The 6 Klaviyo Flows Every Ecommerce Brand Needs (and What to Put in Them)

Campaigns are the emails you send. Flows are the emails that send themselves, triggered by what a shopper does. Set them up once, improve them over time, and they quietly generate revenue every day. If your store doesn’t have these six, start here.

1. Welcome series

Trigger: someone joins your email list (pop-up, footer, quiz).

Goal: turn a subscriber into a first-time buyer and introduce your brand.

Suggested emails:

1. Immediately: deliver whatever you promised (discount code, guide), plus a quick “here’s who we are.”
2. Day 2: your best sellers and why people love them.
3. Day 4: your story or what makes you different (ingredients, craftsmanship, mission).
4. Day 6: social proof like reviews, UGC and press, plus a reminder of the offer before it expires.

Exit people from the flow as soon as they purchase.

2. Browse abandonment

Trigger: someone who’s on your list views a product but doesn’t add it to cart.

Goal: gently bring them back.

Keep it light, a “still thinking about it?” with the product they viewed, a few key benefits and reviews. One or two emails is plenty.

3. Cart abandonment

Trigger: someone adds to cart (or starts checkout) but doesn’t buy.

Goal: recover the sale.

Suggested emails:

1. A few hours later: a friendly reminder with the cart contents.
2. Next day: address common objections: shipping, returns, sizing, guarantee.
3. Day 3 (optional): an incentive, if your margins allow. Don’t train shoppers to abandon carts on purpose; consider saving discounts for first-time buyers only.

4. Post-purchase

Trigger: someone places an order.

Goal: make them happy with their purchase and set up the second one.

Send a thank-you, set expectations for shipping, then share how to get the most out of the product. After they’ve had time to use it, ask for a review. For first-time buyers, this flow does a lot of the work of building loyalty.

5. Replenishment or cross-sell

Trigger: a set number of days after purchase.

Goal: the second (and third) order.

If your product runs out (supplements, skincare, coffee), time a reminder for just before they’ll run low. If it doesn’t, recommend complementary products based on what they bought.

6. Win-back

Trigger: a customer hasn’t purchased in longer than your typical buying cycle.

Goal: re-engage lapsed customers before they forget you.

Start with “we miss you” and what’s new, then escalate to an incentive if needed. Afterwards, suppress people who never engage. It keeps your list healthy and your emails out of spam.

Tips that make every flow better

• Write like a human. Plain-text-style emails from a founder often outperform heavy designs.
• One goal per email, one main button.
• Segment first-time vs. repeat customers where messaging should differ.
• Test subject lines and timing, one variable at a time.
• Authenticate your sending domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) so emails land in the inbox.

Add SMS carefully

SMS is powerful for time-sensitive moments like cart abandonment and launches, but it’s personal. Send less often than email and always make opting out easy.

Need these built? Our email & SMS team sets up, writes and designs complete flow systems. And if you’re still growing your list, check out the Shopify conversion checklist.