Formatted total value of the abandoned cart (abandoned cart sequences only) | ₦12,500 |
{{checkout_url}} | Recovery link that takes the customer directly back to their pre-filled cart (abandoned cart sequences only) | (personalized recovery link) |
{{unsubscribe_url}} | Link for the subscriber to opt out | (generated link) |
Always Include Unsubscribe
{{unsubscribe_url}} merge tag to give recipients a way to opt out. This is required by anti-spam laws and helps maintain your sender reputation. The Footer block handles this automatically.Send From (Email Sender)
Each automation can be configured to send from a specific email address. This is set at the automation level using the Send From dropdown on the automation detail page.
Option 1: Vaendora Branded Email (Default)
If you haven't set up a custom domain or email, drip campaign emails will be sent from Vaendora's platform email. The sender will appear as:
From: “Your Business Name via Vaendora” <no-reply@vaendora.com>
Option 2: Your Own Mailbox
If you have a custom domain with email hosting set up (see Domains & Email → Email Hosting), you can select one of your mailboxes from the Send From dropdown. Emails will be sent from your own email address, giving your campaigns a professional, branded appearance.
From: “Your Business Name” <info@yourdomain.com>
Better Deliverability
Enrolling Subscribers
Subscribers can be enrolled into an automation in two ways:
Automatic Enrollment (via Trigger)
When the automation is active and a trigger event occurs (e.g., a new order is placed), the relevant subscriber is automatically enrolled. No manual action is needed.
Manual Enrollment
For automations with a Manual trigger (or any automation where you want to add specific people), you can enroll subscribers manually:
Click Enroll Subscribers
On the automation detail page, click the Enroll Subscribers button.
Choose Enrollment Method
You have two options:
- By Tag – Select a tag and all subscribers with that tag will be enrolled
- Individual – Search and select specific subscribers from your list
Confirm and Enroll
Review the selection and click Enroll. The system will enroll the contacts and begin sending steps according to the configured delays.
Duplicate Enrollment
Activating and Pausing Automations
An automation must be active for it to send emails.
- Activate – Click the Activate button on the automation detail page. The automation will begin processing enrolled subscribers and sending steps.
- Pause – Click Pause to stop all email sending. Already-enrolled subscribers will not receive their next steps until the automation is reactivated.
Pausing does not remove enrollments. When you reactivate, processing resumes from where it left off.
Analytics and Performance Tracking
The Analytics tab on the automation detail page gives you a comprehensive view of how your automation is performing.
Overall Metrics
- Total Enrolled – Number of subscribers who have been enrolled
- Emails Sent – Total emails dispatched across all steps
- Open Rate – Percentage of sent emails that were opened
- Click Rate – Percentage of sent emails where a link was clicked
- Completion Rate – Percentage of enrollees who received all steps
Per-Step Analytics
Each step shows its individual performance metrics, including sent count, open rate, and click rate. This helps you identify which emails in the sequence are performing well and which might need improvement.
Recent Activity
The analytics page also shows a timeline of recent activity, such as emails sent, opens, and clicks. This is paginated with 10 items per page.
Click the Refresh button to reload the latest analytics data.
The Enrollments Tab
The Enrollments tab shows all subscribers currently or previously enrolled in the automation. For each enrollee, you can see:
- Subscriber email and name
- Enrollment date
- Current step – Which step they are on in the sequence
- Status – Active, Completed, or Cancelled
Email Templates
Templates are reusable email designs that you can quickly apply when building automation steps. Instead of designing emails from scratch every time, save common layouts and content as templates to reuse across campaigns.
The system comes with a built-in Abandoned Cart Recovery sample template that is automatically available to you. It includes a fully designed block layout with your store header, cart summary (using {{cart_items}} and {{cart_total}}), a “Complete Your Purchase” button linked to {{checkout_url}}, and a footer. You can load it as a starting point and customize the content to match your brand voice.
Using a Template in an Automation Step
When creating or editing a step, click the Use Template button. Select from your available templates, and the subject line and full block layout will be pre-loaded into the Email Builder. You can then customize every block before saving the step.
Managing Templates
Templates can be created and managed from the Templates section. Each template stores a name, subject line, email body (HTML), and the full block layout so the visual builder can restore your design exactly.
