Flows vs campaigns
A flow is automated and triggered by behaviour. A campaign is a one-off send to a list or segment. You need both, but flows do the heavy lifting for customer retention.
Campaigns are your newsletter, your launch announcement, your EOFY sale. They go out when you hit send. Flows go out when a customer does something: subscribes, leaves a cart, places an order, goes quiet. Because they are timed to intent, they tend to feel relevant rather than noisy.
In Klaviyo, a flow is a trigger (a list join, a Shopify event or a segment entry), plus filters, time delays and messages. Build it once and it runs for every customer who qualifies.
The core Klaviyo flows, one by one
Here is what each essential flow does, when it fires and what to say. Timings below are common starting points, not rules. Test them against your own data.
1. Welcome series
Trigger: someone joins your list (pop-up, footer form, quiz). Messages: 3–5. A common starting point is the first email immediately, then one every 1–3 days.
Lead with what you promised (the code, the guide, the quiz result). Then tell your story, show your best sellers and handle the big objection: fit, taste, shipping, returns.
Example subject line: "Your 10% code is inside (plus our best seller)"
2. Browse abandonment
Trigger: a known visitor views a product but doesn't add to cart. Messages: 1–2. A common starting point is 2–4 hours after the visit.
Keep it light. Show the product they viewed, a review and one reason to buy. No hard discount; they were only browsing.
Example subject line: "Still thinking about the Linen Overshirt?"
3. Abandoned cart
Trigger: added to cart, didn't start checkout. Messages: 2–3. A common starting point is 1–4 hours, then about 24 hours, then 48–72 hours.
Remind, reassure, then nudge. Message one is the cart. Message two answers objections (shipping times, returns, sizing). Only the last message, if any, carries an incentive.
Example subject line: "You left something in your cart"
4. Abandoned checkout
Trigger: started checkout, didn't place the order. Messages: 2–3, same rhythm as the cart flow. This is your highest-intent audience, so build it first.
Link straight back to the checkout. Spell out shipping costs, delivery times and payment options, because surprises at checkout are a common reason people bail. Exclude anyone in this flow from the abandoned cart flow so they don't get both.
Example subject line: "Your order is almost done: free shipping over $99"
5. Post-purchase: thank-you and how-to-use
Trigger: placed order. Messages: 2–4. A common starting point is a thank-you on day 0–1, then a how-to-use email timed to just after delivery.
Say thanks like a human. Then help them get value: care instructions, recipes, setup tips. Split first-time and repeat buyers; they need different messages.
Example subject line: "How to get the most out of your new pan"
6. Review request
Trigger: order fulfilled or delivered. Messages: 1–2. A common starting point is 7–14 days after delivery, once they've actually used it.
Make it a single tap to rate. Keep it short and ask one question.
Example subject line: "Quick one: how are you finding it?"
7. Cross-sell and replenishment
Trigger: placed order, with a delay timed to how long the product lasts. Messages: 1–3.
For consumables, time the reorder reminder to usage: a 30-day supply gets a nudge around day 21–25. For everything else, recommend the logical next product, such as the case after the phone strap or the refill after the starter kit. Our guide to Shopify bundles and upsells covers how to pick the pairing.
Example subject line: "Running low? Your refill is one tap away"
8. Winback (lapsed customers)
Trigger: no order in a set window, based on your usual repurchase cycle. A common starting point is around 1.5–2× your typical time between orders. Messages: 2–3.
Show what's new, remind them what they loved, then (only if needed) offer a reason to come back.
Example subject line: "It's been a while: here's what's new"
9. VIP and loyalty
Trigger: entering a segment such as 3+ orders or a lifetime spend threshold (for example, $500). Messages: 1–2, then ongoing perks.
Recognition first, perks second: early access, free shipping, a thank-you note. Your best customers don't need a discount to feel valued.
Example subject line: "You're on the early-access list now"
10. Back in stock
Trigger: a customer subscribes to a sold-out product's alert, then it's restocked. Messages: 1, maybe a follow-up if stock is still available.
Be fast and specific: product, variant, link. If quantities are limited, say so honestly.
Example subject line: "It's back in your size"
11. Price drop
Trigger: a product someone viewed or carted drops in price. Messages: 1.
Show the old and new price and the product image. That's it.
Example subject line: "The one you looked at just dropped to $79"
12. Sunset (list cleaning)
Trigger: no opens or clicks for an extended period. A common starting point is 90–180 days, depending on how often you send. Messages: 1–2.
Ask if they still want to hear from you. If they don't engage, suppress them. A smaller, engaged list protects your deliverability.
Example subject line: "Should we stop emailing you?"
Which flows to build first
Build the highest-intent flows first, then the retention flows. Here's a sensible order.
| Flow | Trigger | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome series | Joins list | Build first |
| Abandoned checkout | Started checkout, no order | Build first |
| Abandoned cart | Added to cart, no checkout | Build first |
| Post-purchase | Placed order | Build first |
| Browse abandonment | Viewed product, no add to cart | Next |
| Replenishment / cross-sell | Order + usage delay | Next |
| Winback | No order in set window | Next |
| Review request | Delivered + delay | Next |
| Back in stock | Restock of subscribed item | Later |
| VIP / loyalty | Enters VIP segment | Later |
| Price drop | Price falls on viewed item | Later |
| Sunset | Long-term unengaged | Later, but don't skip |
Flows bring people back. Your sale page has to convert them when they arrive. If clicks from your emails aren't turning into orders, the problem may be on-site, which is where conversion rate optimisation comes in.
