How to Build Scalable SMS & Email Automation for Ecommerce with Klaviyo Flows
Written by: Alex Cleanthous
Published:
28 Aug 2025
At Webprofits, we’ve developed a high-performance Email & SMS Playbook for using Klaviyo, the preferred email automation tool for fast-scaling eCommerce brands and the only CRM for D2C businesses.
This guide isn’t about sending more emails. It’s about building a strategic lifecycle engine that captures intent, nurtures engagement and drives measurable, compounding growth.
We’ll break down the most powerful Klaviyo Flows across the four key lifecycle stages: Onboarding, Consideration, Retention, and Advocacy, and show you exactly how to use them to drive scalable, repeatable results.
Table of Contents
- Webprofits Klaviyo Case Study
- TL;DR: Executive Snapshot
- Why Klaviyo is the tool of choice when it comes to eCommerce and brands on Shopify
- What Makes Email Flows so Powerful?
- Webprofits’ Customer Lifecycle Framework
- Stage 1: Onboarding Flows – Your Most Crucial Conversion Opportunity
- Stage 2: Consideration Flows – For Revenue Acceleration
- Stage 3: Retention Flows – Where Profits are Multiplied
- Stage 4: Advocacy Email Flows – Your Greatest Growth Asset
- Ready to Build Your High-Performance Lifecycle Engine?
We don’t just tell you what works. We show you how it’s worked for our clients
- How waterdrop® achieved a 79% uplift in retention year-on-year and 60% quarter-on-quarter ecommerce revenue growth by refining Flows across welcome, cart, post-purchase and loyalty journeys.
- How a global home appliances brand scaled from 4,000 to over 500,000 email subscribers in just 15 months — and how 50% of their Klaviyo revenue now comes from lifecycle Flows like cart abandon, browse abandon, and post-purchase.
- How The Beauty Chef rebuilt their entire email ecosystem around lifecycle automation, with personalised product recommendations, quiz Flows and zero-party data triggers designed to accelerate time-to-purchase.
As Catherine Dix, Managing Director of waterdrop® ANZ put it in this article:
“For waterdrop®, Klaviyo is not just a platform. It’s the place where we communicate across all customer touchpoints, and it’s where we drive essential business outcomes like repeat purchases and retention.”
You’ll also gain actionable insights from our Customer Lifecycle Team and key takeaways from:
- Growth Manifesto Podcast interviews
- Strategy breakdowns from our Beyond Campaigns: The Advanced Email + SMS Strategies Driving eCommerce Growth Masterclass with Klaviyo and The Beauty Chef
This is your blueprint for email automation that doesn’t just run in the background, it drives growth from the front.
Webprofits Klaviyo Case Study: Scaling 4,000 to 500,000 email subs in 15 months
At Webprofits, we’ve spent 19 years helping challenger brands scale profitably. We’ve seen first-hand that for high-performing ecommerce brands, email and SMS aren’t just retention tools — they’re the profit engine that powers the entire customer journey. Lifecycle marketing isn’t an afterthought.
It’s the lever that turns breakeven acquisition into long-term profitability, especially for consumable products with strong LTV:CAC ratios. When done right, email and SMS amplify everything: increasing purchase frequency, lifting retention, and turning first-time buyers into brand advocates.
One global home appliances brand came to Webprofits with just 4,000 subscribers in their Klaviyo account. Fifteen months later, they had more than 500,000 highly engaged subscribers — all powered by a strategic, integrated lifecycle approach.
At the heart of their success was a mindset shift: treat popups like performance channels, not static checkboxes.
We continuously A/B tested every element of their onsite experience including headlines, triggers, offers and designs with the same rigour as an ad campaign. But optimisation only works if people are seeing your offer. That’s why the second part of this strategy involved scaling qualified traffic
via Meta and Google Ads.
By connecting the dots across paid media acquisition, landing pages, onsite popups and Klaviyo Flows, we turned email into a true revenue engine:
- 125x growth in subscribers
- 500,000+ owned contacts
Email is now one of their most profitable marketing channels, generating above 20% of their D2C revenue
This example is a powerful reminder: building high-impact automation isn’t just about what happens inside Klaviyo — it’s also about how well you feed the top of the funnel and capture high-intent traffic into your Flows.
