Email still works for Indian D2C brands, but only when it is used for what it does well: automated flows triggered by customer behaviour, not blanket discount blasts. Pair it with WhatsApp rather than choosing between them, fix domain authentication before anything else, and judge it on clicks and revenue, because open rates are no longer reliable.
Why Email Still Earns Its Place Next to WhatsApp
Ask most Indian D2C founders about email and you get the same answer: nobody here reads it, WhatsApp is where customers are. The first half of that is wrong and the second half is only partly right. Indian shoppers do read email, they just read it differently. They skim the inbox on their phone, ignore anything that looks like a blast, and open the messages that are clearly about something they bought or asked for.
The stronger argument for email is not engagement, it is ownership. Your Instagram reach depends on an algorithm you do not control. Your marketplace customers belong to the marketplace. WhatsApp is closer to owned, but Meta sets the rules on templates, pricing and what counts as a marketing message, and it charges you for every promotional template you send. An email list sits on your own sending domain, costs very little per message, and does not change its terms because a platform had a policy meeting.
That makes the two channels complementary, not competing. WhatsApp is the tap on the shoulder: fast, short, expensive to overuse. Email is where the longer relationship lives: education, story, the full catalogue, and the automated sequences that keep running whether or not your team remembers to send anything. We covered the WhatsApp side in detail in using WhatsApp for retention beyond the first sale. The mistake is treating either one as a replacement for the other.
| Send it on WhatsApp | Send it by email |
|---|---|
| Order, dispatch and delivery updates | Welcome series that tells the brand story |
| COD confirmation before dispatch | How-to, routines and product education |
| Back-in-stock alert for one product | Replenishment and win-back sequences |
| A short, time-bound offer | Full catalogue, launches and long reads |
A useful rule: if the message is urgent or tied to a live order, it belongs on WhatsApp. Confirming a cash on delivery order before dispatch is the clearest example, and it is one of the cheapest fixes in moving Indian shoppers from COD to prepaid. If the message needs more than a couple of lines, a picture, or a reason to care, it belongs in email.
The Five Flows That Do Most of the Work
Most Indian brands that say email did not work for them ran campaigns: a sale announcement, a festive offer, a new launch, sent to the whole list a few times a month. Campaigns are the least efficient thing email does. The revenue in a mature email programme comes mostly from automated flows, messages triggered by what a specific customer just did, and most brands we audit have either none of them or one abandoned-cart email they set up at launch and never looked at again.
- Welcome Sent on sign-up, before any discount code is the whole message
- Browse and cart One reminder that answers the doubt that stopped the purchase
- Post-purchase How to use it, what to expect, when to ask for a review
- Replenishment Timed to when the product actually runs out
- Win-back For lapsed buyers, then stop mailing the ones who never return
Welcome. The first few emails after someone signs up get more attention than anything you will send them later. Most brands waste them on a discount code and nothing else, which teaches the subscriber that your emails are coupons. Use the series to say who you are, what problem the product solves, and why it is made the way it is. Put the code in, but do not let it be the whole message.
Browse and cart. A single well-written reminder beats three pushy ones. Think about why someone stopped: usually a doubt about size, ingredients, delivery time or returns. Answer that doubt in the email instead of repeating the price.
Post-purchase. This is the most underused flow in Indian D2C. The customer has paid and is waiting. Tell them how to use the product, what results to expect and when, and only ask for a review once they have had time to form a view. Customers who know what to expect return less and review better.
Replenishment. If you sell anything consumable, time a reminder to roughly when the product runs out, based on pack size and typical usage rather than a fixed thirty days. This single flow often does more for repeat rate than a month of campaigns.
Win-back. For customers who have gone quiet, send a short sequence with a real reason to come back, then stop. Continuing to mail people who never open is not persistence, it is damage to your sender reputation, which is the next problem.
Deliverability Is Where Most Brands Quietly Fail
A large share of Indian consumer inboxes are Gmail, and Gmail decides whether your email lands in the primary tab, the promotions tab or spam. A brand can write excellent emails and still see nothing happen because they never arrive where anyone looks. Nobody on the team notices, because the sending tool reports them as delivered.
