HTML vs Text Email Which Format Drives More Shopify Sales

For Shopify merchants, the whole HTML vs. text email debate isn't about picking a winner. It's about knowing which tool to pull out of the toolbox for the job at hand. Think of it this way: a glossy, image-rich HTML email is perfect for showing off a new product line, but a simple, direct plain-text email might be what actually gets someone to recover their abandoned cart.

The smartest strategy isn’t about choosing one and sticking with it. It’s about understanding when to deploy each format to get the best results.

Getting to the Core of It

At its most basic, choosing between HTML and plain text is a choice between a branded, visual experience and a stripped-down, direct conversation. For any e-commerce brand, this isn't just some technical detail—it’s a core strategic decision that shapes how customers see your message and whether they decide to click "Add to Cart."

HTML emails are essentially mini web pages that land in an inbox. They use code to show off your logo, product photos, custom fonts, and eye-catching buttons. This is your go-to for creating a consistent brand feel and making your products look irresistible.

On the flip side, plain-text emails are exactly what they sound like: just words. No formatting, no images, no fancy layouts. They look and feel like a personal note you’d get from a friend, which can be incredibly powerful for cutting through the marketing clutter and building genuine trust.

The most successful Shopify stores don't just pick one format. They master both, sending beautiful HTML campaigns for big brand moments and using simple text-based emails to build real customer relationships.

Key Distinctions for E-commerce

Here’s how they stack up in the areas that matter most for an online store:

• Visual Appeal: HTML is the clear winner here. You get branded templates, gorgeous product shots, and styled call-to-action buttons that are essential for sales and newsletters.

• Deliverability: Plain text often has an edge. Its simplicity means it’s less likely to get caught in spam filters, giving it a better shot at landing in the primary inbox.

• Personalization: You can use merge tags in both, but the raw, unpolished feel of plain text can make a personalized message seem far more authentic and one-on-one.

• Tracking: HTML gives you much deeper insights. You can track open rates with tracking pixels, see which links get clicked, and get a much clearer picture of how people are engaging.

To make the choice even clearer, here's a quick side-by-side look at the two formats.

HTML vs Plain Text Email At a Glance

This table breaks down the key differences to help you make a quick, informed decision for your next campaign.

Attribute	HTML Email	Plain Text Email
Best For	Product launches, newsletters, seasonal promotions, and brand storytelling.	Cart recovery sequences, transactional alerts, win-back campaigns, and support follow-ups.
Design	Highly visual and flexible. Uses branded templates, images, and custom layouts.	Minimalist and text-only. Looks like a personal, one-to-one message with no design elements.
Engagement	Drives clicks on visual CTAs and product images. Great for browsing and discovery.	Encourages high open rates and direct replies. Excellent for starting a conversation.
Deliverability	Higher risk of being flagged by spam filters due to code and images.	Excellent. Its simple nature means it rarely gets filtered and has a high inbox placement rate.

Ultimately, having both types of emails in your marketing arsenal gives you the flexibility to connect with customers in the most effective way for any given situation.

How Email Format Impacts Inbox Placement

The debate over HTML versus plain-text emails goes way beyond aesthetics. It's a critical factor that can decide whether your message hits the primary inbox or gets buried in the promotions tab. Email providers like Gmail and Outlook have smart algorithms filtering every incoming message, and the very structure of your email can signal where it belongs. A stunningly designed flash sale email is worthless if it never gets seen.

Emails packed with complex HTML, heavy images, and a bunch of links often scream "promotional" to these filters. Think about it from their perspective: a message from a friend is usually just text. It doesn't have flashy graphics or intricate code. Plain-text emails fly under the radar by mimicking that personal, one-to-one communication style, which often gives them a direct ticket to the primary inbox.

Why Simplicity Often Wins

For a Shopify merchant, this has a direct impact on your bottom line. Take a browse abandonment email, for instance. Your goal is to send a quick, personal nudge to bring someone back. A simple plain-text email feels like a direct follow-up from a real person and encourages an immediate response. On the other hand, a slick, graphics-heavy HTML email might get automatically sorted away, killing the urgency and delaying its impact.