Download 26 Email & SMS Flows Playbook
and start turning email and SMS into your growth engine.
No payment required
Live Notion Doc
Implementable immediately
TL;DR: Executive Snapshot
Download our 26 Essential Email & SMS Flows Playbook to see the full list of Flows every brand needs to implement to drive revenue on autopilot.
Here’s what every executive needs to know about sms & email automation:
- Klaviyo Flows are mapped across four lifecycle stages: Onboarding, Consideration, Retention, and Advocacy
- 50–70% of email revenue in top-performing eCommerce brands should come from automated Flows
- Built for behavioural precision — each flow is triggered by intent, not guesswork
- Covers email and SMS integration for true lifecycle coverage
- Drives measurable results across: conversion rate, average order value, retention rate and lifetime value
Use this email marketing guide to:
- Plug revenue leaks
- Shorten the path to purchase
- Automate repeat sales
- Build scalable advocacy
Leading brands don’t just send campaigns; they also utilise the best email automation tools for their email marketing. They engineer every message as part of a high-performance ecosystem. Campaigns bring in quick wins, but Flows are your consistent, sustainable revenue drivers. If your Flows aren’t
delivering revenue, it’s not because they can’t—it’s because they’re not optimised.
Why Klaviyo is the tool of choice when it comes to eCommerce and brands on Shopify
If you’ve been using other email marketing software and have never heard of Klaviyo before, it is an email marketing platform designed for eCommerce brands that want to communicate with customers in a more personalised and data-driven way.
This email marketing tool allows you to build automated emails and SMS Flows triggered by real customer actions such as; signing up, browsing a product, or making a purchase. It’s the only CRM built for D2C. It’s a place where all your customer data lives – instead of having it fragmented across multiple different platforms. This enables your Flows to tailor coherent customer journey and communication instead of duplicating messages from different platforms.
Klaviyo allows your Flows/email automation to work smarter because it holds all the data about your subscribers and customers. Because Klaviyo integrates with your store and collects customer data, it makes it easier to send timely, relevant messages that improve conversion and retention from your email marketing strategy and automation.
What Makes Email Flows so Powerful?
While email marketing campaigns shout, Flows whisper to the right person, at the right time, with precision. Flows are automated sequences triggered by real-time customer behaviour and intent that can generate 60%+ of your Email revenue on autopilot. They are:
- Behaviour-based
- Contextually relevant
- Timed perfectly to the customer journey
As we shared in The Advanced Email + SMS Strategies Driving eCommerce Growth Masterclass which featured Klaviyo, Webprofits and The Beauty Chef…
…one of the biggest mindset shifts comes from seeing Flows not as a ‘set and forget’ tactic, but as a live growth engine.
When The Beauty Chef rebuilt their Flows with lifecycle targeting in mind, they didn’t just retain customers, they accelerated new ones down the path to purchase faster. This behavioural targeting is what makes Flows so powerful.
Diana Bacinger, Customer Lifecycle Strategist at Webprofits, explains:
“The true way to utilise data in Klaviyo is with Flows.”
When Flows are powered by zero-party data and precise behavioural triggers, they outperform campaigns across every metric — from open rates to revenue per recipient. Our Global Home Appliances client generated over A$406,000 in one month through Flows alone, by implementing:
- Browse abandonment
- Cart abandonment
- Post-purchase Flows
More than 50% of their email revenue came from Flows, not campaigns.
That’s because Flows operate fundamentally differently from campaigns. Where campaigns require repeated manual effort, Flows run continuously in the background, on autopilot, tailored to individual behaviours and built for scalability. If you’re still relying mostly on campaign sends, here’s why
it’s worth shifting your strategy:
| Campaigns | Flows |
| One-time send to a broad audience | Triggered automatically by user behaviour |
| Scheduled in advance | Runs continuously in the background |
| Requires manual effort for every send | “Set it once” system with ongoing optimisation |
| Shouts to everyone | Whispers to the right person at the right time |
| Lower ROI per send | Higher ROI, especially over time |
Flows also support deliverability and customer engagement. Instead of relying on third-party tools for alerts like back-in-stock or price drops, bringing these Flows inside Klaviyo ensures stronger inbox placement and more relevant touchpoints.
