Shopify email flows are automated emails triggered by what a shopper does: signing up, browsing, abandoning a checkout, buying or going quiet. Every store needs seven: welcome, abandoned checkout and cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase, review request, win-back and back-in-stock. Build abandoned checkout and welcome first, then add the rest as orders grow.
One naming trap first: the Shopify Flow app isn’t an email marketing tool. It automates store tasks, and its email action is meant for your staff. Customer flows run in Shopify Messaging (formerly Shopify Email) or in apps such as Klaviyo and Omnisend.
Below you’ll find each flow’s trigger, timing and goal, a build order by store stage, a tool comparison, the sender rules Gmail and Yahoo enforce, and how to measure what each flow earns.
Key takeaways
- Start with abandoned checkout and welcome flows; add post-purchase, browse abandonment and win-back as order volume grows.
- Shopify Flow’s email action is for staff; customer email flows run in Shopify Messaging or apps such as Klaviyo and Omnisend.
- Shopify Messaging has templates for abandoned checkout, cart and browse, welcome, thank-you, upsell, win-back, birthday and VIP emails.
- Authenticate your sending domain before launching flows; Gmail and Yahoo require authentication and spam complaint rates below 0.3%.
- Judge each flow by revenue per recipient and unsubscribe rate, not by open rate.
What are Shopify email flows, and how are they different from Shopify Flow?
An email flow is a sequence of marketing emails that starts automatically when a customer does something, such as leaving a checkout. Shopify Flow is a separate free app that automates store operations like tagging orders or alerting staff, and it isn’t built to email customers.
Shopify’s documentation for the Flow Send internal email action says it’s best used to email staff, and that you should create a marketing automation to email customers. So when people search for Shopify Flow email marketing, what they usually need is a marketing automation in Shopify Messaging or a dedicated email app.
Keep a second distinction in mind. Order confirmations and shipping updates are notifications, set in Settings > Notifications, and every customer gets them. Flows are marketing: Shopify sends marketing automation emails only to customers subscribed to marketing.
Which email flows does every Shopify store need?
These seven cover the moments where an automated email reliably helps: first contact, hesitation before buying, the period after a purchase and the point where a customer drifts away. Timings are starting points to test, not rules.
| Flow | Trigger | Suggested timing | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome | Subscribes through a form or at checkout | First email right away; two or three more over the next week or two | Introduce the brand and earn the first order |
| Abandoned checkout and cart | Leaves checkout after entering an email, or adds to cart without checking out | First email within a few hours; a second the next day | Recover the order and answer objections such as delivery cost |
| Browse abandonment | Views a product but doesn’t add it to the cart | Same or next day; one or two emails | Bring the shopper back to the product or similar ones |
| Post-purchase | Places an order, especially a first order | Thank-you soon after purchase; care tips or cross-sells after delivery | Reduce returns and set up a second order |
| Review request | Order is delivered | A few days after delivery, once the product has been used | Collect reviews and catch problems early |
| Win-back | No order for longer than your usual repeat cycle | Timed to your repeat-purchase pattern | Re-engage lapsed customers before they forget you |
| Back in stock | Customer asks to be notified about a sold-out product | When the product is restocked | Turn waiting demand into orders |
Shopify counts a checkout as abandoned when it stays incomplete for more than ten minutes after the customer enters their email. For timing, Klaviyo’s guidance for abandoned cart flows is a first message 2 to 4 hours after someone starts checkout and a second 20 to 48 hours later, with a filter that stops the flow once the person places an order.
Which flows should you build first?
Build in order of how many people each flow reaches at your current size. A win-back flow is useless in month two, because nobody has lapsed yet, while abandoned checkouts start with your first visitors.
| Store stage | Build these | Why now |
|---|---|---|
| Launch and first orders | Abandoned checkout, welcome, and your order notifications | They reach shoppers from day one and recover orders you’d otherwise lose |
| Orders arriving most days | Post-purchase, review request, abandoned cart, browse abandonment | You have enough buyers and browsers for these audiences to matter |
| Repeat customers and some history | Win-back, back in stock, VIP and birthday emails | You now know your repeat cycle and which products sell out |
Resist launching everything at once. Each flow needs its own copy, discount rules and exclusions, and a new subscriber shouldn’t get a welcome email, a browse email and a cart email on the same afternoon. Add one flow, watch it for a few weeks, then add the next.
Shopify Messaging vs Klaviyo vs Omnisend: which should you use?
Start with Shopify Messaging if you want flows running this week inside your admin, and move to Klaviyo or Omnisend when you need back-in-stock flows, deeper segmentation or more complex branching. All three connect directly to your Shopify customer and order data.
| Factor | Shopify Messaging | Klaviyo | Omnisend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where you build flows | Apps > Messaging > Automations in your admin | Separate Klaviyo account connected to Shopify | Separate Omnisend account connected to Shopify |
| Ready-made flows | Abandoned checkout, cart and browse; welcome; thank-you; first-purchase upsell; win-back; birthday; VIP; retail visit | Welcome, abandoned cart and checkout, browse abandonment, post-purchase, win-back, back in stock | Welcome, abandoned cart, browse abandonment, post-purchase |
| Channels | Email, SMS and WhatsApp | Email, SMS, WhatsApp and push | Email, SMS and web push |
| Back-in-stock flow | Not in the template list | Yes | Check the current app listing |
| Best for | New stores that want simple flows fast | Stores that want detailed segments and filters | Stores that want email and SMS in one tool |
In Shopify Messaging, SMS versions exist for the three recovery automations: abandoned checkout, cart and product browse. Pricing is based on how many messages you send, and abandoned checkout emails don’t count toward your Messaging email total. Prices for all three tools change, so compare current plans on each listing; our guide to essential Shopify apps for new stores helps you decide when a paid app is worth it.
