Mastering Klaviyo & Shopify Flows: A 2025 Guide for E‑Commerce Success

In 2025 the competition for e‑commerce customers is fierce. With online sales expected to grow from $6 trillion to over $8 trillion by 2026, brands must do more than blast occasional newsletters. Researchers continue to find that email remains the preferred channel for customer communications—55 % of consumers who prefer a digital channel say email is their favourite, while only 17 % prefer SMS. For e‑commerce brands this means building personalised, automated experiences that meet customers where they are.

This guide explains how Klaviyo flows, when paired with a Shopify store, create sophisticated email and SMS journeys that increase revenue and strengthen customer relationships. You’ll learn what flows are, why they matter, which flows to prioritise in 2025 and the best practices our agency uses to get results.

What Are Klaviyo Flows?

Flows are automated sequences of messages triggered by customer behaviour or events. Klaviyo describes them as drip campaigns that build the “ultimate customer journey” by sending targeted messages in response to real‑time data. Unlike one‑off campaigns, flows run continuously and adapt to actions such as adding to a list, joining a segment, making a purchase or viewing a product. Klaviyo’s Flow Library includes more than 60 pre‑built flows, and its drag‑and‑drop builder makes it easy to customize them for your brand.

Triggers drive flows. Klaviyo groups triggers into six categories:

• Added to list – a new subscriber joins your email list.
• Added to segment – a contact meets segment criteria (e.g., repeat customer).
• Metrics – actions such as viewing a product, starting checkout or placing an order.
• Date property – birthdays or anniversaries.
• Price drop – a product on a customer’s wish list goes on sale.
• Low inventory – stock levels drop on an item the customer viewed or has in their cart.

Flows can also be split by factors such as cart value, VIP status, new vs. returning customers, location and more. This flexibility enables highly personalised journeys that adapt to each shopper’s behaviour.

Why Flows Matter for E‑Commerce Brands

Automating the customer lifecycle

Flow automations are the foundation of an effective email strategy. By triggering messages before, during and after a purchase, they create a system that supports the entire customer journey and improves deliverability. Instead of manual campaigns that risk hitting the spam folder or being forgotten, flows send timely, relevant messages that build trust and strengthen your sending reputation.

Unlocking revenue potential

High‑performing flows consistently deliver a large share of email revenue. For example, checkout‑abandoned flows and welcome series can generate 20–50 % of total flow revenue. Automated reminders capture shoppers who almost purchased, while welcome series ensure that new subscribers engage immediately. When combined with post‑purchase nurturing, cross‑selling and VIP rewards, flows become a powerful driver of repeat business.

Meeting customers’ preferences

Consumers still want brands to contact them via email, but they also appreciate relevant text messages. Klaviyo’s cross‑channel capabilities allow brands to blend email, SMS and push notifications in a single flow, ensuring messages reach customers through their preferred channel without overwhelming them.

The Top Klaviyo Flows for 2025

A robust automation strategy isn’t about sending hundreds of emails—it’s about choosing the right flows and optimizing them. Below are the flows our agency recommends for most Shopify‑based e‑commerce brands in 2025.

1. Welcome Series (List Trigger)

• Purpose: Engage new subscribers, introduce your brand and set expectations.
• Why it matters: A well‑timed welcome series creates a strong first impression and often delivers high conversion rates. Klaviyo’s template sends three emails over four days: immediately, day 3 and day 4.
• Best practices: Offer a discount or free shipping as a thank‑you, tell your brand story and provide educational content or tutorials. Use segmentation to customize messages based on signup source.

2. Abandoned Cart / Checkout Abandonment (Metric Trigger)

• Purpose: Recover shoppers who added items to their cart or started checkout but didn’t complete the purchase.
• Why it matters: Up to 25 % of shoppers abandon during checkout, and the checkout abandonment flow is often the single largest revenue‑generating flow.
• Best practices: Include product images, direct checkout links and conversion assets like unique selling points, social proof, discount incentives and scarcity. Adjust timing based on product value—shorter delays for low‑priced items and longer delays for high‑ticket products. Use conditional splits to offer discounts only to first‑time or high‑value customers.
• Pro tip: Separate Add‑to‑Cart flows from browse abandonment; treat shoppers who added an item to their cart differently from those who merely browsed. Use profile tags to prevent people from entering multiple flows simultaneously.

3. Browse Abandonment (Metric Trigger)

• Purpose: Remind visitors about products they viewed without adding them to the cart.
• Why it matters: These shoppers showed interest but hesitated. A personalized message can address concerns and convert them.
• Best practices: Go beyond a simple “You looked at this” message. Tackle common objections, add customer reviews and highlight your refund policy. Test sending two or three emails; A/B test additional messages to see if a third email improves conversions.

4. Post‑Purchase & Cross‑Sell (Metric Trigger)

• Purpose: Confirm orders, enhance the customer experience and encourage repeat purchases.
• Why it matters: The relationship begins after the sale. Too many brands limit post‑purchase flows to order confirmations and shipping notifications. Effective flows tell the brand story and cross‑sell complementary products.
• Best practices: Send an order confirmation and estimated delivery first. Follow up with a thank‑you email that shares your mission and behind‑the‑scenes content. Include product recommendations and a review request once the order is delivered. Create splits for new vs. repeat customers and offer larger incentives to your loyal buyers.

