The 5 Klaviyo Flows Every Shopify Store Needs in Their First 90 Days
Last month, a Shopify founder slid into my DMs. "I've been live 90 days. I have 1,200 subscribers. Why am I not making money from email?"
I asked her how many flows she had running.
Her answer: "Flows? Like... what flows?"
Yeah. That's the gap.
If you've launched on Shopify in the last 90 days and you're not sure what flows you actually need, this is the answer. Five flows. That's it. Get these built and your store starts working for you while you sleep.
Quick answer (in case you're skimming): The 5 Klaviyo flows every Shopify store needs in their first 90 days are a welcome flow for new subscribers, an abandoned cart flow to recover lost sales, a browse abandonment flow for interested visitors, a post-purchase flow to build repeat buyers, and a win-back flow to re-engage quiet subscribers. Built right, these flows compound. Every dollar you spend driving traffic works harder the longer they're running.
Key Takeaways
The welcome flow turns new subscribers into first-time buyers and is your highest-converting flow
A working abandoned cart flow recovers 10 to 20% of lost checkouts on average
Browse abandonment catches in-market visitors before they forget you
Your post-purchase flow starts the repeat purchase cycle from day one
A win-back flow re-engages quiet subscribers without paying for new traffic
Together, these 5 flows form the foundation of The Profitable Retention System™
Why most new Shopify stores skip this (and lose money for it)
Here's what I see in 9 out of 10 audits I do for stores under 6 months old.
They have Klaviyo installed. They send the occasional campaign when they remember. And that's it.
No flows. No automations. No system.
Which means every visitor who lands on the site, signs up, browses, or even buys is on their own. Nothing nurturing them. Nothing recovering them. Nothing pulling them back.
In 25 years of email marketing, the single biggest revenue gap I see for new Shopify brands is this. They treat flows like an "advanced" thing they'll get to later. By the time they get to it, they've already lost six months of compounding revenue.
The good news?
Building these 5 flows isn't complicated. It just has to actually get done.
1. Welcome Flow: Your highest-converting email asset
When someone subscribes to your list, the welcome flow is what turns them from "interested" to "first-time buyer." It's also, by a wide margin, your highest-converting flow.
A real number from one of my Shopify clients: 38% of their email revenue in their first 6 months came from the welcome flow alone.
What goes in it:
Email 1 (immediate): Deliver the discount code or freebie, introduce your brand story, link to bestsellers
Email 2 (Day 2): Address common objections like shipping, sizing, materials, and returns
Email 3 (Day 4): Social proof. Reviews, UGC, customer photos
Email 4 (Day 6): Urgency reminder if the discount is expiring, soft re-pitch to bestsellers
The welcome flow is the only flow most stores actually have running. The problem is they end it after one email. That's leaving money on the table.
2. Abandoned Cart: The recovery flow that pays for itself
Roughly 70% of people who add something to cart on Shopify never check out. That's not a "you" problem. That's just how online shopping works.
What separates the stores that lose those sales from the ones that recover them is a working abandoned cart sequence.
What goes in it:
Email 1 (1 hour after abandon): Soft reminder. "Did something go wrong?"
Email 2 (24 hours later): Highlight what they left behind. Address objections. Add review snippets.
Email 3 (3 days later): Last chance. A light incentive if your margins allow it.
A clean abandoned cart flow recovers 10 to 20% of lost checkouts for most of my clients. On a store doing $30k a month, that's an extra $3,000 to $6,000 in revenue every month from a flow that runs itself.
3. Browse Abandonment: For the people who almost bought
This one most new Shopify stores skip entirely. Don't.
Browse abandonment fires when someone views a product (or category page) and leaves without adding to cart. They're not "ready to buy" yet. But they were interested enough to click.
The browse abandonment flow gives them a soft second touch.
What goes in it:
Email 1 (4 hours later): "Thinking about this?" with the product they viewed
Email 2 (Day 2, optional): Related products in the same category, plus a review
The trick is keeping the tone soft. This isn't a pitch. It's a "hey, in case you wanted another look" nudge. Done well, this flow can add another 5 to 10% to your email revenue without spamming anyone.
4. Post-Purchase Flow: Where repeat customers are built
Most Shopify stores think the email job is done once someone buys. That's exactly why their repeat purchase rate stays at 15% when it could be 40%.
