Which Klaviyo flows should my Shopify store have?
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Starts when someone joins your newsletter list, from a signup form, popup or the footer.
Starts when a known shopper begins checkout and does not finish.
Starts when a known shopper views a product and leaves without adding it to the cart.
Starts when an order is placed.
Starts when a shopper who asked to be told about a sold-out product sees it restocked.
Starts when a past customer has not ordered for longer than your usual repeat cycle.
Starts when a subscriber has not opened or clicked for a long stretch.
Tick each item as you set it up in Klaviyo. Progress and the next flow to build show here.
The seven flows, and what starts each one
A Klaviyo flow checklist lists the automated email sequences a Shopify store usually runs, from the welcome series to the sunset flow, and the settings each one needs before it is switched on, so a store with only a welcome email live has one of seven flows started and six still to build.
A working list, not an audit: it cannot see your Klaviyo account and nothing you tick leaves this page. The flow names follow Klaviyo terms, so each item maps to a setting you can find in the flow builder.
7 flows and 30 setup items, in the order we suggest building them. A flow sends on its own once a shopper does something, so each one is described here by what sets it off.
- Welcome series
- Starts when someone joins your newsletter list, from a signup form, popup or the footer.
- Abandoned checkout
- Starts when a known shopper begins checkout and does not finish.
- Browse abandonment
- Starts when a known shopper views a product and leaves without adding it to the cart.
- Post-purchase
- Starts when an order is placed.
- Back in stock
- Starts when a shopper who asked to be told about a sold-out product sees it restocked.
- Win-back
- Starts when a past customer has not ordered for longer than your usual repeat cycle.
- Sunset
- Starts when a subscriber has not opened or clicked for a long stretch.
Nudgesmart is available on the Shopify App Store. Browse the template library or see what it costs.
Four stores at different stages
Invented store situations, not real accounts. Each row is ticked into the same checklist the tool above runs, so the counts and the next flow come from the same function.
| Store situation | Items ticked | Flows complete | Next up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just connected Klaviyo, only the default welcome email switched on | 2 of 30 | 0 of 7 | Welcome series, 3 to go |
| Welcome and abandoned checkout fully built, nothing else | 10 of 30 | 2 of 7 | Browse abandonment, 4 to go |
| Four flows built, win-back half done, no sunset flow | 21 of 30 | 4 of 7 | Back in stock, 4 to go |
| Every flow built and checked | 30 of 30 | 7 of 7 | Review each flow as the store changes |
What a ticked box does not prove
Built is not the same as sending
A flow can be complete and still in draft or manual mode. After ticking the last box, check that each flow is set to live and that a test profile moves through it.
The order is a suggestion
Welcome first, because every other flow needs people on the list. After that, a store with many sold-out products may want back in stock before browse abandonment. There is no single right sequence.
Delays and windows are yours to set
No item names a number of hours or days. How long to wait before a reminder, and when a customer counts as lapsed, depend on what the store sells and how often people reorder.
Consent sits outside this list
Who may receive marketing email depends on where the store sells and how consent was collected. The checklist assumes consent is handled; it does not check it.
Nothing here is saved
Ticks live in this browser tab only and are gone on reload. Nothing is stored or sent, so work through it with the Klaviyo account open beside it.
Klaviyo flow questions
Which Klaviyo flows should a Shopify store set up first?
The welcome series, because it is the one that turns a new signup into a first order, and every other flow depends on having people to send to. Abandoned checkout usually comes second, then post-purchase, browse abandonment and back in stock.
What is the difference between abandoned checkout and browse abandonment?
Abandoned checkout starts when a known shopper begins checkout and leaves; browse abandonment starts when they only look at a product. The first shopper was close to buying, so it usually gets more emails. The second gets one light reminder.
Why does a sunset flow matter?
Profiles that never open still count toward every send. Asking them once whether they want to stay, then suppressing the ones who do not answer, keeps campaigns going to people who read them.
Do these flows need a Shopify integration in Klaviyo?
Abandoned checkout, post-purchase, win-back and back in stock all rely on store events such as checkouts, orders and inventory, which come from connecting the Shopify store to Klaviyo. Browse abandonment also needs the onsite tracking snippet.
Where do welcome series subscribers come from?
From any signup point on the store: a popup, the footer form, a checkout checkbox or a landing page. The welcome flow has to be triggered by the list those forms actually add people to.
Every flow starts with someone joining the list.
Nudgesmart builds the popup that adds people to the list. Klaviyo is one of its listed integrations, on paid plans.
