Klaviyo Flows Setup Checklist: The 7 Automations Every Brand Needs Live
Flows are where Klaviyo earns its reputation. A well-built set of automations runs continuously in the background, capturing revenue from subscriber behaviour 24 hours a day — without requiring a campaign send or a manual decision. For most e-commerce brands, flows should contribute 30–50% of total email-attributed revenue.
This checklist covers the 7 automations every brand should have live. For each, you’ll find the trigger, the structure, timing recommendations, and the key content elements that make the flow actually convert.
Flow 1: Welcome Series
Trigger: List subscribe (subscribes to your master marketing list)
Number of emails: 4–5
Total sequence duration: 7–10 days
Why it matters
The welcome series is your highest-engagement window. New subscribers have the highest open rates of any audience — they’ve just opted in and they’re paying attention. A strong welcome series converts new subscribers into first-time buyers at a rate that no later-stage flow can match.
Sequence structure
Email 1 — Welcome (send immediately): Deliver on whatever you promised in the sign-up form (discount code, lead magnet, or simply a strong welcome). Introduce your brand story and value proposition concisely. Include a soft CTA to your best-selling products.
Email 2 — Social proof (day 2): Show reviews, testimonials, or UGC. Highlight customer outcomes. Reinforce that buying from you was the right decision (even before they’ve bought). The goal is trust-building.
Email 3 — Brand story or education (day 4): Go deeper on what makes your brand different. For product-led brands, this is often about ingredients, process, or mission. For fashion or lifestyle brands, it’s about aesthetic and community. Help the subscriber feel like they belong here.
Email 4 — Offer with urgency (day 7): If you’re using a first-purchase discount, this is where it pays off. Make the offer clear, create genuine urgency with a deadline (3–5 days), and reduce friction with multiple clear CTAs.
Email 5 — Final call (day 9–10): One last reminder before the offer expires. Keep it short. A “last chance” subject line works well here. After this email, subscribers who haven’t purchased should transition into your regular campaign audience.
Key content elements
- Brand photography in email 1 that establishes visual tone
- Specific review quotes (not generic star ratings) in email 2
- A founder or brand voice element in email 3 — something human
- A genuine deadline on the offer — vague urgency (“while stocks last”) doesn’t work
Flow 2: Abandoned Checkout
Trigger: Checkout Started event (Klaviyo receives this automatically via Shopify/WooCommerce integration)
Number of emails: 3
Total sequence duration: 72 hours
Why it matters
Abandoned checkout typically delivers around 15% of total email-attributed revenue for brands with it properly configured. It recovers commercial intent that would otherwise be lost entirely.
Sequence structure
Email 1 — Cart reminder (1 hour after abandonment): Simple, direct. Show the abandoned products with a clear CTA back to the checkout. No discount at this stage — you’re recovering people who intended to buy. Include a strong subject line referencing the specific product.
Email 2 — Objection handling (24 hours after abandonment): Address the most common reason your specific customers abandon. For fashion: sizing uncertainty — mention your returns policy. For supplements: ingredient questions — link to your FAQ. For higher-ticket items: payment options — highlight buy now pay later. Tailor this to your category.
Email 3 — Incentive (72 hours after abandonment): If they’ve received two reminders and still haven’t converted, offer a meaningful but bounded incentive — free shipping or a small discount. Make it clear this is the final reminder. After this, move on.
Key content elements
- Dynamic product block showing abandoned items (requires Shopify integration)
- Direct checkout link (not just homepage link — use the checkout URL property)
- Genuine objection handling specific to your product category
- Social proof elements (reviews of the specific abandoned product if available)
Important trigger filter: Exclude anyone who has completed a purchase in the last 24 hours. Without this, you’ll send abandoned cart emails to people who bought on a different device.
Flow 3: Browse Abandonment
Trigger: Viewed Product event, with a 4–6 hour delay
Number of emails: 1–2
Total sequence duration: 24–48 hours
Why it matters
Browse abandonment catches earlier-funnel intent — the subscriber who looked at products but didn’t add to cart. It won’t convert at abandoned checkout rates, but for high-traffic brands it adds meaningful incremental revenue.
Sequence structure
Email 1 — Product reminder (4–6 hours after browse): Remind the subscriber of the product they viewed. Feature social proof specific to that product. Keep it light — they didn’t add to cart, so you’re nurturing curiosity rather than recovering a transaction.
Email 2 — Category or bestsellers (24 hours later, optional): If they still haven’t converted, broaden the recommendation — show other products in the category they viewed, or your overall bestsellers. This catches browsers who were interested in the category but not the specific product.
Key trigger filters
Exclude: anyone who started a checkout or made a purchase in the last 24–48 hours. Exclude: anyone currently in the abandoned checkout flow. Without these filters, you’ll double-send and create a poor subscriber experience.
