How To Set Up Customer Segments for Email Marketing

Why Most Founders Send the Wrong Emails to the Wrong People

Here's something I see constantly: founders spend hours crafting the perfect email, obsess over the subject line, get the design just right, then blast it to their entire list and wonder why results are mediocre.

The email wasn't the problem. The audience was.

Segmentation is the difference between sending relevant messages that drive revenue and sending noise that trains people to ignore you. It's also one of the most overlooked fundamentals in ecommerce email marketing.

At Basic Barista, we don't send generic emails anymore. Every campaign goes to a specific segment, people who actually want that message, at that moment. The result? Higher open rates, better conversion, fewer unsubscribes and significantly more revenue per email sent.

Most founders skip segmentation because it feels complicated or time-consuming. The reality is that Shopify gives you powerful segmentation tools built right into your admin and setting up your first segments takes less than an hour.

This guide will walk you through exactly how to build customer segments inside Shopify, which segments matter most for your business and how to use them to send your first properly targeted campaign. By the end, you'll have the confidence to set this up yourself and understand why it's one of the highest-leverage things you can do for your email marketing.

What Customer Segmentation Actually Is (In Shopify Terms)

Customer segmentation simply means grouping your customers based on shared characteristics or behaviours, then communicating with each group differently.

Inside Shopify, a segment is a saved filter of your customer list. You define the criteria, who's purchased recently, who's spent over a certain amount, who signed up in the last 30 days and Shopify automatically keeps that segment updated as customer data changes.

What Data Shopify Actually Tracks

Shopify captures a lot of useful information about your customers:

Purchase behaviour:

• Number of orders

• Total amount spent

• Date of first order

• Date of last order

• Average order value

• Products purchased

Customer details:

• Email subscription status

• Account creation date

• Location (city, country)

• Tags you've applied

• Customer notes

Engagement proxies:

• Whether they've abandoned checkout

• Predicted spend tier (Shopify's algorithm)

Something important to understand: Shopify doesn't track email opens or clicks natively. If you're using Shopify Email, you get basic campaign metrics after sending, but you can't segment based on "opened my last 5 emails" the way dedicated email platforms allow. This means you need to use purchase behaviour as your primary proxy for engagement which honestly is often more valuable anyway. Someone who buys is more engaged than someone who just opens emails.

Why "Send to Everyone" Hurts Performance

When you email your entire list with every campaign, several things happen:

Your relevance drops. Not everyone cares about every product or promotion. When you send irrelevant emails, people stop opening.

Your deliverability suffers. Email providers watch engagement. If a chunk of your list never opens, you start landing in spam folders, even for people who want your emails.

You train customers to ignore you. Every irrelevant email conditions people to scroll past your name. Once you've lost attention, it's hard to win back.

You leave money on the table. A VIP customer should get different messaging than someone who's never purchased. Treating them the same means you're not maximising either relationship.

Pro tip: the goal isn't to email less, it's to email smarter. Segmentation often means you send more total emails, but each person receives fewer, more relevant ones.

Why Segmentation Is Critical for Email Marketing ROI

Let me break down exactly why this matters for your business.

Deliverability

Email providers like Gmail and Outlook use engagement signals to decide whether your emails reach the inbox or spam folder. When you consistently send to people who don't open, you're telling these providers "my emails aren't wanted."

Segmentation protects your sender reputation by ensuring you're primarily emailing people who actually engage. Something most founders don't realise is that a small, engaged list will outperform a large, disengaged one every time, both in deliverability and revenue.

Relevance

Different customers need different messages. Someone who just made their first purchase needs onboarding and reassurance. Someone who hasn't bought in six months needs re-engagement. Someone who's spent $2,000 with you deserves VIP treatment.

When you segment, you can craft messages that actually resonate with where each customer is in their journey. This isn't about manipulation, it's about respect. You're giving people information they actually want.

Conversion Rates

Relevant emails convert better. Full stop.

