Best Shopify Email Marketing Apps in 2026 [143,198-Store Study]

TL;DR:

• 62% of Shopify stores have no email marketing app installed. That's 88,721 stores in our database leaving money on the table.
• Klaviyo dominates with 24% adoption across 143,198 stores. Mailchimp is second at 13%, Omnisend third at 3%.
• Stores with email marketing apps have 51% higher lead scores (84 vs 56), run 3.3x more apps, and track 82% more pixels than stores without.
• Beauty stores lead email adoption at 50%. Automotive and Hobby stores trail at 26-28%.
• The most common full stack is Klaviyo + Judge.me Reviews + Smile.io Loyalty (643 stores).
• Klaviyo stores are 3.4x more likely to use a support tool like Gorgias than Mailchimp stores.
• 72% of stores under 50K monthly visitors have no email app at all. That's the biggest prospecting opportunity in Shopify.

---

Every "best email marketing apps" article gives you the same list. Klaviyo, Omnisend, Mailchimp, maybe Drip. They compare features, show pricing tables, and declare a winner based on opinions.

None of them show you what stores actually use.

We took a different approach. Instead of testing apps ourselves and calling it a review, we scanned 143,198 Shopify stores and recorded which email marketing apps they have installed. The result is the largest public dataset on Shopify email marketing adoption. It shows not just which apps are popular, but which apps correlate with serious, growing stores.

The finding that surprised us most? 62% of Shopify stores have no email marketing app at all. Not Klaviyo, not Mailchimp, not even Shopify Email. Nothing. If you sell email marketing services or partner with Klaviyo, that statistic should get your attention.

How We Collected This Data

We detect installed apps by scanning each store's public-facing code: JavaScript globals, script URLs, DOM elements, and tracking pixels. Our scanner identifies 72+ apps across categories like email marketing, reviews, loyalty, support, analytics, and more.

Dataset details:

What we can detect: Any email app that loads client-side scripts, tracking pixels, or injects DOM elements on the storefront. This includes Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend, Attentive, Postscript, and Privy.

What we cannot detect: Shopify Email (runs natively, no separate script), apps that only operate in the admin panel, and apps installed but not active on the storefront. Our numbers are therefore conservative. Actual email marketing adoption is likely higher than 38%.

---

The State of Email Marketing on Shopify

Here's the headline: most Shopify stores don't have an email marketing app.

That means nearly two out of three Shopify stores have no detectable email marketing tool beyond whatever Shopify provides by default. Given that email generates 20-30% of revenue for stores that use it well, that's a massive gap.

For context: Klaviyo's benchmark data shows automated email flows generate 30x more revenue per recipient than one-off campaigns. Stores without any email app are skipping both.

This isn't just an interesting statistic. It's a prospecting opportunity. If you're an agency, a Klaviyo partner, or a SaaS company that integrates with email tools, those 88,721 stores are potential customers. You can filter stores by email app status in the StoreInspect dashboard.

---

Top Shopify Email Marketing Apps by Actual Adoption

Here's what 143,198 stores actually use. We've consolidated duplicate detection entries (some apps appear under multiple script signatures) to show true adoption.

The takeaway: Klaviyo isn't just the most popular email app on Shopify. It's nearly twice as popular as the second-place option (Mailchimp). The gap between #2 (Mailchimp at 13.5%) and #3 (Privy at 3.6%) is even larger.

Store Leads reports 13.9% Klaviyo adoption across 2.8M Shopify stores. Our higher number (23.8%) likely reflects our dataset's skew toward more established stores, many of which have higher traffic and more sophisticated tech stacks.

---

Klaviyo vs Mailchimp vs Omnisend: What the Data Shows

Instead of comparing feature checklists, here's what the data says about the stores that choose each platform.

Ecosystem Comparison

Stores using different email apps build very different tech stacks. This matters because it signals how seriously they invest in their business.

What this reveals:

• Klaviyo stores invest more across the board. They're 2x more likely to have a reviews app, 3.4x more likely to run Gorgias or another support tool, and 7x more likely to have an upsell app like Rebuy. This isn't because Klaviyo makes them invest more. It's because the type of store that chooses Klaviyo tends to be more serious about growth.

• Mailchimp stores lean on popups. They're the most likely to use Privy or similar capture tools (10.1% vs 6.6% for Klaviyo). This makes sense: Mailchimp stores tend to be earlier-stage and focused on list building over segmentation.

• Omnisend stores look more like Klaviyo stores than Mailchimp stores. Their review app adoption (35.9%) and loyalty adoption (13.1%) are much closer to Klaviyo's numbers than Mailchimp's. Omnisend appears to attract a similar profile of store, just at a lower price point.

