For modern ecommerce brands, email marketing is still one of the most powerful tools for driving revenue. But if you're only sending one-off campaigns, you're leaving serious money on the table.
That’s where email marketing automation comes in. According to Klaviyo benchmarks, automated emails generate up to 30x more revenue per recipient (RPR) than campaigns. Why? Because they’re triggered by real-time behavior, making them timely, relevant, and hyper-personalized—without all the manual effort.
In this guide, you’ll discover 10 essential ecommerce email automations, along with real-world examples and performance benchmarks to help you get more out of every send.
Email automations (aka flows) are emails sent automatically based on customer behavior—like joining your list, browsing products, abandoning a cart, or making a purchase. These flows nurture relationships, boost conversions, and build loyalty over time, all while saving your team time.
Now let’s dive into the 10 most impactful flows every ecommerce brand should have in place.
Your welcome flow is your first impression—make it count. This flow is triggered when someone signs up for your list and introduces your brand in a way that converts new subscribers into customers.
Performance tip: Klaviyo data shows the average welcome flow generates $2.65 per recipient, with top brands seeing 10.53% placed order rates.
💡 Pro tip: If a subscriber also opts into SMS, build a cross-channel welcome experience using both email and text for a higher lift in revenue—just like home fragrance brand Otherland, which saw 3.3x higher MoM revenue after implementing this strategy.
Someone added to cart but didn’t buy? Don’t let them slip away. Cart abandonment emails recover lost sales by reminding shoppers what they left behind—and adding a little incentive can go a long way.
RPR benchmark: $3.65—the highest among all email flows.
Montirex, a sportswear brand, tailors its messages based on cart value—offering discounts only when the potential revenue justifies it. This smart segmentation helps them attribute 30% of Klaviyo-generated revenue to their cart recovery flow.
💡 Pro tip: A/B test your subject lines and discount tiers to find the right mix of urgency and conversion.
Your visitors are curious—but didn’t add anything to cart. This flow rekindles interest by showcasing the exact products they viewed and smart recommendations based on behavior.
Average click rate: 5.48%—higher than most automations.
Shoe brand Charlotte Stone nails this flow by blending playful messaging with personalized product picks, nudging shoppers back to where they left off.
💡 Pro tip: Use dynamic content to show location-based recommendations or “you may also like” products.
Don’t stop after the sale. Transactional flows like order confirmations and shipping updates build trust and reduce support tickets.
These emails get 61.68% open rates—the highest across flows—because they contain essential info customers are waiting for.
Brands like Brightland and Manly Bands take it further by designing beautiful transactional emails that also reflect their brand voice, while staying compliant with email regulations.
💡 Pro tip: Include care guides, setup videos, or product use tips to increase engagement and reduce returns.
Social proof sells. Review request flows encourage customers to share feedback a few days after receiving their order.
Compass Coffee used Klaviyo Reviews to trigger reward-based emails—offering 15% off only if the review includes a photo. The result? A 3.7x increase in photo reviews QoQ and a 70.5% overall lift in total reviews.
💡 Pro tip: Time your requests based on product use cycles to improve response rates.
If you sell consumables, this flow is non-negotiable. Send a gentle nudge just before a customer runs out, using predictive analytics or average reorder windows.
Cleaning brand Force of Nature uses SKU-specific timelines to trigger these reminders, contributing to 140% YoY revenue growth from automations.
💡 Pro tip: Use AI to predict the next order date, like men’s grooming brand Every Man Jack, to time these emails perfectly.
Sold out? That’s not the end of the road. Let customers subscribe to product alerts and notify them the moment something they wanted is back.
Lifestraw used Klaviyo’s back-in-stock flows to help beat their annual email revenue goals in a single quarter.
💡 Pro tip: Give early access to VIPs to reward loyalty and increase urgency.
Educational content adds post-purchase value. From how-to guides to styling tips, instructional emails reduce product friction and show you care beyond the sale.
Beauty brand ILIA used this approach to send seasonal tutorials that keep their products relevant—long after the initial purchase.
💡 Pro tip: Link to video tutorials or your blog for deeper engagement.
Recognize your best customers with automated perks like early access, free shipping, or secret sales.
Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit created a “V.I.B.” (Very Important Biscuiteer) program using flows—triggered by customers’ second or third order—to surprise and delight. It powered 157.8% YoY growth in flow revenue.
💡 Pro tip: Use dynamic segments that automatically update based on spend or purchase frequency.
Celebrate your customers. Birthday and milestone emails not only build emotional loyalty but also keep your brand top of mind year-round.
Les Raffineurs took a fun spin on birthday emails with gift guides tailored to astrology signs—combining utility and delight in one creative package.
💡 Pro tip: Personalize based on customer interests or recent purchases for even better engagement.
Email campaigns are important, but automations are where your marketing works hardest and smartest. Whether you’re just starting with flows or fine-tuning your existing strategy, focusing on these high-impact automations can drive consistent revenue, improve CX, and scale your brand with less effort.
And with Klaviyo’s built-in analytics and AI tools, you can keep learning, testing, and improving—automatically.
Want help setting up or optimizing these flows for your brand? As a certified Klaviyo Partner, we help ecommerce businesses of all sizes build automations that convert. Let’s talk strategy.