[ Guide ]

Klaviyo flows
for Shopify.
Built properly.

Flows are the automated emails and texts that send when a customer does something: signs up, starts a checkout, places an order or goes quiet. Built once and maintained properly, they keep earning while your team works on everything else. Here’s the core set we build for Shopify brands, what good looks like, and the problems we see most often.

1. Welcome series

Trigger: someone joins your list through a sign-up form.

The welcome series makes the strongest first impression of anything you send, because people are paying attention right after they sign up. A good one introduces the brand, explains what makes the product worth buying and answers the questions that stop a first order. It also branches: people who buy part-way through should leave the series and move to post-purchase messages, not keep getting “still thinking about it?” emails.

Common gap: a single email with a discount code, then nothing until the next campaign.

2. Abandoned checkout

Trigger: Klaviyo’s Checkout Started event from Shopify.

These people got as far as entering their details, so they’re the closest to buying of anyone you email. The flow should show exactly what they left, deal with the likely reasons for hesitating (delivery cost, returns, sizing) and stop the moment they order. In Klaviyo, that means a flow filter of Placed Order zero times since starting this flow.

Common gap: no exit filter, so customers who’ve already paid get a reminder about the basket they just bought.

3. Browse abandonment

Trigger: Viewed Product, for visitors Klaviyo can identify.

A lighter touch than checkout recovery: a reminder of what they looked at, plus related products or reviews. It needs a frequency limit so frequent browsers aren’t emailed every visit, and should exclude anyone already in the checkout flow.

Common gap: onsite tracking isn’t installed properly, so the flow barely triggers.

4. Post-purchase

Trigger: Placed Order, with different paths for first-time and repeat customers.

This is where a second order comes from. First-time buyers need reassurance and help getting the most from what they bought. Repeat customers need something different. For anything that runs out, a replenishment message timed to how long the product actually lasts can be the most useful email you send.

Common gap: one generic thank-you email for every order, from every customer.

5. Win-back

Trigger: time since last order, set to your own repurchase cycle.

A customer who usually reorders every six weeks and hasn’t in twelve needs a different message from someone who bought once a year ago. Use your own order data to set the timing, not a template default.

Common gap: a 90-day timer copied from a template, whatever the product.

6. Sunset

Trigger: a long stretch with no opens, clicks or orders.

Not glamorous, but it protects everything else. A short last-chance sequence, then suppression for people who don’t respond. Mailing people who never engage tells Gmail and Outlook your mail isn’t wanted, and that pushes your campaigns towards spam for everyone.

Common gap: no sunset at all, with a list that only grows and inbox placement that slowly gets worse.

What ties them together

• Exit filters everywhere. Every flow should know when its job is done.
• Overlap rules. Smart Sending and flow filters stop one person getting three emails on the same day from three different flows.
• Discounts used on purpose. If every message carries a code, customers learn to wait for one.
• SMS where it earns its place. Short, time-sensitive and only sent to people who’ve explicitly agreed to texts.
• Regular reviews. Flows go stale. Products change, links break and offers expire. We check performance every month and test changes one at a time.

Not sure which of these you have, or whether they’re working? That’s the first thing the free audit looks at.