How Email, SMS and Push Notifications Work Together to Drive Growth for DTC Brands

With rising CACs, dwindling margins, it’s become vital for DTC brands to take full advantage of owned channels like email, SMS and push notifications.

These channels drive low-cost, high-return sales, with high margins that pay for the cost of acquisition.

But the key is to use them the right way—and to use them in combination with each other, to utilize the unique strengths of each channel.

All three should work together, serving specific use cases and addressing different stages of the customer lifecycle.

Keep reading and you’ll learn how top brands drive consistent profit and dependable long-term revenue with a three-pronged strategy smartly integrating email, SMS and push notifications.

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The Unique Strengths of Email, SMS and Push

Don’t look at these channels as competitors. They’re not fighting each other for your marketing budget; they’re working together to make sure you don’t leave any blind spots in the customer journey.

Let’s look at where each channel stands out.

Email: The Backbone of Lifecycle Marketing

Email is the powerhouse of owned marketing channels, with high ROI and the ability to deliver in-depth, visually appealing content. 

Brands can use advanced segmentation and automation to personalize experiences, making email a cornerstone of a well-executed retention strategy.

And, possibly the most important part about email is the reach; you’re able to reach just about every person who has bought from you in the past, as well as people who haven’t bought yet, but who signaled their intent by opting in to your list on your website.

That allows email to drive retention, as well as growth via first-time sales.

Best for:

• Long-form content (newsletters, product education, brand storytelling)
• Promotions & offers (seasonal sales, product launches, abandoned cart recovery)
• Customer retention & relationship-building (post-purchase sequences, win-back campaigns)

Example:

A skincare brand uses email for a welcome series, sending new subscribers a multi-email sequence introducing them to the brand, offering a 10% discount, and providing educational content on their skincare routine.

SMS: The High-Engagement Conversion Trigger

SMS boasts 6x higher click-through rates than email and is ideal for delivering urgent, concise messages. 

Since SMS is a more intimate channel, it requires careful audience segmentation and value-driven messaging to avoid overuse and unsubscribes.

Like email, your list will be made up of both existing customers and people who haven’t yet bought from you, which again allows you to drive both acquisition and retention.

Best for:

• Time-sensitive promotions (flash sales, restocks, holiday deals)
• Transactional updates (order confirmations, shipping updates)
• Abandoned cart reminders (quick follow-ups to nudge conversions)

Example:

A DTC apparel brand sends an SMS alert: "🚨 24-Hour Flash Sale! 20% off everything. Tap here to shop now → [link]"

Push Notifications: The Real-Time Engagement Hook & LTV-Driver

Push notifications offer instant, real-time engagement for brands with mobile apps. 

They’re lightweight, interactive, highly visible while being minimally intrusive, and can be personalized based on user behavior.

The reach is lower compared to email and SMS, as push notifications require someone to download your app (and opt in to notifications), a much higher barrier than someone giving over their email address or phone number.

But that means push recipients are naturally high-intent, highly engaged customers, who are more receptive to what you send them.

Best for:

• Mobile app engagement (personalized recommendations, new arrivals)
• Exclusive offers for app users (VIP discounts, loyalty rewards)
• Reminders & urgency-driven messages (cart abandonment, price drop alerts)
• Nurturing long-term brand awareness with high-value customers

Example:

A meal delivery brand sends a push notification: "Your favorite meal is back in stock! Order now before it sells out!"

The Most Common Mistake With Push

Push is great for driving immediate results with highly visible, low-friction messages.

But this doesn't mean all your push notifications should aim to drive sales. In fact, these promotional notifications should make up a minority of your push notifications.

The real value with push (and what allows you to send 5+ notifications per week to your app users) is in light, non-salesy messages that build awareness and mindshare, and ultimately drive higher LTV (with fewer opt-outs).

Read more in this article: The Three Types of Push Notifications (And How to Balance Them Correctly)

How These Three Channels Work Together

If your brand is only using email, or only using SMS, or only push, you’re missing out on a large amount of mindshare (and revenue).

Here’s how to make these channels work together to create a seamless customer engagement strategy.

