The 12 email flows every Shopify store needs

Campaigns are loud, flows are quiet

Most brands put their effort into weekly campaigns and set up flows once. That's the wrong way round. Well‑built flows run every day, to the right person at the right time, and often make more than all campaigns combined.

34% revenue from email · 3.1× flow revenue · 52% open rate

The core flows

You don't need fifty automations. You need a handful that cover the moments that matter, built well and tested every month.

Start with these

• Welcome: five emails that sell the brand before the discount

• Abandoned checkout and cart: fast, helpful and short

• Post‑purchase: how to use the product, then reviews and cross‑sells

• Replenish and win‑back: timed to how long your product actually lasts

Timing beats copy

A perfectly written email sent at the wrong time won't get read. We set every delay from real purchase data. If customers reorder at day 38, the replenish email goes out at day 32 and not at a default of 30 or 60.

"Don't train customers to wait for a discount. Teach first, sell second, and save the offer for when it closes the sale." — Joshua Brown, Head of Retention

Segment by behaviour

Age and location tell you little. What people bought, how often and how recently tell you almost everything. Three segments do most of the work: new buyers, repeat buyers and lapsed buyers.

Add SMS carefully

• Use it for time‑sensitive news: drops, restocks and shipping updates

• Send two to four messages a month at most

• Make sure no one gets the same message by SMS and email

Putting it to work

Check what share of your revenue comes from flows. Under 15 percent means there's money left on the table. Rebuild the welcome and post‑purchase flows first, as they nearly always pay back fastest.

Key takeaway

Build flows before campaigns, time them from real purchase data and segment by behaviour. Aim for a third of revenue from customers you already have.