Ecommerce email flows checklist

Run this when a store has a list but only one or two automations, or when flows were set up long ago and nobody has opened them since. It starts with the sending foundations that decide whether messages arrive at all, moves through the flows that carry most of the revenue, then covers the frequency rules and list hygiene that keep the whole programme working.

Sending foundations

Authenticate the sending domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.Why: Unauthenticated mail is filtered before anyone sees the offer, however good the message inside is.How: Add the records your email platform supplies to DNS, use a branded sending subdomain, and confirm all three pass on the platform status page.
Warm a new sending domain before moving all volume onto it.Why: A cold domain sending to an entire list at once looks like a spam pattern to inbox providers.How: Start with the most engaged recent buyers, raise daily volume in steps over a few weeks, and watch complaint and bounce rates at every step.
Record consent with a timestamp and a source on every profile.Why: Consent evidence is what lets you keep sending and is what a complaint investigation will ask for.How: Capture the form, the page and the time of signup as profile properties, and keep single and double opt in lists separate from each other.
Send from a name and reply address a person actually answers.Why: Replies to a no reply address lose sales conversations and damage sender reputation over time.How: Send from the brand name with a monitored inbox behind it, and route replies to whoever answers customer questions each day.

The flows a store needs

Build the welcome flow to introduce the range, not just to hand over a code.Why: New subscribers are at their most attentive, and a discount alone teaches them to wait for discounts.How: Send a first message covering the brand and best sellers, a second on how to choose, and place any incentive where it fits the product.
Build a browse abandonment flow for people who viewed but never added.Why: Viewing a product is a weaker signal than adding to basket and needs a lighter, more helpful message.How: Trigger on a product view with no add to cart within a day, show the viewed product plus two alternatives, and cap how often it can repeat.
Build a post purchase flow that covers the wait before delivery.Why: The gap between paying and receiving is where support tickets and cancellation requests come from.How: Send the order confirmation, then a use and care message timed to arrival, then a review request a few days after delivery.
Build the replenishment flow around the real consumption cycle.Why: Reorder timing belongs to the product, not to a fixed interval applied across the whole catalogue.How: Work out how long each consumable lasts, trigger a reminder slightly before it runs out, and vary the delay by product rather than by list.
Build a winback flow for customers past their normal reorder gap.Why: Existing customers are cheaper to bring back than new ones are to find in the first place.How: Define lapsed as a multiple of your median gap between orders, then send a short sequence that acknowledges the gap and shows what is new.

Segmentation and timing

Exclude anyone in an active flow from that day's campaign send.Why: Getting a promotion and an automated message on the same day feels careless and raises unsubscribes.How: Add a suppression condition to campaigns for profiles who received a flow message in the last day, and check it before every send.
Segment by purchase history rather than by opens alone.Why: What someone bought predicts what they buy next far better than whether they opened last week's email.How: Build segments for first time buyers, repeat buyers and category buyers, and write a different opening line for each of them.
Set a sending window so automated messages do not arrive overnight.Why: A message landing at three in the morning is buried under everything else by the time the person wakes.How: Use the platform smart sending window to hold messages until a local morning slot, and review the window for each market you send to.
Cap the total automated messages one profile can receive in a week.Why: Several flows can fire at once for an active shopper, and the combined volume reads as spam.How: Set a global frequency cap per profile, and give the flows a priority order so the most valuable message takes the available slot.

List health and reporting

Sunset profiles who have not engaged for a defined period.Why: Sending to people who never engage lowers inbox placement for the people who do want the mail.How: Run a short sunset sequence at a set inactivity threshold, then suppress anyone who still does not engage from regular sends.
Use one attribution window across every flow you compare.Why: Different windows make one flow look stronger than another for reasons that have nothing to do with the message.How: Fix a single click and open window in the platform settings, note it beside the reporting, and compare flows only within that window.
Compare email revenue with store revenue for the same period each month.Why: Platform attribution overlaps with paid and organic, so the raw figure overstates what email contributed.How: Pull store orders carrying an email source tag, compare with the platform figure, and use the ratio as a discount factor in reporting.
Open every live flow message once a quarter and click every link.Why: Automated emails keep sending long after the products inside them have been discontinued.How: Read each message end to end, replace retired products with dynamic recommendation blocks, and record the date of the review.

Questions

Four cover most of the value: welcome, cart recovery, post purchase and winback. Add browse abandonment and replenishment once those are live and earning.

Only where the message needs one. Adding a code to every flow trains customers to wait for the code before they order, which costs margin on sales you already had.

Compare revenue per recipient between versions of the same flow rather than open rates. Opens moved with privacy features, revenue per recipient still reflects what the message did.

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Ecommerce email flows checklist

Sending foundations

The flows a store needs

Segmentation and timing

List health and reporting

Questions

How many flows does a store need to start?

Should flows include a discount?

How do I know if a flow is working?

Related

Your plan is free.