Email vs SMS
Email is your default. SMS earns its place when the message is short, time-sensitive and genuinely wanted.
Good SMS jobs: abandoned checkout reminders, back-in-stock alerts, shipping updates, limited drops and replenishment nudges. Poor SMS jobs: brand stories, long product education, weekly newsletters.
- Keep it short. One idea, one link, under 160 characters where you can.
- Send less often than email. A text feels personal, so overdoing it feels intrusive.
- Get separate consent. Email consent doesn't cover SMS. Collect SMS opt-in on its own and make opting out easy (for example, reply STOP).
- Mind the clock. Use quiet hours based on the customer's time zone. Perth isn't Sydney.
In Klaviyo you can mix email and SMS in the same flow, then use a conditional split to send SMS only to people who opted in.
Personalise with zero-party data
Zero-party data is what customers tell you directly: their size, favourite flavour, the occasion they're shopping for, how often they use your product. It makes flows far more relevant than guessing from clicks.
The easiest way to collect it is a short quiz or a few guided questions on your sale page. Save each answer as a profile property in Klaviyo, then use it to segment and personalise. See our guide to building a Shopify product quiz for how to ask well.
Hypothetical examples of what that unlocks:
- Apparel: a customer says they're a size M and buy on drops. New-drop alerts go only to people with stock in their size.
- Beverage: a customer says they drink 1–2 cans a week and are switching from coffee. Their reorder reminder lands when their carton should be running low, not on a generic 30-day timer.
- Party supplies: a customer says they host long weekends for a crew of 10. A carton reminder lands the week before the next long weekend.
This is the idea behind Tap Vortex: we rebuild your sale page into a guided flow where each tap builds a customer profile. With our Klaviyo flows add-on (+$1,500), every answer is turned into email and SMS that sells.
Spam Act basics for Australian stores
Australia's Spam Act 2003 sets three core rules for commercial email and SMS: get consent, identify yourself and include a working unsubscribe.
- Consent. Express consent (they ticked the box or entered their details to subscribe) is the safe standard. Don't add people who never opted in, and never buy lists.
- Identify the sender. Every message must clearly show who it's from and how to contact you.
- Functional unsubscribe. Every commercial message needs an easy way to opt out, and opt-outs must be honoured promptly.
General information, not legal advice. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) enforces the Spam Act. Check its guidance, or talk to a lawyer, if you're unsure about your consent setup.
How to measure your flows
Judge flows on revenue and orders, not opens. Open rates have become unreliable as a performance signal because of privacy features in mail apps.
- Revenue per recipient (RPR). Flow revenue divided by the number of people who received it. It lets you compare flows of different sizes fairly.
- Placed order rate. The share of recipients who ordered. It shows whether the flow drives action.
- Holdout groups. Send the flow to most people and hold a small random group back. The gap in orders between the two shows the revenue the flow actually caused, not just credit it claimed for people who would have bought anyway.
Skip industry benchmarks. Compare each flow against its own past performance and its holdout. When you change timing, subject lines or offers, test one thing at a time. Our Shopify A/B testing guide covers how to run a fair test.
Common mistakes
Most flow problems come from three habits: discounting by default, missing exclusions and ignoring deliverability.
A discount in every email
If every abandoned cart gets 15% off, customers learn to abandon carts. Lead with reassurance and value. Save incentives for the final message, or for customers who need one. To grow revenue without eroding margin, look at increasing average order value instead.
No exclusions
Without flow filters, one customer can get a welcome email, a cart reminder and a winback offer in the same afternoon, each with a different discount. Add filters like "has not placed an order since starting this flow", exclude purchasers from abandonment flows and use smart sending to cap how often anyone hears from you.
Ignoring deliverability
If your emails land in spam, nothing else matters. Authenticate your sending domain, run a sunset flow, avoid sending to unengaged profiles and watch your bounce and spam complaint rates.
FAQ
What are the most important Klaviyo flows for a Shopify store?
Start with four: a welcome series, abandoned checkout, abandoned cart and a post-purchase flow. They catch customers at the moments of highest intent. Then add browse abandonment, replenishment or cross-sell, winback and a review request.
How many emails should an abandoned cart flow have?
A common starting point is two to three messages over about three days: a reminder within a few hours, a reassurance email around 24 hours later, and an optional final nudge. Test the timing and count against your own results.
Should every abandoned cart email include a discount?
No. Discounting every abandoned cart can train customers to wait for a code. Lead with a reminder and answers to common objections, and keep any incentive for the final message or for customers who need one.
Do I need separate consent for SMS in Australia?
Yes, treat SMS consent as separate from email consent. Under the Spam Act 2003, commercial messages need consent, must identify the sender and must include a working way to opt out. This is general information, not legal advice.
How do I know if my Klaviyo flows are working?
Track revenue per recipient and placed order rate for each flow, and use a holdout group to see how many orders the flow actually caused. Compare each flow against its own history rather than industry benchmarks.