A campaign promoting high-end espresso machines sent only to customers who've previously purchased premium equipment will dramatically outperform the same campaign sent to your entire list. You're reaching people who are actually in the market, with money to spend and interest already demonstrated.

Customer Lifecycle Marketing

Every customer moves through stages: new subscriber → first-time buyer → repeat customer → loyal customer (or lapsed customer). Segmentation lets you treat each stage appropriately.

This is where compounding happens. Better segmentation means better conversion at each stage, which means more customers progressing to higher-value stages, which means more revenue over time.

The Core Shopify Segments Every Store Should Have

You don't need dozens of segments to start. Here are the essential ones that matter commercially, with real examples of how to use them.

1. Engaged Customers (Purchase Recency Proxy)

Since Shopify doesn't track email opens for segmentation, purchase recency becomes your best engagement signal. Someone who bought in the last 90 days is demonstrably engaged with your brand.

Segment definition: Customers who placed an order in the last 90 days

Why it matters: These are your most engaged buyers. They've recently had a positive experience with you. They're warm. When you launch something new or run a promotion, this segment should hear about it first. Pro tip: always send campaigns to your most engaged segment first, this builds positive engagement signals before you expand to broader audiences.

2. New Subscribers (Never Purchased)

People who've joined your email list but haven't bought yet. They've shown interest but haven't converted.

Segment definition: Email subscription status = subscribed AND number of orders = 0

Why it matters: This segment needs nurturing. They don't know your products well yet. Educational content, social proof and first-purchase incentives work well here. Don't just blast them with promotions, build trust first.

3. First-Time Buyers

Customers who've made exactly one purchase.

Segment definition: Number of orders = 1

Why it matters: The jump from one purchase to two is the hardest in customer lifecycle marketing. Once someone buys twice, they're significantly more likely to become a repeat customer. This segment needs attention, thank them, help them get value from their purchase and give them reasons to come back.

4. Repeat Customers

Customers who've purchased two or more times.

Segment definition: Number of orders >= 2

Why it matters: These are your proven buyers. They like your products enough to come back. They're more receptive to cross-sells, new products and higher-priced items. Treat them well.

5. VIP Customers

Your top spenders or most frequent buyers.

Segment definition: Total spent > $500 (adjust based on your AOV) OR number of orders >= 5

Why it matters: VIPs deserve special treatment. Early access to new products, exclusive offers, personal touches. Something most founders don't realise is that your top 10% of customers often drive 40-50% of revenue. Identify them and treat them accordingly.

6. Lapsed Customers

Customers who used to buy but haven't in a while.

Segment definition: Last order date is more than 180 days ago AND number of orders >= 1

Why it matters: These are win-back opportunities. They've bought before, so they're not cold leads but something made them stop. Targeted re-engagement campaigns with compelling offers can reactivate meaningful revenue.

7. At-Risk Customers

Customers approaching lapsed status.

Segment definition: Last order date is between 90 and 180 days ago

Why it matters: It's easier to prevent churn than to win someone back. This segment should receive proactive outreach, check-ins, relevant product recommendations, maybe a small incentive to return before they go cold.

Step-by-Step, How To Create Segments Inside Shopify

Let me walk you through exactly how to build these segments. If you've never done this before, it's simpler than you might think.

Where Segments Live

In your Shopify admin, go to Customers in the left sidebar. You'll see your full customer list by default, with a search/filter bar at the top.

This is where segments live. You create them by applying filters, then saving that filtered view as a segment.

How Segment Filters Work

Click into the search bar and you'll see filter options appear. Shopify uses a combination of dropdown filters and a query language.

For most segments, you can use the visual filter builder:

1. Click Add filter

2. Choose a filter category (e.g., "Number of orders")

3. Set the condition (e.g., "is equal to 1")

4. Add additional filters as needed (they work as AND logic by default)

For more complex segments, you can write queries directly using Shopify's syntax. For example:

number_of_orders >= 2 AND last_order_date > -90d

This would give you repeat customers who've purchased in the last 90 days.