As Klaviyo’s Jeremy Singh noted,
“People give up more information these days. And as a result, they expect more from it.”
Download 26 Email & SMS Flows Playbook
and start turning email and SMS into your growth engine.
No payment required
Live Notion Doc
Implementable immediately
Webprofits’ Customer Lifecycle Framework
| Lifecycle Stage | Primary Goal | Example Flows |
| Onboarding | Convert new subscribers into first-time buyers | Welcome Flow, Welcome Re-Engage Flow, Quiz Flow |
| Consideration | Recover revenue from interested shoppers | Abandoned Checkout, Cart Abandonment, Browse Abandonment, Back-in-Stock |
| Retention | Drive repeat purchases and build loyalty | Post-Purchase, Product Review Request, Replenishment, Winback |
| Advocacy | Turn happy customers into advocates | Referral, VIP / Loyalty, Birthday, Thank you |
At Webprofits, our Klaviyo strategy maps to four lifecycle stages:
- Stage 1: Onboarding – Acquire and convert new leads
- Stage 2: Consideration – Re-engage and convert shoppers
- Stage 3: Retention – Reinforce trust and increase LTV
- Stage 4: Advocacy – Activate referrals and loyalty at scale
Each stage is built with:
- Precise segmentation
- Intent-driven triggers
- Dual-channel automation (email + SMS)
- Performance-based sequencing
Here’s a breakdown of the four stages and some examples of our favourite Flows and how we’re using them. to scale. If you’d like to see the full list of Flows, download our 26 Essential Email & SMS Flows Playbook.
Stage 1: Onboarding Flows – Your Most Crucial Conversion Opportunity
What is a Welcome Flow in Klaviyo?
A Welcome Flow is a triggered sequence sent when new customers first subscribes to your email list. It sets the tone, introduces your brand, and drives first purchase intent.
Why it Matters
This is your most crucial conversion opportunity. Leading eCommerce brands like The Beauty Chef and waterdrop® use this flow to do more than greet new subscribers — they educate, inspire and nudge them toward action.
At waterdrop®, the Welcome Flow isn’t just about offers, it’s about building brand trust. When customers sign up, they receive an engaging message introducing the product line and a percentage-off discount. But if they don’t convert within 21 days, they’re re-engaged with a plain-text email offering free shipping on a taster pack. This approach has successfully brought back nearly 10% of inactive new subscribers, showing how a layered welcome flow can turn hesitation into action.
For waterdrop®, the Welcome Newsletter Flow was the single highest-performing flow in the first half of 2025, driving A$231K in attributed revenue.
By combining narrative emails, timed incentives and SMS nudges, they transformed a simple greeting into a high-converting customer introduction.
Insights from The Beauty Chef and Klaviyo’s joint Masterclass echo this…
…the Welcome Flow should feel like an invitation into the brand universe, not a sales push.
Diana Bacinger, Customer Lifecycle Strategist at Webprofits, explains that brands leading with a brand story, rituals and transformation outcomes consistently build stronger first-purchase conversion rates.
Best Practices:
- Open with value: your USP, your offer or your most-loved product
- Use reviews and UGC to build social proof
- A/B test with and without a discount
Flow Sequence
- Welcome + incentive + best sellers (Day 0)
- Brand story or founder message (Day 2)
- How it works or what to expect (Day 4)
- Social proof + transformations (Day 6)
- Final reminder or urgency nudge (Day 8)
- SMS touchpoint: Post-sign-up or final call to action
Key Metric
Subscriber-to-first-purchase conversion rate
Haven’t watched the Advanced Email & SMS Strategy Masterclass webinar yet? Here’s the 10 biggest takeaways from the session.
The Welcome Re-Engage Flow
This email automation flow targets subscribers who don’t purchase during your primary Welcome Flow.
Why it matters
Not everyone buys right away. This flow keeps the conversation alive, reframes your value, and captures second-chance conversions. When potential customers sign up for waterdrop® email comms, they receive a welcome message (from a Klaviyo Flow) including brand education and a percentage-off
discount. After 21 days, if they don’t go on to make a purchase, they receive a plain-text email with an offer for free shipping on waterdrop’s taster pack. This tactic has helped to re-engage nearly 10% of waterdrop’s inactive customers.
