automation

Klaviyo Automation Setup for Ecommerce: A Practical Checklist

1 July 2026

Setting up email marketing for ecommerce is often treated as a "set and forget" task, yet many brands leave significant revenue on the table through poor configuration. While a well-optimised account can drive approximately a fifth of total store orders, reaching that threshold requires more than just turning on a default welcome template.

This checklist provides a practical framework for auditing or building your Klaviyo setup, with comparative notes for brands using Mailchimp, Brevo, or The Marketer.

1. Technical Foundation and Data Integration

The strength of your automation depends entirely on the quality of data flowing from your ecommerce platform (Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce) to your ESP.

Klaviyo & The Marketer: These platforms rely heavily on a deep, server-side integration. Ensure your "Placed Order," "Fulfilled Order," and "Started Checkout" events are firing correctly. A common mistake is failing to track "Viewed Product" and "Added to Cart" metrics, which are essential for mid-funnel browse abandonment flows.

Mailchimp & Brevo: While these tools have improved their ecommerce triggers, they often require third-party connectors or specific API calls to match the granular tracking available in Klaviyo.

Technical Checklist:

Dedicated Sending Domain: Essential for deliverability. Do not send from a shared pool if your volume exceeds 5,000 emails per day.
DMARC, SPF, and DKIM: Ensure these records are updated in your DNS settings to comply with the 2024 sender requirements from Google and Yahoo.
Web Tracking Snippet: Verify that the "Active on Site" script is installed in the header of your store to track anonymous and identified browser behaviour.

2. Defining Essential Segments

Effective email marketing for ecommerce relies on sending fewer, more relevant emails. You cannot achieve this without robust segmentation. Start with these four core segments:

Engaged 30/60/90: Profiles who have opened or clicked an email in the last 30, 60, or 90 days. This is your primary sending list to maintain high deliverability.
VIPs: Define this by Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) or frequency. According to Klaviyo benchmarks, your top 5-10% of customers often generate a disproportionate amount of revenue.
Unengaged/Win-back: Profiles who have purchased in the past but haven't interacted with an email in over 180 days.
Potential Purchasers: Profiles who have been active on the site in the last 30 days but have never placed an order.

In platforms like Brevo or Mailchimp, ensure these segments are dynamic (auto-updating) rather than static lists.

3. The Core Automation Flows

Automated flows are the "silent earners" of your tech stack. For most ecommerce brands, the following five flows are non-negotiable.

The Welcome Series

This is your first impression. If you offer a discount in exchange for a signup, the first email must deliver it immediately.

Timing: Email 1 (Immediate), Email 2 (24 hours later), Email 3 (3 days later).
Logic: Set a filter to "Has not placed an order since starting this flow" so customers don't receive discount reminders after they've already bought.

Abandoned Checkout vs. Abandoned Cart

In Klaviyo, these are distinct. An "Abandoned Cart" triggers when someone adds an item but doesn't reach the checkout. "Abandoned Checkout" triggers when they start the checkout process but don't finish.

Threshold: Wait 1–2 hours before sending the first reminder.
Mailchimp Note: Mailchimp often combines these into a single "Abandoned Cart" flow; ensure your triggers are set to the highest level of intent possible.

Browse Abandonment

This targets users who viewed a product page but didn't add to cart. It is high-volume but lower-intent.

Tactics: Keep the tone helpful rather than "creepy." Avoid heavy discounting here; instead, highlight social proof or product benefits.

Post-Purchase & Thank You

The period immediately after a purchase is when customer engagement is highest.

Transactional vs. Marketing: Use this to set expectations for shipping and offer a "How to use" guide.
The Marketer Note: Platforms like The Marketer excel here by allowing highly personalised product recommendations based on the specific SKU purchased.

Customer Win-back

Targeting customers who have lapsed.

Timing: Base this on your average time between orders. If your average customer buys every 40 days, trigger your win-back at day 60.

4. Flow Logic and QA

Before going live, you must audit the logic to prevent "email fatigue"—the primary cause of unsubscribes.

Feature	Purpose	Recommended Setting
Smart Sending	Prevents a user from receiving too many emails in a short window.	Enable (16-24 hour window).
Flow Filters	Prevents customers from receiving irrelevant messages.	Filter out recent purchasers from abandonment flows.
UTM Tracking	Ensures revenue is correctly attributed in Google Analytics.	Use consistent naming conventions (e.g., flow_name).
A/B Testing	Continually optimising performance.	Test subject lines first, then offer types, then send times.

5. Deliverability and List Hygiene

Your email marketing for ecommerce is only as good as your "Inboxed" rate. If your emails land in the spam folder, the tech stack is irrelevant.

Sunset Policy: Create a flow that identifies unengaged subscribers and attempts one final re-engagement before automatically suppressing them. Keeping "dead weight" on your list increases costs and hurts your reputation with ISPs.
Double Opt-in: While it may slow list growth, it ensures that every profile on your list is a valid, interested human. This is particularly important for brands operating in the UK and EU to remain compliant with GDPR.

6. Testing and Optimization (QA)

Never "Go Live" with a flow without testing the triggers.

Trigger Test: Go to your site, add an item to the cart, and leave. Check if the "Abandoned Cart" flow triggers for your profile in the Klaviyo dashboard.
Coupon Check: Ensure all dynamic coupon codes are generating correctly and that the expiration dates match the copy in your email.
Mobile Rendering: Use Litmus or Klaviyo’s built-in preview tool to check your designs. A significant majority of ecommerce emails are opened on mobile devices; if your "Buy Now" button is too small or your images don't load, your conversion rate will suffer.

Summary Checklist for Go-Live

Integration between store and ESP is verified and active.
Dedicated sending domain is warmed up and authenticated.
"Active on Site" and "Viewed Product" tracking is confirmed.
Welcome, Abandoned Checkout, Browse Abandonment, and Post-Purchase flows are active.
Smart Sending is enabled to prevent inbox clutter.
Dynamic segments (Engaged 30/60/90) are created for manual campaigns.
Suppression list logic (Sunset Flow) is in place.

Work with us

If you need a senior team to audit your current Klaviyo setup or build out a high-performing automation strategy from scratch, we can help. Inboxwave specialises in technical implementation and lifecycle marketing for growing ecommerce brands. Get in touch to book a discovery call.