5. VIP / High‑Value Customer Flow (Segment Trigger)

• Purpose: Reward high‑spending customers with exclusive perks to strengthen loyalty.
• Why it matters: These customers drive a disproportionate share of revenue. Klaviyo allows you to build segments based on lifetime value, purchase frequency and more.
• Best practices: Offer early access to new products, special discounts and personalized experiences. Consider gating VIP flows to customers with a minimum spend threshold.

6. Win‑Back / Re‑Engagement (Metric Trigger)

• Purpose: Bring back customers who haven’t purchased in a while.
• Why it matters: It costs less to retain a customer than acquire a new one. Klaviyo’s default win‑back template sends the first email 75 days after a purchase, but the timing should match your product cycle (e.g., sooner for consumables). Limit win‑back series to three emails and end with a final call to action.
• Best practices: Highlight best‑sellers, offer limited‑time deals and showcase new arrivals. For consumable products, create a separate replenishment flow to remind customers to reorder.

7. Price‑Drop & Back‑In‑Stock Flows (Price Drop & Metric Triggers)

• Purpose: Alert subscribers when items they viewed go on sale or return to stock.
• Why it matters: These flows tap into purchase intent and urgency. Klaviyo’s pre‑built templates for price‑drop reminders and back‑in‑stock notifications make them easy to set up.
• Best practices: Pair price‑drop emails with dynamic product blocks showing the discounted items. For back‑in‑stock, emphasise scarcity to encourage quick purchases.

8. Product Review Requests (Metric Trigger)

• Purpose: Collect customer reviews and social proof for your products.
• Why it matters: Authentic reviews build trust and improve conversion rates. Klaviyo’s review request flow triggers after an item is delivered and allows you to ask custom questions (e.g., “How was the fit?” or “Would you recommend this product?”).
• Best practices: Incentivise reviews with a discount or loyalty points and send a follow‑up reminder if the customer doesn’t respond.

9. Sunset Flow (Segment Trigger)

• Purpose: Remove disengaged subscribers to maintain list hygiene and deliverability.
• Why it matters: Sending emails to unengaged contacts hurts your reputation and can land you in spam folders. A sunset flow offers a final chance to re‑engage before removing subscribers.
• Best practices: Define an inactivity segment (e.g., no opens or purchases for 180 days), send a re‑engagement message and gracefully allow subscribers to opt out. Sending to past profiles beyond new members is optional.

Best Practices for Setting Up Klaviyo Flows

1. Personalise everything. Use dynamic content to insert names, product details and tailored offers. Segmentation and AI‑driven predictive analytics help you target the right message to the right person.
2. Optimise timing and frequency. Don’t send too many messages or you risk fatigue; send too few and you’ll lose engagement. A/B test send times and delays to find the sweet spot.
3. Leverage A/B testing. Experiment with subject lines, content, discounts and design. Klaviyo tracks variations and can automatically pick winners based on click or open rates.
4. Use AI and predictive metrics. Klaviyo’s AI can calculate customer lifetime value, churn risk and predicted next order date. Use these insights to trigger VIP offers, win‑back emails or replenishment reminders.
5. Ensure compliance. Follow GDPR and CAN‑SPAM rules, provide clear unsubscribe options and respect SMS opt‑in requirements. Maintaining list hygiene through sunset flows helps keep deliverability high.
6. Integrate across channels. Combine email, SMS and push notifications within a single flow. Trigger SMS messages only when appropriate (e.g., for time‑sensitive cart reminders) to avoid overwhelming subscribers.

Integrating Klaviyo with Shopify

Klaviyo is purpose‑built for e‑commerce and has a dedicated Shopify app. Once integrated, it can dynamically pull products a shopper browsed or added to their cart into emails and sync customer data for advanced segmentation. Real‑time events like product views, checkout starts and orders placed trigger flows automatically, while metrics such as cart value and repeat purchases enable personalized offers.

Shopify Plus users can go further by combining Shopify Flow automation with Klaviyo. For example, when an order is placed on Shopify, a Klaviyo post‑purchase sequence can trigger automatically. Third‑party apps like Yotpo (reviews), Recharge (subscriptions) and Attentive (SMS) also plug into Klaviyo, expanding your automation ecosystem.

How Our Agency Can Help

Our agency specialises exclusively in email and SMS marketing for Shopify brands using Klaviyo. We don’t just set up flows—we design and optimize them to maximize revenue and brand loyalty. Whether you need a high‑converting welcome series, a sophisticated post‑purchase nurture or an AI‑powered VIP program, we have the experience to build flows that align with your customer journey and brand voice. We also ensure compliance, manage deliverability and provide detailed analytics so you know what’s working.

Ready to unlock the full potential of Klaviyo flows? Get in touch for a free consultation and see how strategic automation can transform your e‑commerce business.

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