Abandoned Cart Recovery
Abandoned cart recovery automatically sends a reminder email to customers who added items to their cart, entered their email address at checkout, but left without completing the purchase. This is one of the highest-ROI features in email marketing — recovering even a small percentage of abandoned carts can meaningfully increase your revenue.
Enabling Abandoned Cart Recovery
Abandoned cart recovery is configured in two places: your storefront settings (to turn on detection and set the delay) and an automation (to define the recovery email sequence).
Step 1: Enable in Storefront Settings
Go to Storefront Settings
Navigate to Commerce → Storefront in your dashboard and scroll to the Abandoned Cart Recovery section.
Enable the Feature
Check the Enable abandoned cart recovery emails checkbox.
Set the Recovery Delay
Choose how long after cart abandonment the recovery email should be triggered. Options range from 5 minutes to 3 hours.
Timing note: This delay is the minimum wait time. Because recovery checks run every 15 minutes in the background, the actual send time may be up to 15 minutes beyond your chosen delay. For example, a 30-minute delay means the email goes out between 30 and 45 minutes after abandonment.
Save Settings
Click Save Settings at the bottom of the page.
Step 2: Create the Recovery Automation
Create a New Automation
Go to Email Marketing → Automations and click New Automation. Name it something like “Abandoned Cart Funnel” and select Abandoned Cart as the trigger type.
Add Recovery Email Steps
Add one or more steps to the sequence. A common setup is:
- Step 1 (0 delay) – The initial recovery reminder
- Step 2 (1 day delay) – A follow-up with a stronger incentive or urgency
- Step 3 (2 days delay) – A final reminder, optionally with a discount
Use the Abandoned Cart Recovery template as a starting point for each step.
Use the Cart Merge Tags
In your email content, use these merge tags to show the customer's actual cart:
{{cart_items}}– The list of items they left behind (e.g., “Shea Butter Cream x2, Vitamin C Serum x1”){{cart_total}}– The total cart value (e.g., “₦12,500”){{checkout_url}}– A personalized link that restores their cart and takes them directly to checkout
Activate the Automation
Click Activate. The automation will now enroll customers automatically as their carts qualify for recovery.
Cart is Auto-Restored
{{checkout_url}} link in the recovery email, their cart is automatically restored with the exact items they left behind. They are taken directly to the checkout page, reducing friction and improving conversion.The Abandoned Carts Page
Navigate to Email Marketing → Abandoned Carts to see a full list of every cart abandonment captured by your storefront. This page gives you visibility into your recovery pipeline.
Summary Stats
- Total Abandoned – How many carts have been captured
- Recovered – How many customers came back and completed their purchase
- Recovery Rate – The percentage of abandoned carts that were recovered
- Value at Risk – The total cart value of all unrecovered carts
Filtering and Search
Use the toolbar to filter the cart list:
- Search – Filter by customer name, email, or phone
- Status filter – Show All, Pending, Email Sent, or Recovered carts
Cart Statuses
The cart has been captured but the recovery delay has not yet elapsed, or the recovery check has not yet run.
The customer has been enrolled in the abandoned cart recovery sequence and at least one recovery email has been sent.
The customer clicked the recovery link and completed their purchase. The cart is marked recovered automatically when the order is placed.
The Recovered Column
The Recovered column in the table shows a checkmark for carts where the customer came back and purchased, and a dash for carts that are still pending or where only a recovery email was sent. This gives you a quick at-a-glance view of your recovery success.
How Carts Are Captured
Back In Stock Notifier
The Back In Stock Notifier automatically emails customers when a product they were waiting for becomes available again. It requires zero manual effort — customers subscribe on your storefront product page, and the email fires automatically the moment you restock.
Fully Automated
How Customers Subscribe
When a product is marked as out of stock, your storefront product page automatically displays a “Notify me when available” card. The customer enters their name and email address and clicks the button. Their subscription is saved and they will be contacted as soon as you restock.
No account or login is required from the customer. Each subscription is unique per product and per email address, so a customer who wants notifications on three different products simply subscribes to each one separately.
Triggering the Notifications
Update the product's stock status in your dashboard:
Open the Product
Go to Commerce → Products and click into the out-of-stock product you are restocking.
