A Step-by-Step Guide to the Email Automation Every eCommerce Brand Needs
Email automation is the unsung hero of eCom marketing. Unlike one-off campaigns, flows work quietly in the background, triggered by customer actions to deliver hyper-relevant messages that engage and convert. And they do it without adding extra work to your plate (they literally make you money while you sleep).
According to Klaviyo’s benchmarks, automated flows can generate up to 30x more revenue per recipient than standard campaigns. Why? Because they’re timely and personal, reaching customers at just the right moment.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the essential email flows every eCommerce brand needs, from foundational to more specialised automations, with examples from leading DTC brands and actionable insights from our in-house Klaviyo experts.
Fact: brands that implement flows see higher engagement rates.
Automations outperform generic emails in every metric, achieving an average open rate nearly twice that of traditional campaigns, click rates of 5.4% vs 1.5% and conversion rates of 1.9% vs 0.07%.
Welcome sequences, abandoned cart reminders, and post-purchase emails keep the conversation going when it matters. In fact, abandoned cart flows alone account for 41% of automated revenue for the average eCommerce brand and deliver a click rate of 9.78% (Klaviyo), far above the industry standard.
So why do so many new brand owners focus their attention on social media instead of email? We see the appeal. Social media can feel instant, timely and personal too. But when every email subscriber you have is worth more than 7x each social media follower in terms of monthly revenue, automation is the clear winning investment.
The most important email marketing automations
We’ve broken down our most essential flows into different tiers. But just because we don’t deem a flow “foundational”, doesn’t mean it’s just a nice-to-have.
Use our tier system as a step-by-step guide for your automation strategy to make sure all your flows work together.
Tier 1: Foundational Flows
Welcome Series
You can’t talk about flows without mentioning your welcome series. Correction: you can’t talk about email marketing without mentioning welcome emails. They’re your first impression, an initial touchpoint and your chance to introduce your brand.
Welcome emails boast an average open rate of 68.6%, making them one of, if not the most engaging automation. If you’re not sending new subscribers at least a few welcome emails, you’re missing a crucial chance to set the tone for a longstanding relationship.
This automation is deeply connected to lead generation. Your welcome flow is only as good as your lead generation setup. Building a solid list with high-quality leads ensures that the subscribers entering your welcome flow are primed to engage. If your lead generation strategy isn’t attracting the right audience, your welcome flow won’t be as effective.
Properly executed, a well-crafted welcome series will lay the foundation for future sales and loyalty.
We get into the nitty-gritty of setting up an effective welcome series in our blog here.
See this example from Wildwonder. Their message is clear, with an on-brand design and copy. They keep it short and simple but their offer is nicely visible and adds a great incentive to click through those well-placed CTAs.
Abandoned Cart Emails
Recover lost sales with personalised reminders to customers who leave your website when they’re on the brink of conversion. Abandoned cart emails target customers who leave items in their basket without completing purchase (and offer a gentle nudge to return).
With an average ROI of $3.65 (£3.00) per email (Klaviyo), this flow is one of the highest revenue generators. They work because they’re hyper-relevant, reminding shoppers of something they’ve already shown interest in and use the data to help them over the conversion line.
This flow is particularly effective when combined with personalisation and deep linking. A well-crafted abandoned cart email might include a product image, the item’s price, and customer-friendly incentives like free shipping or a discount to sweeten the deal. Link directly back to the customer’s cart, rather than a generic page or homepage, and you’ll reduce friction on the path to conversion. Adding urgency, such as limited stock notifications, can also drive quicker action.
We executed this example for the clothing and lifestyle brand Lily & Bean, with a playful header, clearly displayed products, and a direct CTA button linking back to their cart. We also added a reviews section, using social proof to motivate hesitant shoppers and display wide payment options for easier reference.
Browse Abandonment Emails
Browse abandonment emails come a step earlier in the customer journey, re-engaging potential customers who perused your site but didn’t add items to their cart. These emails achieve a 5.48% average click rate according to Klaviyo.
Effective browse abandonment emails combine subtlety with curiosity. They might include phrases like “Pick up where you left off” and “Other people are also looking at [product name]” to drive urgency.
For Fitizen, we created a browse abandonment email with a catchy header to grab attention. The browsed product was prominently displayed with a noticeable CTA and we even added some reviews from customers who previously bought the item to increase the likelihood of conversion.
Post-Purchase Emails (Customer Appreciation)
The simplest form of a post-purchase flow expresses gratitude and strengthens your bond with your customers. These emails can confirm orders, share shipping updates, offer personalised product care tips, cross-sell complementary products, and request reviews.
Beyond transactional details, they’re an opportunity to reinforce trust and pave the way for repeat business. According to Klaviyo, post-purchase flows have an open rate of 61.68%, making them one of the most-read types of emails.
We especially like how this post-purchase email from Bellroy speaks directly to the customer’s journey with their products before asking for a review. Also, inviting their customers to be part of the community by sharing their recent purchase through social media
Image source: Really Good Emails
Tier 2: Growth-Oriented Flows
Abandoned Checkout Emails
Similar to abandoned cart flows but with even higher purchase intent, these emails are triggered when a customer begins the checkout process but doesn’t complete it. They’re hyper-targeted, often including details like the customer’s name and the exact products left behind.
Push hesitant customers over the line by adding urgency, such as “Complete your order within 24 hours to save your cart”. These flows work best when the checkout process is streamlined, with a clear CTA leading directly back to where the customer left off.
Cross-Sell Emails
After a purchase, cross-sell flows showcase complementary products. For instance, if a customer buys a pair of shoes, you might suggest matching socks or a cleaning kit. This helps decrease the average time between purchases by encouraging customers to buy related items sooner. Since the cross-sell is a separate order, it doesn’t aggregate the initial order value but enhances overall customer lifetime value.
