Klaviyo is the email marketing tool most DTC Shopify brands converge on eventually. It has deeper Shopify data integration than Mailchimp, more flexibility than Shopify's native email tools, and a free tier that works for brands under 250 subscribers. Here's how to set it up correctly from the start.
Connecting Klaviyo to Shopify
The integration is straightforward: create a Klaviyo account, go to Integrations in Klaviyo, find Shopify, and enter your Shopify store URL. Klaviyo installs a snippet in your theme and starts pulling data from Shopify automatically.
What the integration syncs:
- Customer profiles - name, email, order history
- Product catalogue - for use in dynamic email content
- Shopify events - orders placed, cart abandonment, product viewed, checkout started
- Segment data - customer tags, purchase frequency, lifetime value
One important check after connecting: verify that the Klaviyo snippet is loading on your store by going to any page, opening browser dev tools, and checking the Network tab for Klaviyo requests. If the integration isn't firing, events won't be tracked and your flows won't trigger.
The four flows to set up first
Klaviyo has a library of pre-built flow templates. These four generate the most revenue for most Shopify stores and should be set up before you focus on anything else.
1. Abandoned cart flow. Triggered when a customer adds to cart but doesn't complete checkout. The standard sequence: email at 1 hour, email at 24 hours, email at 72 hours. The first email is a simple reminder; the second adds social proof (reviews, return policy); the third optionally includes a small incentive if margin allows.
Key configuration: set the flow to only send to people who haven't completed the purchase since the abandonment. Klaviyo handles this automatically if you set up the trigger correctly - use the "Started Checkout" trigger, not the "Added to Cart" trigger, as the former is more reliable for capturing intent.
2. Welcome series. Triggered when someone subscribes to your email list (but hasn't purchased yet). A 3–5 email sequence introducing your brand, your products, and your story. The last email in the sequence typically includes a discount for first-time buyers - but hold this back until the end, not the first email. Offering a discount immediately devalues the brand-building emails before them.
3. Post-purchase flow. Triggered after a customer places an order. This is one of the most underutilised flows - most brands have a welcome series and an abandoned cart flow, and forget about the customer once they've bought. The post-purchase flow should:
- Thank the customer and confirm their order (the Shopify transactional email does this, so you can skip it)
- At 3–7 days: request a product review
- At 30 days: recommend complementary products based on what they purchased
- At 60–90 days: a replenishment reminder if your product is consumable
4. Win-back flow. Triggered when a previously active customer hasn't purchased in 90–180 days (depending on your category's typical purchase frequency). A 2–3 email sequence acknowledging their absence and giving them a reason to return. The goal is to re-engage before they fully churn, not after.
Segmentation that matters
Klaviyo's value beyond flows is segmentation - the ability to send targeted campaigns to specific groups of customers based on their behaviour and purchase history.
The segments worth building from day one:
- Active subscribers (opened an email in the last 90 days) - your engaged list for regular campaigns
- VIP customers (top 10% by lifetime value) - treat these differently; they deserve early access and exclusive offers
- One-time buyers (bought once but not again) - your biggest churn pool and biggest repeat purchase opportunity
- Lapsed customers (bought 12+ months ago with no recent activity) - candidates for a deep discount win-back or a sunset sequence
Common configuration mistakes
Not suppressing unengaged subscribers from campaigns. Sending campaigns to subscribers who haven't opened an email in 6+ months hurts your sender reputation. Create a segment of engaged subscribers (opened or clicked in the last 90–180 days) and send campaigns to that segment rather than your full list.
Sending too frequently to your whole list. More emails don't equal more revenue at low engagement rates. A highly engaged list of 2,000 people generates more revenue than a disengaged list of 10,000 sent to daily.
Using only Klaviyo's default templates without customising to your brand. Klaviyo's default email designs are clean but generic. Apply your brand colours, fonts, and tone of voice to all templates before activating any flow. Branded emails perform meaningfully better than generic ones.
Not setting up a sunset flow for long-term inactives. Subscribers who haven't engaged in 12+ months are hurting your sender reputation by sitting on your list. A sunset flow sends a final re-engagement email with an explicit unsubscribe CTA, then suppresses anyone who doesn't engage. Clean lists perform better than large ones.
