The complete guide to Klaviyo flows for e-commerce

Most e-commerce brands leave 30% of their potential email revenue on the table. They've got Klaviyo installed, they're sending campaigns, but their flow setup is either non-existent or half-finished. Klaviyo flows — the automated sequences triggered by customer behaviour — are where the real money lives. A properly built flow library runs 24/7, converting browsers into buyers and buyers into repeat customers without you lifting a finger.

This guide covers the five flows every e-commerce brand must have. If you're running less than these five, you're bleeding revenue.

Why flows matter more than campaigns

Campaigns are what you send to your full list when you launch something new or run a sale. Flows are what fire automatically based on what someone does on your site or in their purchase history.

The difference in performance is stark. A good campaign might convert 2-4% of recipients. A properly optimised abandoned cart flow converts 10-15%. A welcome series converts 8-12%. Post-purchase flows generate 15-25% of a customer's lifetime value.

Flows work because they're timely and relevant. Someone abandons their cart, they get an email 4 hours later reminding them. Someone makes their first purchase, they immediately enter a sequence designed to get them back for purchase two. The message matches the moment.

Before we dig into each flow, run the free email program audit to see where your current setup stands. It'll score your flows against industry benchmarks and flag what's missing.

Flow 1: Welcome series

Your welcome flow starts the second someone subscribes. First impressions matter — this is your chance to set expectations, deliver on whatever you promised, and make the first sale.

Structure: 3-5 emails over 7-14 days

Email 1 (send immediately): Deliver the signup incentive. If you promised 15% off, give them the code in the subject line. Include 3-4 bestselling products they can use it on. Keep the copy short — they're here for the discount, not your origin story. Conversion rate on this email should be 8-15%.

Email 2 (send 2-3 days later): Social proof and bestsellers. Show your most popular products with review snippets. Include 2-3 customer testimonials. Remind them their welcome discount is still active. This email converts another 3-5% who weren't ready to buy immediately.

Email 3 (send 5-7 days later): Brand story and values. Now that you've shown them products twice, tell them why you exist. Keep it concrete — nobody cares that you're passionate, they care what problem you solve. End with a handful of products that demonstrate your mission.

Email 4 (send 10-12 days later, optional): Last chance on the welcome offer. Create urgency. "Your 15% expires in 48 hours" as the subject line. Show cart value at different discount levels to push average order value higher.

Email 5 (send 14 days later, optional for higher AOV brands): Transition to full-price selling. The discount is gone. Now sell on quality, reviews, or a specific use case. This email trains them that not every email will have a promotion.

Add a flow filter to stop sending if someone makes a purchase — they should immediately jump to the post-purchase flow instead.

Flow 2: Abandoned cart recovery

Your abandoned cart flow is typically the highest-revenue automation in Klaviyo. Average cart abandonment rate is 70%. Recovering even 10% of those carts is significant money.

Structure: 3-4 emails over 24-48 hours

Email 1 (send 4 hours after abandonment): Simple reminder. Subject line: "You left something behind" or "Still interested?" Show exactly what's in their cart with product images, names, and prices. One-click link back to their cart. No discount yet — 30-40% of people who'll buy don't need one.

Email 2 (send 24 hours after abandonment): Add urgency or social proof. Show review stars for the products in cart. Mention low stock if relevant (but only if genuinely true). Include a soft CTA about "items selling fast" without lying about inventory. Converts another 25-35% of eventual converters.

Email 3 (send 48 hours after abandonment): Discount or incentive. "Complete your order and save 10%" or free shipping. This is where you trade margin for conversion. Test 10% vs free shipping vs a dollar amount. Include an expiry (24-48 hours). Converts the final 20-30% who were price-sensitive.

Email 4 (send 72 hours after abandonment, optional): Last chance. "Your cart expires tonight" or "Final reminder." Reiterate the discount. Some brands skip this if they worry about training customers to wait for discounts.

Exclude anyone who's purchased since abandoning — Klaviyo's default filters handle this. Also consider excluding your welcome discount takers for 14 days so you're not double-discounting.

Flow 3: Abandoned browse recovery

Abandoned browse targets people who viewed products but never added to cart. The audience is 5-10x larger than cart abandoners but intent is lower. Conversion rates run 1-3% instead of 10-15%, but volume makes it worthwhile.

Structure: 2 emails over 24 hours

Email 1 (send 4-6 hours after browse): Show them what they looked at. "Still thinking about [product name]?" as the subject. Display the viewed product with a clear image, price, and 2-3 key features. Include 2-3 related products in case the first one wasn't quite right. Don't offer a discount — you're still qualifying intent.

Email 2 (send 24 hours after browse): Social proof and urgency. Show reviews for the product they viewed. Add a soft urgency line like "popular item" or "low stock" if true. Some brands add a small discount (5-10%) here, others keep it full price. Test what works for your margin and customer base.

Keep the trigger threshold sensible. Set it to fire after someone views 2-3 products or spends 90+ seconds on a product page. Otherwise you'll email everyone who accidentally landed on a product page from Google.