Klaviyo flows for Shopify: two settings to check
- Trigger: Klaviyo’s cart flow can start on Started Checkout or Added to Cart, but Added to Cart only works after you enable behavioral event tracking in Klaviyo’s Shopify integration settings.
- Flow filters: add “Placed Order zero times since starting this flow” to every abandonment flow, so customers who complete their order stop receiving reminders.
What consent and deliverability rules apply to Shopify email automation?
Send flows only to people who agreed to hear from you, from a domain you’ve authenticated. Gmail and Yahoo have required the rules below since February 2024, and they apply to your flows as much as to campaigns.
| Requirement | All senders | Senders of 5,000+ messages a day to Gmail, and Yahoo bulk senders |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | SPF or DKIM | SPF and DKIM, plus a DMARC record (a policy of none is allowed) |
| Unsubscribe | Not a listed requirement, but give every marketing email an easy opt-out | One-click unsubscribe in the message header and a visible link; Yahoo says honor unsubscribes within 2 days |
| Spam complaints | Keep below 0.3%; Gmail recommends below 0.1% | Same thresholds |
In Shopify, set your sender address in Settings > Notifications and use Email domain authentication to add the DNS records. Shopify’s email setup guide explains that if you don’t authenticate, your sender address is rewritten to a shopifyemail.com address. If you send through Klaviyo or Omnisend, authenticate your domain in that app too.
Watch out
Consent rules depend on where your customers live. In the UK, the ICO’s guidance on email marketing says you need specific consent unless someone is an existing customer who bought similar products and was offered an opt-out. Keep the marketing checkbox honest at checkout and on sign-up forms.
How do you measure revenue per flow?
Use revenue per recipient (RPR): the revenue credited to a flow divided by the number of people who received it. RPR lets you compare a small, high-intent flow like abandoned checkout with a large one like welcome, which total revenue and open rates can’t.
Example
If a welcome flow reached 800 new subscribers last month and was credited with $2,400 in orders, its RPR is $3. If the win-back flow reached 200 people and earned $300, its RPR is $1.50, so improving the welcome flow is the better use of your time.
- Know the attribution window. By default, Klaviyo credits an order to the last email opened or clicked within 5 days, so some credited orders would have happened anyway. Keep the window the same when comparing months.
- Treat opens with caution. Privacy features in some email apps inflate open counts, so rank flows on clicks, orders and RPR.
- Watch the cost side. Track unsubscribe and spam complaint rates per flow, and any discount each flow hands out.
- Use Shopify’s reports. Shopify has an abandoned checkout emails report showing conversion, sales and average order value for recovery emails.
Do stores in Pakistan and the UAE need different flows?
They need one extra flow that most guides skip: confirming cash on delivery orders before dispatch. When many orders are paid in cash at the door, a quick confirmation by WhatsApp, SMS or phone catches fake orders and wrong addresses before you pay for delivery.
- Treat COD confirmation as an order update, not marketing, and keep it free of promotions.
- Use Shopify Flow to tag new COD orders and send your team an internal email with the list to confirm.
- Send win-back and promotional messages on WhatsApp only to customers who opted in to WhatsApp marketing.
Our guides to cutting COD returns and marketing automation for small businesses cover confirmation scripts and automations outside Shopify.
How TechZone can help
TechZone sets up email flows as part of our Shopify development and store setup services: domain authentication, consent settings, the flows that fit your stage, copy and design that match your theme, and a monthly RPR report. We work in Shopify Messaging, Klaviyo or Omnisend and recommend one based on your catalog and budget. If you’re still launching, start with our Shopify store setup checklist, then book a free 30-minute consultation to plan your first three flows.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify Email free?
Shopify Email is now called Shopify Messaging, and its pricing is based on how many messages you send to customers, with current allowances and rates shown in the app. Abandoned checkout automation emails don’t count toward the emails you send with Shopify Messaging. Check the app listing for up-to-date pricing before you plan a large campaign.
What is a good open rate for Shopify email flows?
Open rates for Shopify email flows are an unreliable yardstick, because privacy features in some email apps load images automatically and inflate opens. Compare flows on click rate, placed order rate and revenue per recipient instead, and compare each flow with its own history rather than with industry averages whose sources and methods you can’t check.
Should abandoned cart emails include a discount?
Abandoned cart emails don’t need a discount in the first message, which can simply remind the shopper and answer questions about delivery, returns or sizing. If you do offer a discount, save it for a later email and limit how often one customer can receive it, so regular shoppers don’t learn to abandon carts to get money off.
How many emails should a welcome series have?
A practical starting point for a welcome series is three or four emails over one to two weeks: the welcome and any sign-up offer first, then your story or best sellers, then social proof such as reviews, then a reminder if the offer is expiring. Stop the series as soon as the subscriber places an order and move them to post-purchase emails.
Can I use Shopify Flow and Klaviyo together?
Shopify Flow and Klaviyo work well together because they do different jobs. Klaviyo sends customer emails and SMS, while Shopify Flow automates store tasks such as tagging high-value customers, flagging risky orders or alerting staff. If your email app syncs Shopify customer tags, the tags Flow adds can decide who enters which flow.
Sources and further reading
- Creating and managing marketing automations in Shopify Messaging – Shopify Help Center
- Recovering abandoned checkouts – Shopify Help Center
- Understanding Klaviyo message attribution – Klaviyo Help Center
- Email sender guidelines – Gmail Help
- Sender best practices – Yahoo Sender Hub
- How to create an abandoned cart flow – Klaviyo Help Center
