Which product categories sell through email?
Email revenue by category shows where your list wants to spend. Use it to balance your calendar and find ranges that sell but rarely get a send.
The Wizel Team
Email marketing strategist · · 1 min read
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Most stores sell more than one kind of thing. A homewares shop has candles, ceramics and linen. A multi-brand retailer has dozens of labels. Looking at email results by category tells you which ranges your subscribers actually buy, and which ones you keep promoting out of habit.
What to compare
4 numbers
per category: revenue, repeat rate, average order value and how often it leads an email
- Revenue: which categories earn the most from email-driven orders.
- Repeat purchase rate: which categories bring customers back. A category with modest revenue but strong repeat buying may deserve more attention.
- Average order value: which categories lift basket size. These pair well with bundles and free shipping thresholds.
- Sends: how often each category leads an email. This is the number most stores never check.
Find the mismatches
Put revenue next to the number of sends. A category that leads half your emails but earns a fifth of your email revenue is getting more airtime than it earns. A category that earns well while rarely being featured is a candidate for a send of its own.
Give each category the airtime its results earn, then test the quiet ones with a send of their own.
Use clean labels
Shopify gives every product a type, tags and collections. Consistent product types make category reporting easy, and messy ones make it misleading. If “Candles”, “candle” and “Candle Gift Set” are three separate types, fix that first.
Multi-brand retailers can run the same check by brand, using the vendor field in Shopify, to see which labels their list responds to, which bring customers back and which only sell when discounted.
Ask your own numbers in Wizel
With Klaviyo connected, ask the Wizel chat:
- “What product types are performing best?”
- “Which product tags drive the most revenue?”
- “Show me repeat purchase rates by brand.”
Frequently asked questions
How should I group products for reporting?
Use the groups your customers would recognise, usually Shopify product types or your main collections. Keep the names consistent so one category doesn't split into several.
Should I send fewer emails about weak categories?
Send fewer that lead with them, and try them in a different role, like a supporting product or part of a bundle. Some categories sell best alongside others rather than on their own.
Does this work for multi-brand stores?
Yes. Group by brand instead of category to see which labels your list buys, which bring customers back and which rely on discounts.