Full-Funnel Approach

Each channel plays a distinct role across the customer journey:

Email for Depth, SMS for Urgency, Push for App Users & Long-Term Engagement

• Email: At the top of the funnel, email introduces your brand and builds trust. A welcome series might share your story, showcase products, and offer a first-purchase incentive.
• SMS: SMS drives urgency to convert interested prospects. It might be sent to more engaged subscribers, such as people who have visited the site multiple times or opened multiple emails (but not yet converted).
• Push Notifications: Push drives more engagement for your top customer segment—those who download your app. It drives incremental sales though limited time promotions and abandoned cart notifications, and builds long-term, habitual engagement with subtle, regular messages that flash up on your customer’s phone.

2. Behavioral Triggers & Personalization Across Channels

By tracking behavior—like email opens, site visits, or app interactions—you can trigger the right message on the right channel at the right time.

Example: your data will tell you that some customers respond better to one channel than others.

For instance, someone might be on your email list and SMS list, but ignore your texts while opening 75% of the emails they receive.

For these people, you’d focus more on email than SMS, perhaps adding them to a segment that prioritizes email communication.

Then for triggers set off in the app, you’d send a push notification—the same trigger on your website, you could trigger an SMS (abandoned cart notifications are the perfect example for this).

3. Channel-Specific Adaptations: Tailoring Messaging for Maximum Impact

The same promotion requires different messaging depending on the channel.

You might vary the tone, length, urgency and other factors for messages on different channels, while the core offer remains the same.

For example:

• Email: "10% Off – Your Cart is Waiting!" (with visuals & product details)
• SMS: "Still thinking? Get 10% off now! Use code: SAVE10. [link]"
• Push: "Your cart is about to expire! Complete your order now."

Email is your long-form channel. Here you can go more in-depth, with visuals and a breakdown of the key benefits.

SMS is about urgency, and converting at a high percentage, as you’re paying for each message. You want to get right to it.

Push is even shorter-form than SMS, but with the advantage of zero cost per send. Your goal should be to stoke curiosity, and get the recipient to open the app—even if it takes a few messages to get there.

Learn more: How Often Should You Send Push Notifications?

Best Practices for Your Email, SMS & Push Strategy

To harness the full power of email, SMS, and push, follow these best practices:

1. Timing & Frequency

• Avoid channel fatigue: Don’t overwhelm customers with simultaneous messages. Use each channel strategically—email for weekly updates, SMS for urgent offers, push for app nudges. 
• You can also limit fatigue, without limiting message frequency, by splitting messages across different channels (instead of sending 3 text messages, send one email, one SMS and one push).
• Best time of day: Leverage engagement data. Emails might perform best in the morning (8-10 AM), SMS in the afternoon (12-3 PM), and push in the evening (6-8 PM) when users are on their phones.

2. List Building

• The goal should be to get each customer on each channel; it’s often worth specific opt-in incentives to get someone on your SMS list and to download your app (there’s typically less incentive required for someone to join your email list).
• Opt-in best practices: Use double opt-in for email to confirm interest, explicit consent for SMS per TCPA rules, and app permissions for push notifications.
• Avoid unsubscribes: Offer clear opt-out options (e.g., “Reply STOP” for SMS) and respect preferences to maintain trust and deliverability.

3. Measuring Performance Across Channels

Track these key performance indicators to optimize your strategy:

• Email: Open rate, CTR, conversion rate, revenue per send.
• SMS: Delivery rate, click rate, conversion rate.
• Push: App open rate, engagement rate, retention, LTV.
• A/B testing: Experiment with messaging, timing, and channel combos to find what resonates. For example, test a 10% vs. 15% discount across SMS and push to see which drives more sales.

Learn more: The Economics of Push Notifications for DTC Brands

Conclusion: Building a Multi-Channel Growth Engine

A unified email, SMS, and push notification strategy ensures you meet customers where they are—without overwhelming them. 

By leveraging the strengths of each channel and personalizing messaging, DTC brands can drive stronger engagement, higher conversions, and long-term customer loyalty.

Now’s the time to audit your messaging mix and test a more cohesive strategy. Whether you’re nurturing first-time buyers or re-engaging past customers, a well-executed multi-channel approach will keep your brand top-of-mind and maximize customer lifetime value.

If you don't have a mobile app yet (and thus can't send push notifications), make this your priority.

As long as you have a mobile-optimized website, you're closer to having an app than you think. It's fast, straightforward and affordable to turn your website into an app and unlock the benefits of push notifications.

To see for yourself how easy it is, get a free preview of your site as an app, using just your website's URL and a few details about your store.