Best Practices:
- Make it personal: plain text or founder-led tone
- Lead with narrative, not discount
- Offer a time-limited nudge only if needed
Flow Sequence:
- Personal message from founder (Day 7 post-Welcome)
- Fresh take on value or softer offer (Day 10)
- Final nudge with urgency or exit CTA (Day 14)
Key Metric
Re-engaged subscriber conversion rate
Rethinking the Welcome Flow with a Quiz
Replacing the standard Welcome Flow with a Quiz Flow is something we have been trialling with our clients and it’s been generating some seriously impressive results. A Quiz Flow is triggered after a customer completes a product recommendation quiz. It uses their responses (zero-party data) to
personalise messaging and offers.
Why it matters
Personalisation at scale = higher intent and faster path to purchase. This is especially powerful for brands in beauty, wellness or fashion. At The Beauty Chef, onboarding quizzes like this quiz became a core part of their conversion strategy.
Instead of sending a generic welcome email with a discount, they proactively guided customers through a personalised quiz to find the right gut-health solution. Using zero-party data, they delivered tailored flows via email and SMS, resulting in 2x higher conversion rates than their
standard signup flow. But even more striking was the revenue data.
- Quiz Flow vs. Welcome Flow: +173% more revenue per recipient
- Between Feb 15 and Mar 15, 2025, revenue per recipient for the Quiz Flow was $4.51, compared to $1.65 for the standard Welcome Flow
- This also led to a +106% lift in placed order rate
Quizzes don’t just engage — they convert, and they scale revenue faster.
Best Practices:
- Use quiz results to segment subscribers instantly
- Create dynamic content for each result type
- Add urgency to convert while interest is high
Flow Sequence:
- Quiz results + product match (immediate)
- Why it works + proof (Day 1)
- Reminder with CTA (Day 3)
- Bonus tip, story, or education (Day 5)
Key Metric: Quiz-to-checkout conversion rate
Stage 2: Consideration Flows – For Revenue Acceleration
At this stage, your goal is to re-engage high-intent browsers and cart abandoners and convert them with contextual relevance. This is where Flows like Abandoned Checkout, Cart Abandonment, Browse Abandonment, and Back-in-Stock become powerful levers for revenue recovery and acceleration.
Download 26 Email & SMS Flows Playbook
and start turning email and SMS into your growth engine.
No payment required
Live Notion Doc
Implementable immediately
What is an Abandoned Checkout Flow?
This flow is triggered when a user begins the checkout process but doesn’t complete their purchase.
Why it matters
It’s one of the highest intent Flows you can activate. Customers here are just steps away from converting and often just need a nudge, some reassurance, or a quick fix to a minor objection.
For waterdrop®, refining their abandoned cart sequence was a turning point. They layered both SMS and email touchpoints in their Klaviyo flow, hitting different moments of intent. An SMS reminder was timed around 4–6 hours post-abandonment to re-engage customers before interest faded. This
multichannel approach lifted conversions significantly and became a key part of their $1M/month growth engine.
Best Practices
- Use urgency (“Your cart is about to expire”)
- Show dynamic cart content
- Add social proof or review snippets
- Test an incentive on Email 2 or 3
Flow Sequence
- Reminder + cart contents (1 hr after abandonment)
- Social proof + offer (24 hrs)
- Final CTA with urgency or countdown (48 hrs)
Key Metric
- Checkout recovery rate
What is an Abandoned Cart Flow?
An Abandoned Cart Flow is triggered when a user adds to cart but doesn’t enter checkout.
Why it matters
This flow captures mid-funnel interest and nudges users closer to conversion. For waterdrop®, refining their cart abandonment sequence across both email and SMS led to a measurable spike in conversions, especially when combining real-time SMS reminders with email storytelling. They timed their SMS touchpoint around 4–6 hours after cart abandonment to re-engage shoppers when intent was still high.
Best Practices
- Reinforce product value and benefits
- Use contextual education or testimonials
- Delay the first send to avoid overlap with Checkout Flow
Flow Sequence
- Product reminder (4–8 hrs post-cart)
- UGC or how-to (24 hrs)
- Offer or urgency (48 hrs)
Key Metric
Cart-to-checkout conversion rate
What is a Back-in-Stock Flow?