Change Stock Status
Find the Stock Status field and change it from Out of Stock to In Stock. Optionally update the stock quantity too.
Save
Save the product. The system detects the status change and immediately sends the back-in-stock email to every subscriber waiting for that product. Their status is updated to Notified automatically.
The Back In Stock Page
Navigate to Email Marketing → Back In Stock to see a full view of every customer who has subscribed to back-in-stock alerts on your store. The page is split into four summary cards and a detailed subscriber table.
Summary Cards
- Total Subscribers – All subscriptions ever recorded (pending and notified combined)
- Pending – Customers currently waiting to be notified (product still out of stock)
- Notified – Customers who have already received their back-in-stock email
- Revenue at Risk – The estimated Naira value of all pending subscriptions based on each product's price. This number represents sales you are leaving on the table by not restocking.
Filtering the Table
Use the toolbar above the table to narrow your view:
- Filter by product – Type a product name to show only subscriptions for that item
- All Statuses / Subscribed / Notified – Toggle between all records, only pending subscribers, or only notified ones
Table Columns
- Customer – The subscriber's name
- Email – Their email address (the one that will receive the notification)
- Product – The product they subscribed to; clicking it opens the product edit page
- Stock Status – The product's current stock status (In Stock or Out of Stock)
- Qty Available – The current stock quantity on hand, if tracked
- Status – Whether this subscriber is still waiting (Subscribed) or has been notified (Notified)
- Subscribed – The date and time the customer signed up
Pagination
The table displays 20 subscribers per page. Use the Previous and Next buttons at the bottom to navigate through your list. The current page and total subscriber count are shown between the navigation buttons. Pagination resets to page 1 automatically whenever you change a filter.
AI Demand Intelligence
The Analyse Demand button in the top-right corner uses AI to evaluate your current pending subscriber data and generate actionable restock intelligence — all with one click.
The AI reads your subscriber counts, product prices, and stock status across all waiting products, then returns:
- Summary – A 2-3 sentence overview of the demand picture and total revenue opportunity
- Top Action – The single most important thing you should do right now
- Per-product breakdown – Each product with a priority rating (High / Medium / Low), estimated revenue opportunity, and a specific restock recommendation tailored to your subscriber count and stock quantity
Priority Guide
The AI also factors in your current stock quantity. If a product is still marked out of stock with zero units on hand, the recommendation will be more urgent than if some stock is already available.
AI Credits
Birthday Email Automation
The Birthday Email Agent builds a 3-email sequence that makes every customer feel genuinely celebrated on their birthday. Once you activate a birthday sequence, enrollment runs fully automatically — you never have to manually enroll customers or remember whose birthday it is.
How It Works
Every night at midnight, Vaendora checks which customers have a birthday today. Any customer who has shared their birthday — whether through their storefront account, their profile settings, or at checkout — is automatically enrolled in your active birthday sequence. The birthday emails are then sent according to the sequence's configured delays.
Fully Automatic
Setting Up a Birthday Sequence
Open Marketing Agents
Go to Email Marketing → Marketing Agents and click Set Up on the Birthday Agent.
Answer Two Questions
The agent will ask whether you want to include a birthday offer (a discount, free delivery, a free gift with purchase, or just a heartfelt birthday message with no promotion), and your preferred tone. Answer both, and the agent builds the sequence.
Review and Activate
Review the 3 emails in the preview panel, then click Activate. The sequence will appear in your Automations list and begin auto-enrolling customers from the following night.
Collecting Birthdays at Checkout
Every storefront checkout page includes an optional Birthday section. It appears after the customer's contact details, with the label: “Enter your birthday to receive a special offer when your birthday arrives.”
The section has two dropdowns — Day and Month. Both must be filled for the birthday to be saved. If a customer leaves one or both blank, no birthday is recorded.
When an order completes, the birthday is saved automatically in the background. This works for both customers with a store account and guest customers (those who checked out without creating an account). A guest customer who enters their birthday at checkout will be enrolled in your birthday sequence exactly like an account holder.
Viewing Customer Birthdays
Navigate to Commerce → Store Users to see which customers have shared their birthday. The table includes a Birthday column formatted as “15 Aug” for customers with a birthday on record, or a dash for those who have not yet shared one.