Building Your First Segment: Engaged Customers

Let's create the engaged customer segment together:

1. Go to Customers in Shopify admin

2. Click Add filter

3. Select Date of last order

4. Set it to in the last 90 days

5. You'll see your customer list filter to only show people matching this criteria

6. Click Save segment

7. Name it "Engaged - Purchased Last 90 Days"

8. Click Save

That's it. You now have a dynamic segment that automatically updates. Anyone who purchases today gets added. Anyone whose last order falls outside 90 days gets removed.

How To Think About Segment Logic

When building segments, think in terms of behaviours and timeframes:

Behaviour: What did they do? (Purchased, subscribed, abandoned cart) Recency: When did they do it? (Last 30 days, 90 days, over 180 days ago) Frequency: How often? (Once, twice, five times) Value: How much? (Spent over $200, average order over $50)

Most useful segments combine two or three of these. Pro tip: start simple with single-condition segments, then add complexity as you learn what works.

Segment Sizing

After creating a segment, Shopify shows you how many customers match. Pay attention to this.

A segment with 50 people is too small for meaningful campaign data. A segment with 50,000 people might need further refinement to be relevant.

For campaigns, I aim for segments of at least 200-500 people minimum, enough to generate meaningful results. If a segment is too small, I'll broaden the criteria (e.g., 180 days instead of 90).

How To Use Segments To Send Your First Campaign

Building segments is step one. Using them effectively is where the revenue happens.

Which Segment To Send First

When launching a campaign, whether it's a product launch, sale, or newsletter, always start with your most engaged segment.

My recommended sending order:

1. First: Engaged customers (purchased last 90 days)

2. Second: Repeat customers or VIPs

3. Third: All subscribers who've purchased before

4. Fourth: New subscribers (never purchased)

5. Last (or skip): Lapsed customers

Why this order? You're building positive engagement signals with each send. When Gmail sees that your first batch of recipients opens and clicks, it's more likely to deliver subsequent sends to the inbox.

Pro tip: wait 2-4 hours between segment sends if you're doing a tiered rollout. This gives email providers time to register the positive engagement before you expand.

How To Send a Segmented Campaign in Shopify

1. Go to Marketing > Campaigns > Create campaign

2. Select Shopify Email

3. Build your email as normal

4. In the To field, click to select recipients

5. Choose Customer segment instead of "All subscribers"

6. Select the segment you want to target

7. Complete and send

Avoiding Deliverability Damage

Some important guidelines:

Don't email unengaged subscribers frequently. If someone hasn't opened or purchased in 6+ months, limit how often they receive campaigns.

Watch your unsubscribe rates. If a segment consistently generates high unsubscribes (above 0.5%), either the content isn't relevant or the segment needs refinement.

Don't email your entire list for every campaign. Some campaigns should only go to specific segments. A promotion on advanced coffee equipment shouldn't go to someone who bought one bag of beans six months ago.

Read our article on "Can You Send Too Many Marketing Emails?"

Beginner to Expert Progression

You don't need to build everything at once. Here's how to evolve your segmentation over time.

Stage 1: Basic Segments

Build these first:

• Engaged customers (90-day purchasers)

• All purchasers (anyone who's ever bought)

• New subscribers (never purchased)

This gives you the foundation for any campaign. You can reach your best customers, your proven buyers and your prospects separately.

Time to build: 30 minutes

Stage 2: Lifecycle Segments

Add these once basics are working:

• First-time buyers

• Repeat customers (2+ orders)

• Lapsed customers (180+ days since purchase)

• At-risk customers (90-180 days since purchase)

Now you can create campaigns for each lifecycle stage. Welcome sequences for first-time buyers. Re-engagement for lapsed customers. Loyalty recognition for repeat buyers.