Most Popular App Pairings

The top co-installed apps reveal how each ecosystem builds its retention stack:

Klaviyo stores commonly add: Gorgias (9%), Judge.me (10%), Yotpo Reviews (8%), Rebuy (6%), Afterpay (6%)

Mailchimp stores commonly add: Privy (8.6%), Judge.me (6%), Smile.io (4.4%), Tidio Chat (2.5%)

Omnisend stores commonly add: Judge.me (12%), Smile.io (6.3%), Loox Reviews (5%), Privy (5.8%)

If you're evaluating which email platform to choose, look at the companies you'd be joining. Klaviyo stores build enterprise-grade stacks. Mailchimp stores keep things simple. Omnisend stores fall in between.

---

Email Adoption by Store Size

Bigger stores are more likely to have email marketing. But even among high-traffic stores, adoption isn't universal.

The pattern is clear: email adoption climbs with store size, but it never reaches saturation. Even among stores getting 5-20 million monthly visitors, 47% have no detectable email marketing app. These are large businesses generating significant revenue without (detectable) dedicated email tools.

For agencies and service providers, the sweet spot is the 50K-1M tier. These stores have enough traffic to benefit from email marketing but nearly half still don't have it. That's 42,557 stores in our database that are leaving revenue on the table.

How Market Leaders Choose by Size

The app preferences shift with store size:

Attentive appears at the enterprise level. Below 1M monthly visitors, Attentive barely registers. Above 1M, it becomes the third most popular choice, displacing Omnisend. This aligns with Attentive's positioning as an enterprise SMS/email platform.

---

Which Niches Invest Most in Email Marketing

Email adoption varies dramatically by industry. Some niches treat email as essential. Others barely use it.

Three patterns stand out:

1. Beauty leads. Half of all Beauty stores have email marketing. This makes sense: beauty products have high repeat purchase rates, making email-driven retention campaigns especially valuable. If you're a Klaviyo partner targeting beauty brands, you'll find a receptive audience.

2. Hobby is the only niche where Mailchimp beats Klaviyo. At 14.4% vs 12.6%, Hobby stores slightly prefer Mailchimp. This is the only category in our dataset where Klaviyo doesn't hold the #1 position. Hobby stores tend to be smaller and more price-sensitive, which aligns with Mailchimp's more accessible free tier.

3. Automotive and Hobby have 70%+ gaps. Nearly three-quarters of stores in these categories have no email marketing. For agencies specializing in these verticals, there's enormous untapped demand.

---

What Stores Without Email Marketing Look Like

We compared stores with and without email marketing apps across key metrics. The differences are stark.

Stores with email marketing apps aren't just bigger. They're more sophisticated across every measurable dimension. They run 3.3 times more apps, track nearly twice as many pixels, and score 51% higher on our lead fit scoring system.

This doesn't mean installing Klaviyo causes higher lead scores. The relationship works both ways: stores that invest in email marketing tend to invest in everything else, too. But the correlation is strong enough to make email app presence a reliable signal for qualifying leads.

If you're building prospect lists, filtering for "has email marketing app" is a quick way to find stores that spend money on tools. Filtering for "no email marketing app + high traffic" finds stores that need your help.

---

The Email Marketing Tech Stack: What Top Stores Run Together

Email marketing doesn't exist in isolation. The best-performing stores build retention stacks that combine email with reviews, loyalty, and support. Here are the most common combinations.

Email + Reviews (Most Common Pairings)

Judge.me is the default reviews app for Klaviyo stores. It's free, lightweight, and generates review request emails that complement Klaviyo's flows. Loox (photo reviews) and Yotpo (enterprise reviews) are the premium alternatives.

Full Retention Stacks (Email + Reviews + Loyalty)

The "full stack" stores build integrated systems where email, reviews, and loyalty programs reinforce each other.

Two dominant patterns emerge:

1. The Yotpo ecosystem: Klaviyo + Yotpo Reviews + Yotpo Loyalty (669 stores). Yotpo offers both reviews and loyalty, so stores in this ecosystem keep things integrated.
2. The budget stack: Klaviyo + Judge.me + Smile.io (643 stores). Judge.me and Smile.io both have generous free tiers, making this the affordable retention stack.

Email + Support Pairings

Gorgias is the clear winner for support among email-forward stores. The Klaviyo + Gorgias pairing (3,023 stores) is one of the most common two-app combinations in our entire dataset. This makes sense: both tools are Shopify-native, share customer data, and target the same DTC brand audience.