The core deliverability challenge for any e-commerce brand is balancing visual appeal with inbox performance. Heavy HTML can trigger spam filters, while minimalist text can build the trust needed to land in the most valuable inbox real estate.

The more complex your email design, the bigger the deliverability hurdle. In one test, HubSpot discovered that an HTML email with images had a 21% lower click-through rate than its plain-text counterpart. When you factor in the lower open rates, that translated to 51% fewer total clicks. It's a clear sign that even if your email gets delivered, its visual complexity can push it into less-visible folders and tank engagement.

Navigating Spam Filters and Engagement

Spam filters are always getting smarter, but some of the classic triggers haven't changed. Knowing what they look for is key to making the right call between HTML and plain text.

• Code-to-Text Ratio: Emails with a ton of HTML code but very little readable text look suspicious.

• Image Weight: Huge, unoptimized images don't just slow down load times; they can also be a red flag for spam filters.

• Link Density: Cramming too many links into a small space can make your email look like a phishing scam.

At the end of the day, strong email deliverability isn't just about avoiding the spam folder—it's about earning a spot in the primary inbox where real engagement happens. While HTML is fantastic for brand storytelling and showcasing products, plain text is a secret weapon for high-intent messages where a personal touch and guaranteed visibility are everything. For Shopify merchants trying to squeeze every drop of value from their campaigns, mastering how to improve email deliverability is non-negotiable.

Analyzing Engagement and Conversion Performance

Getting someone to open your email is just the first step. For any Shopify store, the real goal is to drive action—clicks, sales, and ultimately, revenue. The choice between an HTML and a plain-text email isn't just a technical one; it plays a huge role in customer psychology and directly shapes your key performance metrics.

Think of an HTML email as a mini, digital version of your storefront, delivered right to your customer's inbox. It’s built for visual merchandising. This makes it perfect for launching a new collection, running a seasonal promotion, or putting your best-sellers on display. With strong branding, beautiful product photos, and big, bold call-to-action buttons, you create a smooth path from browsing to buying.

A plain-text email, on the other hand, works on a completely different level. It feels like a personal, one-to-one message. By stripping away all the design gloss, it fosters a genuine sense of connection and trust. This approach is incredibly powerful for things like win-back campaigns, post-purchase follow-ups, or even a personal note from the founder.

The Conversion Data Unpacked

When you look at the raw numbers, especially for your existing customer base, plain text often pulls ahead in a surprising way. One well-known A/B test revealed that plain-text emails converted 60% of existing customers—a massive leap compared to their HTML counterparts. Why? Because they don't feel like a mass-market blast; they feel authentic. That authenticity is gold for building loyalty and boosting customer lifetime value. For a deeper look, you can discover more insights about email deliverability on MailMonitor.com.

That's not to say HTML doesn't have its place. Its visual appeal is fantastic for grabbing the attention of new subscribers and encouraging those spur-of-the-moment purchases. It all comes down to matching the format to your campaign's goal and where the customer is in their journey with your brand.

Measuring What Matters Most

To figure out what really resonates with your audience, you have to look past open rates. The metrics that truly tell the story of your email format's impact are:

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): This tells you how many people were engaged enough to actually click a link. HTML emails often have a natural advantage here, thanks to their clear, clickable buttons.

• Conversion Rate: This is the percentage of people who made a purchase after clicking. Plain text can often surprise you here, as its high-trust feel can lead to more committed buyers.

• Revenue Per Recipient (RPR): The bottom line. RPR calculates the average revenue you earned from every single person who received the email.

Tracking these numbers gives you the power to make decisions based on data, not just guesswork. If you want to get serious about performance, check out our guide on how to boost your click-through and open rates with key metrics and tips. It will give you a solid framework for testing and discovering which format truly drives sales for your store.

Design Freedom vs User Experience

When you get down to it, the HTML vs text email choice is really a tug-of-war between creative control and the user's actual experience. HTML emails are like a polished, digital storefront. They give you total freedom to use your brand's exact colors, fonts, and logos, creating a consistent look and feel that reinforces who you are with every email you send.