Flow 4: Post-Purchase Sequence
Trigger: Placed Order event
Number of emails: 3–4 (separate from your ESP’s transactional order confirmation)
Total sequence duration: 14–21 days
Why it matters
The post-purchase window is high-trust, high-attention. The customer just bought. They like your brand. A thoughtful post-purchase sequence builds loyalty, generates reviews, and drives repeat purchases.
Sequence structure
Email 1 — Onboarding (day 2–3): Help the customer get the most out of what they bought. For skincare: a usage guide. For fitness: a getting-started routine. For fashion: styling suggestions. This email builds confidence in the purchase and reduces returns and regret.
Email 2 — Review request (day 7): Ask for a review at the point of maximum satisfaction — when the product has arrived and they’ve had a chance to try it. Make it easy (direct link to your review platform). Thank them for being a customer.
Email 3 — Cross-sell (day 14–21): Recommend complementary products based on what they purchased. “Customers who bought X often love Y” is a proven frame. This email should feel like a helpful recommendation, not a promotional blast.
Email 4 — Loyalty or referral prompt (day 21+, optional): For brands with loyalty programmes or referral schemes, post-purchase is the right moment to introduce them. The customer is satisfied — now give them a reason to advocate.
Flow filter
Set a frequency cap so customers who buy again before completing the flow aren’t sent redundant content.
Flow 5: Win-Back
Trigger: Time since last purchase exceeds your threshold (typically 90–120 days, adjusted for your purchase cycle)
Number of emails: 3
Total sequence duration: 14 days
Why it matters
A lapsed customer is worth more than a new prospect — you’ve already paid their acquisition cost. Win-back converts a meaningful percentage of them back into active buyers.
Sequence structure
Email 1 — We miss you (day 1): Acknowledge the absence without being needy. Lead with your best offer — if you have a discount to deploy, this is the right moment. Remind them of what’s new or what’s changed since they last shopped.
Email 2 — What’s new (day 7): If they didn’t re-engage on email 1, try a different angle: new arrivals, new formulations, new stockists, or a product they haven’t tried yet. Make it feel like there’s a genuine reason to come back.
Email 3 — Last chance (day 14): Brief and direct. “This is our last message to you unless you’d like to stay” is a legitimate frame — it creates urgency without being aggressive. After this email, move non-responders to your suppressed list.
Flow 6: Sunset Flow
Trigger: No email engagement (no open or click) in the last 150–180 days
Number of emails: 2–3
Total sequence duration: 10–14 days
Why it matters
Sending to chronically disengaged subscribers hurts your deliverability. The sunset flow makes one last attempt to re-engage before formally suppressing the profile — protecting your sender reputation while giving every subscriber a fair chance.
Sequence structure
Email 1 — Re-engagement (day 1): A direct acknowledgement: “We’ve noticed you haven’t opened our emails recently.” Give them a compelling reason to stay — your best content, a one-time offer, or simply a clear statement of what they’re subscribed to. Include an unsubscribe CTA — making it easy to opt out is a feature here, not a bug.
Email 2 — Final confirmation (day 7): “We’re cleaning up our list and want to make sure you still want to hear from us.” A single clear CTA: “Yes, keep me subscribed.” If they don’t click, move them to suppression.
Suppression endpoint: After the sequence, mark all non-responders as suppressed. Do not continue sending to them. This is not a loss — it’s list hygiene that protects your inbox placement for everyone else.
Flow 7: Replenishment (for Consumable Products)
Trigger: Placed Order event for a specific product category, with a time delay based on typical product lifespan
Number of emails: 1–2
Total sequence duration: 7–14 days (centred around the reorder window)
Why it matters
If you sell anything that gets used up — skincare, supplements, coffee, cleaning products, pet food — a replenishment flow is one of the highest-ROI automations you can build. You’re contacting a satisfied customer at exactly the moment they need to reorder.
Sequence structure
Email 1 — Running low reminder (timed to 80% of product lifespan): “Your [product] should be running low about now.” Include a direct reorder CTA. If you have a subscription option, this is a strong moment to introduce it.
Email 2 — Post-reorder window prompt (optional): If they haven’t reordered within a week of the reminder, a second nudge with a small incentive (free shipping, 10% off their reorder) converts the holdouts.
Timing calibration
The trigger timing depends on your product. A 30-day supply of vitamins needs a reminder around day 25. A moisturiser that typically lasts 60 days needs a reminder around day 50. Check your average reorder timing in Klaviyo’s predictive analytics to calibrate accurately.
Building Your Flows in Priority Order
Not every brand needs all 7 live on day one. The launch priority order for a new Klaviyo account is:
- Welcome Series (highest engagement window)
- Abandoned Checkout (highest immediate revenue impact)
- Post-Purchase (builds repeat purchase rate)
- Browse Abandonment (incremental revenue, relatively quick to build)
- Win-Back (longer-cycle value recovery)
- Sunset Flow (deliverability protection)
- Replenishment (only relevant for consumable brands)
At Excelohunt, we build all 7 flows with custom content, proper trigger logic, and performance tracking built in from the start. If you’d like your flows built properly and live quickly, let’s talk.
Related Excelohunt Services
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