---

How to Choose the Right Email App for Your Store

Based on the data, here's a practical framework:

Choose Klaviyo if:

• You have (or plan to reach) 50K+ monthly visitors
• You want advanced segmentation (behavioral triggers, predictive analytics)
• You plan to build a full retention stack with reviews, loyalty, and support tools
• Budget: $20-$150+/mo depending on list size

Choose Mailchimp if:

• You're early-stage or have a small list (under 500 contacts)
• You want a familiar interface and simple campaigns
• Email is a side channel, not your primary retention strategy
• Budget: Free for up to 500 contacts

Choose Omnisend if:

• You want Klaviyo-like features at a lower price
• Email + SMS + push in one platform matters to you
• You're growing but not ready for Klaviyo pricing
• Budget: Free for up to 250 contacts, $16+/mo after

Choose Attentive if:

• You're an enterprise brand (1M+ monthly visitors)
• SMS is your primary channel, email is secondary
• You need dedicated account management
• Budget: Custom pricing (typically $1,000+/mo)

Start with Shopify Email if:

• You're just getting started and need something today
• Your list is small and you send fewer than 10,000 emails/month
• You want zero complexity
• Budget: Free for 10,000 emails/mo, $1/1,000 after

---

Prospecting Angles: Finding Stores That Need Email Marketing

If you sell email marketing services, this data reveals exactly where to look.

The Low-Hanging Fruit

Stores with 50K-1M traffic but no email app: 42,557 stores in our database. These stores have proven traffic but aren't capturing it with email. They're actively leaving revenue on the table.

Mailchimp stores with 200K+ traffic: These stores have outgrown Mailchimp's basic segmentation. They need Klaviyo's advanced features but haven't switched yet. There are roughly 10,000 stores in this bucket.

Stores running Meta Pixel but no email app: If a store invests in paid acquisition but doesn't have email retention, they're spending money to acquire customers and then losing them. This is the single strongest pitch angle.

By Niche

Automotive stores (74% gap): Nearly three-quarters of auto parts and accessories stores have no email app. If you specialize in automotive ecommerce, this vertical is wide open.

Electronics stores (67% gap): Similar story. Electronics stores tend to focus on marketplace sales (Amazon, eBay) and underinvest in owned channels like email.

Hobby stores (72% gap): The only category where Mailchimp beats Klaviyo, suggesting these stores are price-conscious. Lead with ROI data and free tier options.

You can find stores matching these criteria in the StoreInspect dashboard by filtering on app presence, traffic tier, and category.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular email marketing app for Shopify?

Klaviyo is the most popular with approximately 24% adoption across 143,198 stores. Mailchimp is second at 13.5%, Omnisend third at 3.2%. Klaviyo's lead widens at higher traffic tiers, reaching 45% adoption among stores with 1M+ monthly visitors.

How many Shopify stores use email marketing?

Only 38% of Shopify stores have a detectable email marketing app. The other 62% (88,721 stores in our dataset) rely on Shopify's built-in tools or have no email strategy at all. This gap represents a significant opportunity for email marketing agencies and Klaviyo partners.

Is Klaviyo better than Mailchimp for Shopify?

It depends on your stage. Klaviyo stores are measurably more sophisticated: 40% have a reviews app (vs 19% for Mailchimp), 14.5% run support tools (vs 4.3%), and they average 3.0 installed apps (vs fewer for Mailchimp stores). If you're serious about email-driven retention, Klaviyo is the standard. If you need something simple and free, Mailchimp works.

Which Shopify niches have the highest email marketing adoption?

Beauty leads at 49.6%, followed by Baby & Kids (46.5%), Health & Wellness (45.3%), and Food & Beverage (44.7%). These are categories with high repeat purchase potential, where email-based retention drives the most value.

What apps do Klaviyo stores commonly use?

The top pairings are Judge.me Reviews (10%), Gorgias Chat (9%), Yotpo Reviews (8%), Rebuy (6%), and Afterpay (6%). The most common full stack is Klaviyo + Judge.me + Smile.io Loyalty (643 stores) or Klaviyo + Yotpo Reviews + Yotpo Loyalty (669 stores).

When should I switch from Mailchimp to Klaviyo?

When you need behavioral segmentation (targeting based on browse and purchase behavior), when your list exceeds 2,000-5,000 contacts, or when you want to build multi-step automation flows. Our data shows stores with 200K+ monthly traffic overwhelmingly choose Klaviyo.

How can I find Shopify stores that need email marketing?

Use a Shopify store database with app filtering. Filter for stores with no email marketing app plus 50K+ monthly traffic. There are over 42,000 stores matching this criteria in our database. The StoreInspect dashboard lets you filter by app presence, traffic tier, and category.

Is Omnisend a good Klaviyo alternative?

Yes. Omnisend stores show similar sophistication: 35.9% have reviews apps (vs Klaviyo's 40.4%), and 13.1% have loyalty apps (vs 13.3%). Omnisend offers email + SMS + push in one platform at a lower price point. It's the strongest Klaviyo alternative in the data.

---

Key Findings Summary