What Is Remarketing? Definition, Examples and How It Works for Shopify Brands

Key takeaways

• Remarketing is re-engaging people who already visited your store or interacted with your brand.
• It usually runs on two channels: paid ads (retargeting) and email.
• The quality of your audience decides the result. People who looked at a specific product are warmer than a broad site-visitor list.
• Consent and clear privacy practices are part of doing it well.

What is remarketing?

Remarketing is marketing to people who have already shown interest in your brand: someone who viewed a product, added it to their cart or bought before. Instead of paying to reach strangers again and again, you bring back people who already know you.

The terms remarketing and retargeting are often used interchangeably. A common distinction is that retargeting means ads shown to past visitors, while remarketing also covers re-engagement by email. In practice, most Shopify teams run both.

How remarketing works

1. Identify the audience. A pixel or your own customer data marks who looked at what.
2. Segment by intent. A shopper who added to cart is different from one who read a blog post.
3. Choose the channel. Show an ad on a platform like Meta, or send an email through a platform like Klaviyo.
4. Match the message to the intent. Show the product they viewed, not a generic banner.
5. Measure the result. Compare the revenue and cost per customer against your cold campaigns.

Remarketing channels

Remarketing examples for ecommerce

• Abandoned cart. A shopper adds a jacket, leaves, and receives an email and an ad showing the same jacket.
• Browse abandonment. Someone views three sneakers, and a follow-up shows those styles.
• Win-back. A customer who has not bought in six months gets a "we saved your favorites" message.
• Upsell. A buyer of a coffee machine sees filters and descaler.

For the email side in detail, see our guide to abandoned cart flows in Klaviyo.

How remarketing differs from acquisition marketing

Acquisition targets people who have never heard of you, so it is wider and costs more per customer. Remarketing targets people who already know you, so it is narrower and usually closer to a purchase. Healthy brands do both: acquisition fills the top, remarketing converts the people it brings in.

Common mistakes

• Using one audience for everyone. Split by intent and recency.
• No exclusions. Stop showing ads for a product the shopper already bought.
• Showing the same ad forever. Rotate creative and cap frequency.
• Ignoring shoppers you cannot identify. If your list only has people who already gave an email, most of your visitors are out of reach. See how to identify anonymous visitors with consent.

Remarketing and privacy

Remarketing relies on personal data, so disclose it in your privacy policy, offer a clear way to opt out and respect consent choices. Rules differ by region and change often, so confirm what applies to your brand.

Frequently asked questions

What is remarketing in simple terms?

It is marketing aimed at people who already visited your store or interacted with your brand, so you can bring them back with a relevant message.

Is remarketing the same as retargeting?

The two are often used interchangeably. Retargeting is usually ads to past visitors, while remarketing can also include email. Most brands run both together.

Does remarketing work for Shopify stores?

Yes. Shopify stores commonly use it for abandoned carts, browse abandonment and win-back, through ads on Meta and flows in Klaviyo.

How do I build a remarketing audience?

Start with people who viewed a product or added to cart, then build audiences from them on your ad platform and in your email tool. Identifying shoppers with consent makes those audiences larger and more precise.