What counts as spam email, and how a real shop ends up sending it
There's the legal definition, and there's the one that bites every day: whatever your reader decides when their thumb hovers over the spam button.
- Also called
- Junk mail, after the folder it ends up in
- Legally, in the UK
- Marketing email sent to individuals without consent or the soft opt-in
- Legally, in the US
- Commercial email that breaks CAN-SPAM, which doesn't require consent
- In practice
- Whatever your reader reports as spam
Where the law draws the spam line in the UK and the US
In the UK, marketing email to an individual needs their consent, or the soft opt-in for your own customers and similar products. The ICO sets out both in its guide to electronic mail marketing.
The US works the other way round. CAN-SPAM doesn't ask for consent at all, but every commercial email needs honest headers, a real postal address and a working opt-out, as the FTC's compliance guide explains. None of this is legal advice. If it matters to your board, ask a solicitor.
Why customers who signed up still press the spam button
Here's the uncomfortable part. Permission doesn't stop the button. People forget they signed up, or don't recognise the from name. They want out, and the spam button sits right there in the mail app while your unsubscribe link is at the bottom of a long email.
Every press is a mark against your shop with that mailbox provider. An unsubscribe isn't. For Gmail, you can watch your spam rate in Google Postmaster Tools, and it's worth a look every week.
Junk folder or spam report: who made the call
| What happened | Who decided | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Filed in junk | The mailbox provider's filter | Your reputation or authentication has slipped |
| Reported as spam | Your reader | They didn't expect it, or couldn't find the way out |
| Refused outright | The mailbox provider | Something serious, like a trap hit or failed authentication |
The first and third are the provider's verdict on you. The second is your customer's, and it feeds the first.
Keeping a real shop out of the junk folder
- A from name customers recognise from the shop
- An unsubscribe link people can find without hunting
- Campaigns sent to people who've engaged lately, not the whole file
- Nothing sent to people who never asked, like competition entrants or bought lists
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC passing on your own domain
Trigger words are mostly folklore. If you're in the junk folder already, work through it in this order, authentication first.
Related terms
FAQs
Is it spam to email customers who never subscribed?
In the UK, not if the soft opt-in covers it. You got their address when they bought, or nearly bought, from you, you're marketing similar products of your own, and you offered a simple way to opt out then and in every email since. Outside those conditions, you need consent.
Why do people report us as spam instead of unsubscribing?
Because it's easier. The spam button sits in the mail app, one tap away, while the unsubscribe link sits at the bottom of the email. Some people use the spam button to tidy up anything they've stopped wanting. Make leaving easy, and send less to the people going quiet.
Is junk mail the same as spam?
Near enough. Junk is what Outlook and Apple Mail call the folder, and Gmail and Yahoo call it spam. Same verdict, different label. What matters more is who put your email there: a filter acting on your reputation, or a reader pressing the button. Both count against you, and the second feeds the first.
Rather we explained it on your own account?
Bring your Klaviyo account to a growth consultation. We'll walk through what this means for your numbers, in plain English, and what we'd fix first.
Half an hour with Theo, our founder.
We're all about relationships built on trust, mutual respect and a shared vision for success. If that sounds like your vibe, let's make some waves together 🌊
