An email sent because of a specific action or account event, such as an order confirmation, receipt, password reset or delivery update. Its main job is to inform, not to promote.
Example
When someone pays ₹2,000 on Meera's website, an order confirmation with the bill and expected delivery date goes out within a minute.
How you'll hear it
“Keep the promo banner small in the transactional email; people open it for the order details.”
Don't confuse it with
- Marketing email: promotional, sent to people who opted in to marketing.
- Utility template (WhatsApp): Meta's category for non-promotional, transaction-specific WhatsApp messages; similar idea on a different channel.
Related terms
Sources
- What is a Transactional Email?, Mailchimp (Intuit)
- Marketing vs. Transactional Emails, Mailchimp (Intuit)