Timing is key. Send these emails when the initial excitement of the purchase is still fresh, but not so soon that it feels rushed. A well-executed cross-sell email should feel like genuine guidance rather than a sales tactic. For example, don’t just sell a cleaning kit after a shoe purchase, dedicate an email to taking care of the shoes with the cleaning kit as an add-on.
Back-in-Stock Flows
Back-in-stock emails capitalise on urgency and demand while creating hype around popular products. Only customers who’ve chosen to enter this flow will be notified, but like browse and cart abandonment emails, they’re great for peaking lapsed interest, alerting customers when a sold-out item they’ve expressed interest in is available again.
An effective back-in-stock notification highlights an item’s return while playing on its popularity. Adding copy like “Hurry, it won’t last long!” can create FOMO and drive fast action.
For VIP customers, consider offering early notifications to reinforce their status and push engagement.
This back-in-stock notification from Mejuri is especially good at commanding attention with the GIF hero, minimal copy and clear product feed.
Winback Emails
Winback emails target customers who haven’t engaged with your brand for a while to rekindle their interest. You might offer a personalised discount, highlight new arrivals, or simply say “We miss you”.
These flows remind lapsed customers why they liked your brand in the first place. With the right tone and timing, they can bring dormant customers back into your ecosystem.
We love the high-quality hero imagery in this winback email from Olipop. The beverage retailer plays with words to mirror their playful branding with a generous and clearly displayed discount incentive.
Sunset Flows
Automations aren’t just about engagement and revenue. You should leverage them to assist in every way possible, and that includes list cleaning. Sunset flows are a last-ditch attempt to re-engage inactive subscribers before removing them from your list. While this may feel counterintuitive, it’s vital for maintaining a healthy sender reputation and improving deliverability rates. Read more about list cleaning in our blog here.
These emails should include clear messaging, like “We noticed you haven’t been active in a while,” with an option for the customer to stay subscribed. If they don’t respond, it’s time to let them go. Cleaning your list like this ensures you’re focusing on customers who truly value your communications.
Read our ultimate guide to Sunset Flows here.
Tier 3: Specialised Flows
Birthday Emails
Birthday flows are an intimate way to celebrate your customers. Collect this data when they sign up or later in the customer journey via sign-up forms or pop-ups and offer a discount or gift on their birthday.
These emails are a simple yet impactful way to show you care, leading to long-term loyalty, and they often see higher engagement rates than standard promotions.
This example from Little Beast is personal and eye-catching. They make this flow work for their brand, collecting doggy birthdays, rather than those of the shoppers themselves.
VIP Emails
Your best customers deserve special treatment, and VIP flows are just that. These emails target your most loyal customers, offering perks like early access to launches, discounts, or free shipping. Implementing this flow requires you to define what qualifies as VIP status. This can be based on spend, frequency, or another metric, it’s up to you.
Making your VIPs feel appreciated increases their lifetime value but also strengthens their emotional connection to your brand.
An effective VIP flow should feel exclusive and celebratory. You want to highlight the benefits of being part of an “inner circle” of shoppers and create excitement around the rewards you’re offering to keep driving repeat sales.
If you have access to a customer data platform like Klaviyo's CDP, you can leverage RFM metrics (recency, frequency, monetary value) to tailor your VIP flow even further. Target your highest-value customers based on their behaviours to make your offers more impactful.
We designed this simple yet engaging VIP email for ninepine, thanking customers for their loyalty as an incentive to make repeat purchases.
Review Requests
Collecting reviews is essential for building social proof and trust. By timing these emails to follow delivery, you can ensure customers have had enough time to use your product before leaving feedback.
Incentivising reviews with discounts or loyalty points can increase participation, while requesting photo reviews adds even more value. These flows used to require integrations with review apps like Okendo but Klaviyo now offer their own reviews feature, so you can now collect and display product reviews directly within the platform.
Tier 4: Bonus Flows
Post-Purchase Experience Flows
Don’t miss the chance to take the post-purchase experience further with tailored flows that lay the groundwork for future purchases (without always being explicitly conversion driven).
These post-purchase emails might educate about a recent purchase, with care tips and how-to guides, or encourage UGC content, creating free content for you and increasing engagement on socials.
You might even send replenishment reminders to nudge customers when you think they’re about to run out of your product and ask them if they want to re-purchase.
These emails go the extra mile to turn a one-time buyer into a loyal customer. It’s the little touches that make all the difference. We talk more about nailing the post-purchase experience for your customers through emails here.
This is just one email from a multi-layered post-purchase strategy we implemented for RealScience Athletics, consisting of 12 emails across 5 different flows. In this customer appreciation email, we offer usage tips for their specific purchase. This sort of follow-up makes sure the customer has the most positive experience possible with your product.
Final Thoughts
Your campaigns and social media posts are still crucial pieces of your marketing puzzle, but automation are the engine running in the background, quietly delivering results. They work while you sleep, turning website visitors into customers and making sure no opportunity slips through the cracks.
Remember, this isn’t a one-off effort. Your flows should be consistently optimised through testing. Regularly doing so is the key to unlocking their full potential. For more on testing, check out our blog here.
Investing in the right automation is about working smarter, not harder. Start with the most important flows, those that are proven to engage, convert, and retain (the metrics speak for themselves), and you’ll be on your way to creating a system that drives growth long-term.
As always, if you need any help along the way, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. We’ve been in the eCom marketing biz for over a decade and know a thing or two about designing and implementing flows that drive serious revenue.