For any e-commerce brand that's been around for a bit, that visual consistency is gold. It’s how you show off products with beautiful photos and use eye-catching call-to-action buttons to nudge customers toward making a purchase. But all that creative freedom comes with a major headache: responsive design.

The Rendering Consistency Nightmare

An HTML email can look absolutely perfect in Gmail on your laptop, but then turn into a jumbled mess in the Outlook app on a smartphone. The frustrating reality is that every email client and device reads HTML code its own way, which can lead to a whole host of rendering problems.

Getting these emails to look right everywhere requires careful coding and a ton of testing—time and resources a lot of Shopify merchants just don't have. If you want to dive deeper into creating visuals that don't break, checking out best practices in marketing email design for high conversion results is a solid move.

At its core, the conflict is this: HTML emails are built to serve the sender's brand vision. Plain-text emails are built to serve the recipient, ensuring they can read the message effortlessly, no matter what they're using.

And that’s where plain text just works. Its raw simplicity means it displays perfectly, every single time. No broken images, no weirdly stacked columns, no fonts that are impossible to read. Just your message, loud and clear.

Don't Forget Accessibility

Beyond just looking good, there’s the critical issue of accessibility. Plain-text emails are a dream for screen readers, which are used by visually impaired customers. These tools read simple text without a hitch. Complicated HTML layouts, on the other hand, can easily trip them up, creating a terrible experience and shutting out part of your audience.

• HTML User Experience: Can be incredibly engaging if it renders correctly, but you run the risk of it appearing broken, loading slowly, or being completely inaccessible.

• Plain-Text User Experience: Always consistent, lightning-fast, and accessible. It guarantees every single customer can engage with your message positively.

In the end, going with HTML is a gamble that the visual payoff will be worth the potential for rendering and accessibility hiccups. Opting for plain text is the safe bet, guaranteeing a universally good, frustration-free experience for everyone on your list.

A Strategic Playbook for Your Shopify Store

Knowing the difference between HTML and text emails is one thing. Knowing exactly when to use each for your Shopify store is what actually drives revenue. The smartest strategies don't pick a side; they use both, deploying the right format based on the customer’s journey and the specific goal of the campaign.

This playbook gives you clear, actionable scenarios to help you make the right call, every single time.

Think of your email automations as a conversation. A brand new subscriber is just getting to know you, so a personal touch goes an incredibly long way.

Blending Formats in Your Welcome Series

Your welcome series is the perfect place to mix and match. It lets you build a personal relationship first, then visually introduce your brand.

• Email 1: Plain Text. Kick things off with a simple, text-only email that looks like it came directly from the founder's inbox. This feels personal, builds immediate rapport, and has a fantastic chance of landing in the primary tab.

• Email 2: Minimal HTML. A day or two later, follow up with a lightweight HTML email. This is your chance to introduce your brand story and showcase your best-selling products with a few high-quality images.

This blended approach creates an authentic connection before you pivot into a more traditional marketing experience.

Urgent Automations Demand Simplicity

For those high-intent, time-sensitive automations, plain text is almost always the winner. Its directness and sky-high deliverability are exactly what you need for messages that have to be seen and acted on now.

When a customer abandons a cart, you aren’t sending a newsletter; you're sending a direct, urgent reminder. Plain text cuts through the noise and feels like a helpful nudge, not a hard sell.

You'll want to lean on plain text for:

• Cart Abandonment Flows: A simple "Did you forget something?" message feels much more personal and is far less likely to be ignored.

• Browse Abandonment Nudges: A quick follow-up asking if they have questions about a specific product they viewed can be incredibly effective.

Visual Campaigns Require HTML

On the flip side, when your goal is to create excitement and visually merchandise your products, HTML is completely non-negotiable.

• Major Sales Events: For Black Friday or a new collection launch, you need the visual punch of HTML to showcase products and create a fully branded experience. You can't just tell them about the sale; you have to show them.

• Weekly Newsletters: A well-designed HTML newsletter is what keeps subscribers engaged with your brand's aesthetic and makes your content easy to scan.