Time to build: 1 hour

Stage 3: Revenue Optimisation Segments

Add these when you want to get sophisticated:

• VIP customers (top spenders)

• High-AOV customers

• Product-specific segments (purchased from category X)

• Geographic segments (for shipping promotions or local events)

• Predicted high-value customers (using Shopify's predictive fields)

These enable highly targeted campaigns. Exclusive launches for VIPs. Equipment upgrades for customers who bought entry-level gear. Local event invitations for customers in specific cities.

Time to build: 2-3 hours

Common Segmentation Mistakes Founders Make

Over-Segmentation Too Early

You don't need 47 segments. You need 5-7 that you actually use.

Start simple. Add complexity when you have a specific campaign need for it. Every segment you create should have a clear purpose, if you can't articulate why this segment exists and how you'll message them differently, you probably don't need it yet.

Ignoring Recency

A customer who purchased three years ago is not the same as a customer who purchased three weeks ago, even if their total spend is identical.

Recency is the strongest predictor of future engagement. Always factor it into your segments. Something most founders don't realise is that a recent one-time buyer is often more valuable to email than a lapsed VIP.

Sending to Entire List Every Time

I see this constantly. Founders build segments but then ignore them, blasting every campaign to all subscribers.

This destroys your deliverability over time and trains customers to disengage. Use your segments. That's why you built them.

Not Cleaning Inactive Customers

Subscribers who haven't opened an email or made a purchase in 12+ months are hurting your sender reputation.

Consider creating a "sunset" segment, long-term unengaged subscribers and either:

• Sending a specific re-engagement campaign

• Moving them to a "do not email" tag

• Removing them from your list entirely

A smaller, healthy list outperforms a large, sick one.

How To Set Up Your First Segmentation Stack (Playbook)

Here's exactly what to do, in order.

Week 1: Foundation Segments

Day 1-2:

1. Create "Engaged - Purchased Last 90 Days" segment

2. Create "All Purchasers" segment

3. Create "New Subscribers - Never Purchased" segment

Day 3-4: 4. Review segment sizes, note how many customers are in each 5. Send your next campaign to "Engaged" segment first 6. Wait 3-4 hours, then send to "All Purchasers" (excluding those already sent)

Day 5-7: 7. Monitor results, compare open rates and clicks between segments 8. Document what you learn

Week 2: Lifecycle Segments

1. Create "First-Time Buyers" segment

2. Create "Repeat Customers - 2+ Orders" segment

3. Create "Lapsed - No Purchase 180+ Days" segment

4. Create "At-Risk - No Purchase 90-180 Days" segment

Week 3: Put Them To Work

1. Plan a re-engagement campaign for Lapsed segment

2. Plan a "thank you" or loyalty campaign for Repeat Customers

3. Plan a first-purchase incentive campaign for New Subscribers

4. Commit to using segmented sends for all future campaigns

What Actually Moves Revenue

Focus here first:

1. Consistent use of engaged segment: Send every campaign to engaged customers first

2. First-time buyer follow-up: Help them become repeat buyers

3. Lapsed customer win-back: Reactivate dormant revenue

4. VIP recognition: Make top customers feel valued

Everything else is optimisation. These four things drive real money.

Building Your Segmentation Advantage

Segmentation isn't a tactic, it's a foundational capability.

Every email you send to the right person builds trust. Every irrelevant email erodes it. Over time, brands that segment properly build audiences that actually want to hear from them. Brands that don't build audiences that tune out.

The compounding effect is real. Better segmentation means better engagement, which means better deliverability, which means more emails landing in inboxes, which means more revenue. The gap between segmented and non-segmented senders widens every month.

Inside Shopify, you have everything you need to start. The segments take an hour to build. The campaigns take minutes to adjust. The results compound for years.

Start with your engaged customers. Send your next campaign to them first. Watch what happens. Then build from there.

Your customers will thank you, by buying more.