Klaviyo Flows for Beauty and Fashion Brands: The Setup That Pays Back

Klaviyo is the dominant email and SMS platform for DTC beauty and fashion brandss, and the flows you set up there determine the bulk of your retention revenue. Most brands run Klaviyo with three or four basic flows configured. The brands that operate Klaviyo seriously have eight to twelve flows, properly segmented and continuously optimised, contributing 25 to 40 percent of total revenue.

This post is the practical setup, flow by flow, for a beauty or fashion brand running Klaviyo in 2026. No theory, just the configuration that works.

The foundations

Before any flows fire, the data layer needs to be right. Klaviyo's value comes from the events it receives from your store. If those events are missing or wrong, every flow downstream is compromised.

For a Shopify store, the Klaviyo Shopify integration handles most of this automatically: customer profiles, viewed product, added to cart, started checkout, placed order. Make sure all five are firing correctly in your Klaviyo account by checking the metrics dashboard. If "viewed product" or "started checkout" events are not coming through, your flows will not have the triggers they need.

For non-Shopify stores (custom builds, headless setups), the data layer needs manual work. Use Klaviyo's onsite tracking API plus server-side events for purchase confirmation. This is a one-time setup that requires development time and is the foundation everything else sits on.

Welcome series

Trigger: subscriber added to a list (newsletter signup, first purchase opt-in, popup capture).

Sequence: 4 to 5 emails over 12 to 14 days.

Email 1 (immediate): the welcome and incentive delivery if you offered a first-order discount at signup. Subject line that names the offer: "Here's your 10% off, plus a quick hello". Body: short, warm, founder voice if possible, one clear CTA to start shopping.

Email 2 (Day 2): brand story. Why the brand exists, the founder's reason, the perspective on the category. Builds emotional connection without selling.

Email 3 (Day 4): hero product education. Take the bestselling product and explain in detail what it is, who it is for, how to use it, the ingredient or material story. Educational rather than promotional.

Email 4 (Day 7): social proof. Three to five real customer reviews with photos, plus any press coverage. Address the most common objection directly.

Email 5 (Day 14): the soft prompt. "Still thinking?" with the original incentive reminder if it has not been used, or a curated "best for you" selection based on what they browsed.

Conversion expectation: 8 to 15 percent of new subscribers convert to first purchase within the welcome series window for established beauty and fashion brands.

Browse abandonment

Trigger: identified subscriber views a product page without adding to cart.

Sequence: 2 emails plus optional 1 SMS.

Email 1 (1 hour after browse): "Did you find what you were looking for?" with the specific product they viewed plus 2 or 3 related items. No incentive yet. Light touch.

Email 2 (24 hours): address common objections (shipping time, fit guide for fashion, ingredient breakdown for beauty), with a soft incentive (free shipping, small discount) if your margins support it.

SMS (48 hours): short, direct, only if SMS-opted-in. "Still thinking about [Product]? Free shipping today only with code BROWSE."

Conversion expectation: 3 to 7 percent of browse abandoners convert through this flow.

Cart abandonment

Trigger: added to cart, no order within 1 hour.

Sequence: 3 emails plus optional 1 SMS.

Email 1 (1 hour): "You left something behind". Show the cart contents clearly. One clear CTA to complete checkout. No incentive.

Email 2 (24 hours): social proof for the abandoned product (reviews, press) plus the standard objection-handling content.

Email 3 (72 hours): the incentive email. 10 to 15 percent off, time-limited (24 hours). This is the rescue email for genuinely uncertain shoppers.

SMS (12 hours): short, urgent. "Your cart is waiting. 10% off if you check out today: [link]"

Conversion expectation: 15 to 25 percent of abandoned cart sessions recovered through the flow.

Post-purchase educational

Trigger: order placed.

Sequence: 3 emails over 14 days.

Email 1 (Day 1): order confirmation enhanced with what to expect. Delivery timeline, packaging note, what to do when the parcel arrives.

Email 2 (Day 7, after delivery): how to use the product. Educational content from the brand or founder. For beauty: routine sequencing, expected results, common adjustments. For fashion: care instructions, styling notes, fit advice.

Email 3 (Day 14): the cross-sell. Based on what they purchased, suggest 2 to 3 complementary products. Soft, educational rather than promotional.

Conversion expectation: the cross-sell email produces 5 to 12 percent click-through and a meaningful 1 to 3 percent secondary purchase rate. The educational flow is also one of the strongest review-generation channels because the customer is engaged.

Replenishment reminder

Trigger: specific time after purchase based on product usage cycle. Beauty: 25 days after a 30-day product, 80 days after a 90-day product. Fashion: less applicable but works for replenishable categories like underwear, basics, fragrance.

Sequence: 2 emails.

Email 1 (predicted run-out date minus 5 days): "Running low?" with a one-click reorder link and reminder of the original product details.

Email 2 (predicted run-out date plus 7 days, if no reorder): "Need a top-up?" with the reorder link plus an incentive (free shipping or 5 percent off the reorder).

Conversion expectation: replenishment flows produce some of the highest revenue per email send across the entire programme. 8 to 18 percent click-through, 4 to 10 percent reorder rate within the flow window.

Win-back

Trigger: customer has not purchased in 90 to 120 days.

Sequence: 2 to 3 emails.

Email 1 (Day 90 since last purchase): "We miss you" with a personal note from the brand and a soft incentive (15 percent off).

Email 2 (Day 100 if no response): social proof of new launches and updates since their last purchase.

Email 3 (Day 120 if still no response): the final nudge with a stronger incentive, and a soft "would you like to unsubscribe?" option that respects the customer's decision.

Conversion expectation: 8 to 15 percent of lapsed customers reactivate through a properly-designed win-back flow.

Birthday and anniversary

Trigger: birthday date or anniversary of first purchase, captured at signup or post-purchase.

Sequence: 1 to 2 emails.

Email 1 (5 days before birthday): birthday gift offer. Free product with purchase, or 20 percent off.

Email 2 (3 days before, if no purchase): reminder.

Conversion expectation: 12 to 20 percent of recipients act on the offer.

VIP recognition

Trigger: customer crosses a defined spend threshold (typically top 10 percent of customers).

Sequence: 1 email.

Email: thank you, recognition of their support, a meaningful gesture (early access to launches, a small gift, a higher-value discount, or invitation to a private event for London-based VIPs). Soft, relationship-building.

Conversion expectation: measured in long-term retention rather than immediate conversion. VIP flows reduce churn at the high-value end of the customer base.

What to skip in the first 90 days

Trying to set up all flows at once usually produces a half-finished programme. Prioritise: welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase, replenishment. Get those four working at 80 percent quality before adding browse abandonment, win-back, birthday, or VIP. The big four will produce 70 percent of the revenue. The rest add incremental gains over time.

If you would like help configuring Klaviyo for your brand, Byter's beauty and fashion brand marketing service builds Klaviyo programmes for London DTC brands.