This column shows birthdays collected from all sources — storefront accounts, profile updates, and the checkout birthday field — so you get a complete picture of how much of your customer base is enrolled for automatic birthday emails.
Using Automations for One-Time Email Sends
You don't need a separate “campaign” feature to send a one-time email blast. Automations can handle this:
Create an Automation with Manual Trigger
Create a new automation and select Manual as the trigger type. Name it something descriptive like “February Sale Announcement”.
Add a Single Step
Add one email step with a delay of 0 days, 0 hours (sends immediately). Design your email in the Email Builder.
Activate the Automation
Click Activate to enable sending.
Enroll Your Audience
Click Enroll Subscribers and choose to enroll by tag (to reach a whole segment) or individually. The email will be sent immediately to all enrolled contacts.
Flexible and Powerful
How Email Processing Works
Vaendora runs two background processes that handle email delivery:
Sequence Processor (Every 60 Seconds)
A background processor runs every 60 seconds. It checks for enrolled subscribers who are due to receive their next step based on the configured delays. When a step is due:
- The system prepares the email with merge tags replaced with real data
- The email is sent via SMTP (using your selected mailbox or the platform default)
- Open and click tracking pixels/links are automatically inserted
- The enrollment record is updated to track progress
This means there is at most a 60-second gap between when an email step is “due” and when it actually sends. This is normal and ensures reliable delivery.
Abandoned Cart Checker (Every 15 Minutes)
A separate background job runs every 15 minutes, checking all carts that have been idle for longer than your configured recovery delay. When a qualifying cart is found, the customer is enrolled in your abandoned cart automation sequence. From that point, the 60-second sequence processor takes over for step delivery.
This is why the effective send time for abandoned cart recovery emails is your chosen delay plus up to 15 minutes. A 30-minute delay means the email arrives between 30 and 45 minutes after abandonment.
Best Practices
Writing Effective Subject Lines
- Keep subject lines under 50 characters for mobile readability
- Create urgency or curiosity without being misleading
- Personalize with merge tags (e.g.,
{{first_name}}, welcome back!) - Avoid spam trigger words like “FREE”, “BUY NOW”, or excessive punctuation
- Test different approaches to see what resonates with your audience
Composing Email Content
- Get to the point – Lead with your most important message
- Use clear CTAs – Include an obvious call-to-action button (use the Button block)
- Keep it scannable – Use short text blocks with clear headings and sections
- Always use the Footer block – It includes the unsubscribe link automatically
- Test on mobile – Most people read email on their phones; the Email Builder generates mobile-responsive HTML
Abandoned Cart Recovery Tips
- Send quickly – The first recovery email performs best when sent within 30–60 minutes of abandonment
- Show their cart – Always include
{{cart_items}}and{{cart_total}}to remind customers exactly what they left behind - Make the CTA clear – The button should link to
{{checkout_url}}, which takes customers directly back to their pre-filled cart - Consider a multi-step sequence – A second email 24 hours later with a small incentive (e.g., free shipping) can significantly boost recovery rates
- Keep it personal – Use
{{first_name}}in the subject line and body
Email Frequency
- Be consistent with your sending schedule
- Avoid sending too frequently, which leads to unsubscribes
- Space drip sequence steps appropriately (e.g., 1–3 days between steps)
- Monitor unsubscribe rates as a signal that you may be sending too often
Segmentation Tips
- Create tags based on customer behavior (e.g., “Purchased Skincare”, “High Spender”)
- Use different automations for different segments
- Tag new subscribers during import to pre-segment your list
- Regularly review and clean up unused tags
Improving Deliverability
- Set up email hosting with your custom domain for branded sending
- Keep your subscriber list clean by removing bounced addresses
- Avoid sending to purchased or rented email lists
- Include a clear unsubscribe link in every email (use the Footer block)
- Monitor your bounce rate and complaint rate
Anti-Spam Compliance
Email marketing is governed by laws such as CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and PECR. Follow these rules to stay compliant:
- Only send to subscribers who have explicitly opted in
- Include a visible and functional unsubscribe link in every email
- Honor unsubscribe requests immediately
- Include your business name and contact information
- Never use misleading subject lines or sender information
- Keep your subscriber list clean by removing bounced addresses