Klaviyo + Shopify: A Practical Setup Guide

Key takeaways

• Klaviyo is a widely used email platform for Shopify brands. The integration is well-supported and the setup is straightforward.
• Five flows do most of the work: welcome, abandoned cart, post-purchase, browse abandonment, win-back. Build these before any campaign sends.
• Segmentation does more for revenue than copy does. Send the right message to the right segment; the copy is secondary.
• Klaviyo’s free tier covers up to 250 contacts and 500 monthly email sends - enough to build and validate your flows before paying. Beyond that, paid tiers earn back.

To set up Klaviyo on Shopify, install the Klaviyo app, connect your store so customers, orders and products sync, turn on the Klaviyo app embed for onsite tracking, then build five flows before your first campaign.

Why you can trust us

We have worked in the Shopify ecosystem for more than four years and have set up Klaviyo for dozens of stores across categories. We build Fudge, the AI operator for Shopify stores, with a 4.9 rating on the Shopify App Store. On the email side, it builds the popups, sign-up forms and landing pages that feed Klaviyo, while Klaviyo still sends the emails.

Step 1: Install and connect

1. Install the Klaviyo app from the Shopify App Store.
2. Authorise the connection - this syncs your customer, order, and product data automatically.
3. Verify the data sync ran correctly in Klaviyo (Profiles → search for a known customer).
4. Turn on the Klaviyo app embed (Online Store → Themes → Customize → App embeds). This enables onsite tracking for browse abandonment and segmentation.

Sync usually completes within an hour for stores under 50K customers.

Step 2: Set up the five flows that matter

1. Welcome flow

Triggers: new subscriber via popup or signup form.

Touches: 3-5 emails over 7-10 days.

• Touch 1 (immediate): the discount code, brand intro, single CTA back to the store.
• Touch 2 (24h): founder story + brand promise.
• Touch 3 (72h): if no purchase, the offer reminder + curated 3-product pick.
• Touch 4 (5d): UGC + customer photos.
• Touch 5 (10d): final discount-code reminder before expiry.

2. Abandoned cart flow

Triggers: started checkout, didn’t complete.

Touches: 3 emails over 72 hours.

• Touch 1 (2-4h): “you left something” + items + checkout link.
• Touch 2 (24h): reminder + reviews or answers to common objections.
• Touch 3 (72h): final reminder, with the incentive if you use one (5-10% off or free shipping).

This follows Klaviyo’s own advice: first message two to four hours after checkout starts, and hold any discount for the last message so the flow doesn’t teach shoppers to abandon.

Don’t extend beyond 72h; abandoned-cart relevance decays sharply.

3. Post-purchase flow

Triggers: order placed.

Touches: 3-5 emails over 14-21 days.

• Touch 1 (immediate): thank-you + how-to-use content.
• Touch 2 (3d): customer success / educational content.
• Touch 3 (7d): UGC + community.
• Touch 4 (14d): cross-sell / replenishment reminder.
• Touch 5 (21d): review request.

4. Browse abandonment

Triggers: viewed a product, didn’t add to cart, exited.

Touches: 1-2 emails over 24 hours.

• Touch 1 (3h): “still thinking about this?” + the product + 1-2 alternatives.
• Touch 2 (24h, optional): incentive.

Lower priority than abandoned cart, so build it last of the five.

5. Win-back flow

Triggers: previously purchased, no purchase in 60-90 days (depends on category cadence).

Touches: 2-3 emails over 14 days.

• Touch 1: “we miss you” + new arrivals.
• Touch 2 (7d): incentive to return.
• Touch 3 (14d): final incentive + risk-free framing.

Selling a consumable category changes the shape of these flows. For a worked example, see our guide to Klaviyo flows for skincare brands, which covers replenishment timing and the post-purchase education window. Fashion brands have their own worked example in our guide to Klaviyo flows for fashion.

Step 3: Set up segmentation

These are the segments that earn revenue.

Engagement segments

• Engaged 30: opened or clicked in the last 30 days
• Engaged 90: same, 90 days
• Disengaged: no open/click in 90+ days

Most stores should send most campaign mail to Engaged 30 + Engaged 90. Sending to disengaged at high frequency hurts deliverability.

Behaviour segments

• Cart abandoners (last 30 days) - separate from active flow
• Browse abandoners (last 30 days)
• Quiz completers (if you run a quiz)
• High-AOV customers (purchase value > X)
• VIP customers (multiple purchases / lifetime value above threshold)

Lifecycle segments

• New subscribers (no purchase yet)
• First-purchase customers
• Repeat customers
• Lapsed (last purchase > 6 months)

Product / category segments

• Customers who bought from category X (use for category-specific cross-sells)
• Customers who bought specific product Y (use for replenishment)

For where email fits in the wider funnel, see the Shopify sales funnel guide.

Step 4: Build campaigns on top of flows

Flows are automated, segmented messaging. Campaigns are time-specific blasts (BFCM, new product launch, content release).

Campaign best practices:

• Always segment by engagement (don’t send to Disengaged 90)
• Test send times in your audience’s timezone
• On lists above 50,000 contacts, A/B test subject lines on engaged segments before sending to the full list
• Track revenue per send, not just open rate

What to skip in Klaviyo

• SMS at low scale. SMS open rates are great; the per-send cost is real. Below $500K revenue, focus email; layer SMS later.
• Predictive analytics features at low scale. Klaviyo’s predictive LTV / churn risk requires meaningful purchase volume to calibrate. Below 1,000 customers, the predictions are noise.
• Complex split testing without traffic. Below 50,000 contacts on the list, A/B testing campaigns produces noisy results.
• Every flow on day one. Build the five core flows first. Add replenishment, back in stock and others later as data accumulates.

For the sign-up form that feeds these flows, see the Shopify newsletter popup guide.

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