Flow 4: Post-purchase sequence

The post-purchase flow is criminally underused. Most brands send a single "thanks for your order" email and stop. That's leaving money on the table.

Structure: 3-5 emails over 30-45 days

Email 1 (send immediately): Order confirmation. This is transactional, not marketing, but it's your highest open rate (80-90%). Include tracking info, what they bought, expected delivery. Optionally add a subtle cross-sell: "customers who bought X also loved Y."

Email 2 (send when item delivers, or 7 days after purchase): Product tips and usage. How to get the most from what they bought. If you sell skincare, explain the routine. If you sell coffee, share brewing tips. Include a "how's it going?" CTA that gathers feedback.

Email 3 (send 14 days after purchase): Review request. "How's your [product name] working out?" Direct link to leave a review. Offer a small incentive (entry in a draw, loyalty points) if needed. Reviews are social proof that feed back into every other flow.

Email 4 (send 30 days after purchase): Replenishment or complement. For consumables, remind them they're likely running low. For durables, suggest a complementary product. "You bought the skillet, here's the lid" type logic. Conversion rate here is 5-8% because they already trust you.

Email 5 (send 45 days after purchase, optional): Referral or loyalty program. Now that they've used the product and hopefully love it, ask them to refer a friend or join your loyalty program. This turns customers into advocates.

Segment the flow based on first-time vs repeat buyers. First-timers need more hand-holding and brand education. Repeat buyers can skip straight to replenishment and cross-sell.

Flow 5: Win-back for dormant customers

The win-back flow re-engages customers who've gone quiet. It's typically the last flow brands build, but it shouldn't be — reactivating an old customer is 5x cheaper than acquiring a new one.

Structure: 2-4 emails over 30-60 days

Trigger: Someone who's purchased before but hasn't bought in 90-180 days (adjust based on your natural purchase cycle).

Email 1 (send when they hit the dormancy threshold): "We miss you." Acknowledge the absence without being needy. Show 3-4 new products they haven't seen. No discount yet — test if they'll come back at full price.

Email 2 (send 14 days later): Incentive to return. "Here's 15% off to welcome you back." Make the offer time-limited (7-14 days). Show bestsellers or new arrivals. Conversion rate on this email is typically 3-5%.

Email 3 (send 30 days later if still no purchase): Last chance. "Your 15% expires in 48 hours" or "One more try." Reiterate the discount. Some brands make this the final email before suppressing the contact.

Email 4 (send 60 days later, optional): Feedback request. "We noticed you haven't been back — what can we do better?" This is a Hail Mary. It converts less than 1% but occasionally saves a relationship. Some brands skip it and just suppress after email 3.

Add flow filters to exit people immediately if they make a purchase. Also suppress anyone who's unsubscribed or marked you as spam — don't burn bridges trying to win someone back who's clearly done.

Setting up your flow library in Klaviyo

If you're starting from scratch, build in this order: abandoned cart, welcome, post-purchase, abandoned browse, win-back. Cart abandonment has the shortest payback period.

Each flow needs a trigger, a series of time delays, the emails, and smart filters to prevent overlap. Klaviyo's Smart Sending setting (under flow settings) prevents someone from getting more than one flow email in a 16-hour window — turn this on.

Test your flows before going live. Klaviyo's preview mode lets you trigger yourself through a flow to see timing and content. Check mobile rendering — 60-70% of opens happen on mobile.

Monitor flow performance weekly for the first month, then monthly after that. Key metrics: open rate, click rate, conversion rate, and revenue per recipient. If a flow isn't generating at least 15% of email revenue within 90 days, something's wrong.

Run our email program audit to benchmark your current flow setup against e-commerce averages. It'll flag what's missing and where you're underperforming.

Common mistakes that kill flow performance

Discounting too early. Don't offer 15% off in the first abandoned cart email. You're training customers to abandon carts and wait. Test full-price reminders first.

Ignoring mobile. If your product images don't render properly on mobile or your CTA buttons are too small, you're losing 60% of potential conversions. Test every email on a phone before launching.

Forgetting flow filters. Someone in your welcome series shouldn't also be in abandoned cart. Use Klaviyo's flow filters to create mutually exclusive sequences based on purchase status and flow membership.

Writing like a robot. "Dear valued customer" and "We hope this email finds you well" kill engagement. Write like you're texting a friend about a product you genuinely think they'll like.

Not reviewing performance. Flows aren't set-and-forget. Creative fatigues, offers stop working, products sell out. Review monthly and refresh underperforming emails.

What to do next

If you've built all five flows, you're ahead of 80% of e-commerce brands. The next level is segmentation — splitting flows based on customer value, product category, or acquisition source.

High-value customers might skip the discount in abandoned cart. Someone who bought Category A might see different post-purchase cross-sells than someone who bought Category B. Acquired from Google might need more education than acquired from Instagram.

If you're unsure where your setup stands or want help building these flows, get in touch. We build and optimise Klaviyo flow libraries for Australian e-commerce brands.