Your post-purchase flow is where you turn a one-time buyer into a returning customer. And the window is short. The first 30 days after purchase is when they're most likely to come back.
What goes in it:
Email 1 (immediately after order): Order confirmation. This is transactional.
Email 2 (Day 3): Shipping update plus a thank-you. Warmer, more personal.
Email 3 (Day 7 to 10, after delivery): How-to-use, tips, what to do with the product
Email 4 (Day 14): Review request
Email 5 (Day 21): Cross-sell or replenishment nudge
I've seen this single flow take stores from a 15% repeat rate to 35% or higher in 90 days. That's not magic. That's just what happens when you actually nurture buyers instead of ghosting them.
5. Win-Back Flow: Bringing them back without paying for ads
Even in your first 90 days, you'll have subscribers who joined your list and went quiet. They opened the welcome flow. They didn't buy. And they haven't engaged in 30+ days.
Most stores ignore them. Big mistake.
A win-back flow re-engages them before they go fully cold.
What goes in it:
Email 1 (Day 30 of inactivity): "We miss you" plus a soft incentive
Email 2 (Day 45): Show them what's new. Products, content, social proof.
Email 3 (Day 60): Last chance with a stronger offer
If they don't engage after this, suppress them or move them to a sunset list. Sending to disengaged subscribers tanks your deliverability and makes every other flow weaker.
The catch most Shopify founders miss
These 5 flows aren't 5 separate automations. They're a system.
Each flow connects to the next. Each one feeds the next stage of the customer journey.
That's the difference between a Shopify store that has flows running and a Shopify store that has email actually generating revenue. The former has the parts. The latter has the structure.
This is exactly what The Profitable Inbox™ is built around. The structured retention membership for Shopify brands using Klaviyo. Not a course. Not a template bundle. A complete system built around the full customer journey, with bi-weekly group calls, a private community, and AI-powered tools to help you implement.
$97/month, founding member rate, cancel anytime, 14-day action-based guarantee.
Quick recap
The 5 Klaviyo flows every Shopify store needs in the first 90 days:
Welcome Flow — turns subscribers into first-time buyers
Abandoned Cart — recovers 10 to 20% of lost checkouts
Browse Abandonment — catches in-market visitors
Post-Purchase Flow — builds repeat customers from day one
Win-Back Flow — re-engages quiet subscribers
Get these 5 built and your email starts compounding. Skip them and every dollar you spend on traffic does the work once instead of forever.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many emails should a welcome flow have?
A solid welcome flow has 3 to 4 emails spread over the first week. The first email goes out immediately to deliver the discount code or lead magnet. The rest space out over 4 to 6 days, addressing objections, sharing social proof, and reinforcing why the subscriber should buy. Stores with single-email welcome flows leave 30 to 50% of potential revenue on the table.
When should an abandoned cart email send?
The first abandoned cart email should send 1 hour after the cart is abandoned. The second goes out at 24 hours, and the third at 3 days. Sending too early feels pushy. Sending too late means they've already moved on or bought elsewhere. The 1-hour, 24-hour, 3-day cadence is what consistently performs best across my Shopify clients.
Do I need both abandoned cart and browse abandonment flows?
Yes. They target different stages of the buyer journey. Abandoned cart fires when someone added to cart but didn't check out. They were ready. Browse abandonment fires when someone viewed a product but didn't add to cart. They were interested but not committed. Different levels of intent, different messaging, both important.
How long should a post-purchase flow run?
A first-time-buyer post-purchase flow should run for the first 21 to 30 days after purchase. That's the sweet spot for turning a new buyer into a repeat customer. Beyond 30 days, you transition them into your regular campaign cadence and trigger replenishment or cross-sell flows based on their purchase behavior.
Can I build these 5 flows myself or do I need help?
You can build them yourself if you have the time and the framework. Most Shopify founders don't have either. That's why I built The Profitable Inbox™. It gives you the exact structure, templates, and live expert support to build these flows the right way without guessing. If you'd rather have them done for you, my Klaviyo Flows service starts at $497.
Ready to build your retention system?
If your Shopify store is in its first 90 days and you don't have these 5 flows running, you're losing revenue every day they're not built.
The Profitable Inbox™ is the structured retention membership I built specifically for this. You get the full Profitable Retention System™, the templates and frameworks to implement, bi-weekly group calls for live support, a private community of other Shopify brands using Klaviyo, and 10% off all my done-for-you services as long as you're a member.