Triggered when a product previously out of stock is available again.
Why it matters
This is a powerful intent-based reactivation tactic. During the Klaviyo webinar, Diana Bacinger from Webprofits explained how they used this flow to maximise demand surges by layering email with SMS for immediacy. Sending the SMS first capitalised on urgency — often before the inbox was even checked.
Best Practices
- Emphasise limited quantity
- Reinforce popularity (“Sold out in 24hrs last time”)
- Send SMS first, then email
Flow Sequence:
- SMS alert (real-time)
- Email with product details and CTA
- Final callout before it sells out again
Key Metric
- Back-in-stock purchase rate
Stage 3: Retention Flows – Where Profits are Multiplied
The cost to retain is far lower than acquisition, and Klaviyo Flows make it seamless to continue the conversation post-purchase. High-performing brands don’t see a purchase as the end of the journey, it’s just the beginning of the next.
What is a Post-Purchase Flow?
A Post-Purchase Flow is triggered immediately after a customer places an order. It ensures a smooth experience and sets the foundation for retention.
Why it matters
A good post-purchase experience reduces buyer’s remorse and drives repeat purchases. The Beauty Chef saw significant results by using this flow to set expectations and educate customers on product usage, boosting their retention rate and accelerating repeat orders through well-timed SMS and email
follow-ups. For waterdrop®, post-purchase Flows were customised by SKU and tied into a broader educational strategy.
This ensured every customer received content that deepened product understanding and improved satisfaction, contributing to a 167.5% YoY uplift in repeat purchase revenue.
As Diana Bacinger noted in the Klaviyo webinar:
Your most engaged moment isn’t just the click or the purchase — it’s the anticipation right after.
Best Practices
- Thank customers with warmth and personality
- Set expectations: delivery timelines, what happens next
- Introduce loyalty programs or product education
Flow Sequence
- Thank you email + confirmation + next steps (Day 0)
- What to expect / product care tips (Day 2)
- Cross-sell or bundle suggestions (Day 5)
- Invite to join VIP list or loyalty program (Day 7)
Key Metric
- Repeat purchase rate within 30 days
What is a Product Review Request Flow?
This flow asks customers to leave a review or rating after their purchase.
Why it matters
Reviews drive conversion and build trust – but they can also drive revenue in Flows, even without offering incentives. At waterdrop®, review request emails are timed precisely, ensuring customers had time to use the product before being asked for feedback. Despite not including any incentives, this
flow performed strongly, generating substantial attributed revenue.
Best Practices
- Wait until product delivery + experience
- Include visual review widgets or stars
- Offer a small incentive if necessary
Flow Sequence
- Review request with easy CTA (3–7 days post-delivery)
- Reminder + social proof (“What others are saying”) (Day 10)
- Option to share photos or testimonials (Day 14)
Key Metric
- Review response rate
What is a Replenishment Flow?
This flow reminds customers to re-order consumable products before they run out.
Why it matters
It’s one of the highest ROI Flows for consumable products. For waterdrop®, aligning replenishment flow timing with customer consumption habits (tracked by SKU lifecycle) helped them convert one-time buyers into loyal repeat customers.
Best Practices
- Time it based on product lifecycle (e.g., 30 days)
- Use SMS for urgency (“Time to restock?”)
- Offer a subscription upgrade CTA
Flow Sequence
- Reminder to re-order (timed by SKU)
- How-tos or application tips (optional)
- Discount or subscribe-and-save offer
Key Metric
Re-order conversion rate
Download 26 Email & SMS Flows Playbook
and start turning email and SMS into your growth engine.
No payment required
Live Notion Doc
Implementable immediately
Stage 4: Advocacy Email Flows – Your Greatest Growth Asset
Once a customer becomes a repeat buyer, they’re primed to become your greatest growth asset. Advocacy Flows don’t just thank customers, they activate them. These Flows are about engineering delight, loyalty and amplification in a way that feeds back into acquisition, creating powerful compounding
loops.
What is a VIP / Loyalty Flow?
This flow nurtures your highest-value customers with exclusive rewards, sneak peeks, or early access.