Start with authentication. Since 2024, Gmail and Yahoo have required bulk senders to authenticate their domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC and to offer one-click unsubscribe. Many smaller Indian brands are still sending from a shared domain their email tool provides, or have SPF set up and nothing else. Send from your own domain, ideally a subdomain used only for marketing mail, and get all three records in place. It is an afternoon of work for whoever manages your DNS.
Then look after the list. Never import numbers-for-emails lists, contest entries you did not get consent for, or old customer data you have not mailed in years. India's data protection law expects clear consent for marketing, and inbox providers punish complaints and bounces anyway. Suppress people who have not opened or clicked in several months, and warm up any new sending domain gradually rather than blasting your whole list on day one.
"A smaller list that actually reaches the inbox will outsell a bigger one that Gmail has learned to ignore."
- Brand Integer Brand Strategy Team
Landing in the promotions tab is not a failure in itself. Most brand email lives there, and shoppers do browse it when they are in a buying mood. The goal is to stay out of spam and to send mail that people open and click often enough that Gmail keeps trusting you.
Stop Judging Email by Open Rates
Open rates used to be the headline metric, and many Indian brands still decide whether email is working by looking at them. They are no longer reliable. Apple Mail's privacy protection loads email images automatically, which registers as an open whether or not the person read anything, and some other clients and security tools do similar things. Opens now tell you roughly whether mail is landing, not whether it is working.
Judge flows and campaigns on clicks, orders and revenue per recipient instead. For flows, compare the people who went through the flow with a small group who did not, so you can see what the flow actually added rather than crediting it with orders that would have happened anyway. Replenishment and post-purchase flows usually hold up well under that test. Blanket discount campaigns often do not, because they mostly give money back to customers who were about to buy.
Keep an eye on the numbers that signal trouble early: unsubscribes, spam complaints and bounces. A sudden jump in any of them after a particular send is worth investigating before the next one goes out.
Building a List When Marketplaces Own the Customer
Many Indian D2C brands do most of their volume on Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra or Nykaa, and those platforms do not hand over customer email addresses. That is the strongest reason to build a list, and also the hardest part of it.
On your own site, ask for email at checkout rather than only a phone number, and make the reason clear: order updates, usage guides, warranty or subscription reminders. Use a sign-up offer that suits the product, such as a routine guide or early access, rather than a flat discount that attracts people who only want the code.
For marketplace buyers, the package is your only direct touchpoint. An insert that offers something genuinely useful in exchange for an email, such as an extended warranty registration, a how-to guide or a refill reminder, can move some of those customers onto a list you own. Be careful to stay within each marketplace's rules on inserts and never push buyers to leave the platform for a cheaper price. The approach in designing a packaging and unboxing experience that earns repeat orders applies directly here, because the insert only works if the box makes someone want to hear from you again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is email marketing worth it for Indian D2C brands when WhatsApp gets higher engagement?
Yes, because the two do different jobs. WhatsApp is best for short, urgent and order-related messages, and every promotional template costs money to send. Email is cheaper per message, carries longer content well, runs automated flows in the background, and sits on a domain you own, so it cannot be taken away by a platform rule change. Most brands get the best results using both.
Which email flows should a D2C brand set up first?
Start with a welcome series, a browse or cart reminder, a post-purchase sequence, a replenishment reminder if you sell anything consumable, and a win-back sequence for lapsed customers. These automated flows usually outperform one-off campaigns because they reach each customer at a moment that is relevant to them.
Why are our emails going to spam or the promotions tab?
Spam placement usually comes from missing domain authentication, sending from a shared domain, or mailing people who never engage. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC on your own sending domain, add one-click unsubscribe, and suppress inactive subscribers. The promotions tab is normal for brand email and not a problem in itself, as long as people open and click.
How do we get email addresses from customers who buy on Amazon or Flipkart?
Marketplaces do not share buyer email addresses, so the package is your main touchpoint. A package insert offering something useful, such as warranty registration, a usage guide or a refill reminder, in exchange for an email can move some buyers onto your own list. Stay within each marketplace's rules on inserts and do not use them to redirect buyers to a cheaper price.