While dialing in your email format is crucial, remember it's just one piece of the puzzle. It works best when combined with broader actionable clothing brand marketing strategies to create a truly cohesive customer experience.

Ultimately, the best Shopify stores don’t just choose a format; they build a flexible playbook that adapts to every single customer interaction.

How to Test and Validate Your Email Strategy

So, should you use HTML or plain-text emails? The honest answer is: don't guess. The only way to know what truly resonates with your audience is to test both formats, and A/B testing is how you make data-driven decisions that actually boost your store's bottom line.

Setting up a test is simpler than it sounds. Take one of your core campaigns—maybe your cart abandonment flow or your weekly newsletter—and create two versions. One will be your standard, visually engaging HTML email, and the other will be a stripped-down, personal-feeling plain-text message. The key here is to only change the format. Everything else, from the subject line and offer to the call-to-action, must stay identical to get clean, reliable results.

Key Metrics to Monitor

When the data starts rolling in, you need to look past vanity metrics like open rates. To get the full picture, focus on what really moves the needle.

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): This tells you which format does a better job of actually getting subscribers to click your links.

• Conversion Rate: For any Shopify store, this is the most important metric. Which version drove more sales? It's as simple as that.

• Revenue Per Recipient (RPR): To see the direct financial impact, track RPR. It’s a powerful way to understand which format puts more money in your pocket.

• Unsubscribe Rate: Pay close attention here. If your HTML emails are causing more people to unsubscribe, they might feel too "salesy." A lower unsubscribe rate on your plain-text version often signals it's building more trust.

Don’t make the mistake of running a single test and calling it a day. What works for a welcome series might completely flop for a flash sale. The real secret to a high-performing email strategy is continuous testing.

Reading the results is just as critical as running the test itself. Let's say your HTML emails get more clicks, but the plain-text versions convert more subscribers into paying customers. That's a huge insight. It probably means the personal, one-to-one feel of plain text is what finally convinces your most valuable, high-intent shoppers to buy.

Use what you learn to build a more dynamic email strategy. When you constantly test your approach to the html vs text email debate, you're no longer just guessing what your customers want—you're proving it with data and giving them exactly what they respond to.

Frequently Asked Questions

It's one thing to understand the difference between HTML and plain-text emails, but it's another to apply it to your Shopify store. Let's tackle some of the most common questions that pop up.

Should All My Automated Emails Be Plain Text?

Not necessarily, but it’s a fantastic starting point. Plain text works wonders for high-intent automations where you need to get a personal, urgent message across—think abandoned cart reminders or your first welcome email.

That said, a post-purchase email showing off related products or a welcome series email that needs to establish your brand's look and feel might do better with a lightweight HTML design. The real answer comes from testing. Pit both formats against each other in your key automations and see what your audience actually responds to.

Great email marketers don’t stick to one format. They match the email’s design to its specific goal in the customer journey and let the data decide what works best.

Can I Still Track Clicks in Plain-Text Emails?

Yes, you absolutely can. Even though the email is just text, you can still include full URLs. In almost every modern email client, those links are clickable.

Your email marketing platform will automatically wrap those links with tracking codes behind the scenes. This means you can measure click-through rates and see exactly how much revenue your plain-text campaigns are generating, just like with any HTML email. You don't lose crucial performance data by going simple.

Is Sending Only HTML Emails a Bad Strategy?

Leaning too heavily on complex HTML emails can definitely backfire. You can run into deliverability problems, your emails might load slowly, and you risk creating a less personal connection with subscribers who are tired of constant "marketing" messages. A mix is almost always better.

Save your visually-rich HTML for big announcements, new product drops, and newsletters where the visuals are the whole point. For more direct, conversational, or urgent messages, go with plain text or a very simple HTML layout. And a non-negotiable best practice: always, always include a plain-text version of every HTML email you send. It’s a simple step that makes a huge difference for deliverability.

---

Ready to implement a smarter, automated email strategy that knows when to use HTML and when to use plain text? Email Wiz sets up your entire Shopify email channel in 30 seconds, using AI to build on-brand flows that recover more carts and boost customer lifetime value. Launch your revenue-driving email program today.