Why it matters
VIP customers are your top 5%, but they drive disproportionate revenue. The Beauty Chef uses loyalty Flows to give these customers more than just discounts, they offer inside access, founder messages, and personalised rewards. This VIP treatment makes their best customers feel seen, heard and
celebrated.
As we shared during the Klaviyo webinar, “Treat your top 5% like royalty. They want to feel like insiders, not inbox fodder.”
waterdrop® built a powerful monthly flow that reminded loyalty program members of their available reward points and how to redeem them. This created urgency to repurchase and drove measurable growth, including a 42% QoQ increase in conversions in Q4 2024. Catherine Dix, Managing Director, waterdrop®
ANZ said in this article: “Klaviyo is the place where we communicate across all customer touchpoints. It’s where we drive essential business outcomes like repeat purchases and retention.”
Best Practices
- Use segment-based triggers (e.g. 3+ purchases, $500+ spend)
- Personalised email from founder or brand voice
- Include exclusive offers or gated content
Flow Sequence
- VIP welcome + status unlocked (real-time)
- Loyalty perks or early access event (Day 3)
- Invitation to closed-door offer (Day 7)
Key Metric
- VIP engagement and repeat rate
What is a Birthday Flow?
Triggered on a customer’s birthday if date of birth is collected during signup or post-purchase.
Why it matters
This flow deepens emotional connection and makes customers feel valued. waterdrop® used birthday automations not just to deliver surprises, but to gather zero-party data for better personalisation, boosting repeat orders with limited-time birthday bundles.
Best Practices
- Include a small surprise or gift
- Personalised messaging with a celebratory tone
- Optional upsell or free shipping on orders
Flow Sequence
- Happy Birthday message + surprise offer (Day 0)
- Reminder of gift expiry (Day 2)
Key Metric
- Birthday campaign conversion rate
Strategic Note: Advocacy Doesn’t Scale Without Systems
Andy Fallshaw (CEO, Bellroy) highlighted in a recent episode of the Growth Manifesto podcast that brand advocates are created through “consistent delivery of delight.” That consistency doesn’t happen by luck — it happens by design.
Flows are the infrastructure that operationalise delight at scale.
“You don’t win advocacy with one magical campaign. You win it by creating magical moments, consistently.” — Andy Fallshaw
Download 26 Email & SMS Flows Playbook
and start turning email and SMS into your growth engine.
No payment required
Live Notion Doc
Implementable immediately
The Next Level: Smarter Meta Ads, Powered By Lifecycle Data
At Webprofits, we don’t see paid and owned channels as separate — we see them as extensions of the same customer journey. That’s why we’ve been actively experimenting with how waterdrop’s® Klaviyo data integrates with Meta to make acquisition more efficient and audience targeting more intelligent.
By syncing lifecycle segments directly into Meta, we’re able to exclude existing customers from prospecting campaigns, ensuring we don’t waste budget serving ads to people already deep in our flows. We create high-intent lookalikes based on customers who’ve engaged with flows or purchased multiple times. These experiments are already improving performance.
With more refined exclusions and dynamic targeting, waterdrop® is spending less to acquire new customers, and retaining more with flows and campaigns that pick up the journey where ads leave off.
In summary, Meta acquires the customer. Email and SMS make them profitable.
Ready to Build Your High-Performance Lifecycle Engine?
From first-click to lifelong loyalty, Klaviyo Flows are the backbone of predictable, scalable eCommerce growth. The brands winning today aren’t just sending more emails, they’re engineering intentional, behaviour-led journeys across every lifecycle stage.
At Webprofits, we’ve helped brands like waterdrop® and The Beauty Chef use lifecycle automation to unlock next-level results, from 6-figure email revenue months to multimillion-dollar growth outcomes. Their success wasn’t accidental. It was architected, tested and refined using the exact Flows covered in this guide.
Want the full blueprint?
Get your copy of the Webprofits x Klaviyo Email & SMS Flows Playbook — our most powerful lifecycle automation guide, packed with Flow frameworks, expert insights, and proven sequences you can deploy straight into your Klaviyo account.
|
Make Email your most powerful growth engine. If you’d like help setting up these Flows or identifying what you could be doing better, smarter or faster, our team is here to support you. Book a complimentary Email Strategy Consultation with our team today 🚀 |
