Why flows matter more than you think
Campaigns reach everyone at once; flows reach the right person at the right moment. Because they fire on behaviour - a signup, an abandoned cart, a delivered order - they tend to earn far more per send than a broadcast. Build them once, and they keep working.
Start with the core four
Welcome
A new subscriber is never more interested than right now. A welcome flow introduces your brand, sets expectations, and gently moves people toward a first purchase - ideally over a few emails, not one.
Abandoned cart
Someone added to cart and left. A short, well-timed sequence reminds them, answers the quiet objection, and makes finishing easy. This is often the single highest-earning flow a store runs.
Post-purchase
The moment after an order is pure goodwill. Confirm, set delivery expectations, help people get the most from what they bought, and lay the groundwork for a second order.
Win-back
Customers go quiet. A win-back flow re-engages lapsed buyers with a reason to return before you sunset them from your active list.
Then add browse and replenishment
Once the core four are live, a browse-abandonment flow catches interest that never reached the cart, and - for consumables - a replenishment flow reminds people to reorder right when they are running low. Both are low-effort, high-relevance wins.
Trigger and branch on behaviour
The power of flows is relevance. Branch on what people actually do: first-time versus returning, which collection they viewed, how much they spent. A flow that adapts to the person always beats one that treats everyone the same.
Design them like campaigns
Most brands pour design effort into campaigns and leave flows as plain, default templates - even though flows are seen by your most engaged people. Build every flow from your brand design system so it looks the part, and the whole program feels coherent.
Measure what each flow earns
Track revenue and repeat rate per flow, not just opens. That tells you which flow to improve next and proves the channel's worth. Then test timing, offers and creative one change at a time, so every flow earns a little more each month.