Build a Welcome Email Flow in Klaviyo for Shopify (Step by Step)

The welcome flow is the highest-leverage sequence you’ll build in Klaviyo — new subscribers are at peak interest the moment they sign up. Here’s the step-by-step we use on our Shopify store, written for someone who’s in Klaviyo for the first time. (If you haven’t picked your tool yet, start with our Klaviyo vs Omnisend vs Mailchimp comparison.)

Step 1 — Create the flow and set the trigger

In Klaviyo, go to Flows → Create Flow → Welcome Series (or build from scratch). Set the trigger to “Joins a list” and pick the list your Shopify signup form feeds. This is the single most common mistake: a welcome flow pointed at the wrong list sends nothing.

Step 2 — Decide double opt-in

Double opt-in (confirming via a click in a confirmation email) protects deliverability but adds friction. Our take:

• Use it if you get spam signups or buy traffic that attracts bots.
• Skip it if you’re a small store with clean organic signups and want the highest conversion.

Either way, the welcome flow should fire on list join, not on a separate “confirmed” event, unless you intentionally require confirmation first.

Step 3 — The sequence that works

A three-email welcome performed best for us:

1. Email 1 (immediately): the thank-you + the one thing you want them to do (browse bestsellers, get a first-order nudge if you offer one). Keep it about them, not your company history.
2. Email 2 (+2 days): social proof — reviews, what other buyers loved. This is where browsers become buyers.
3. Email 3 (+5 days): a softer brand story or a category guide, then let them settle. Don’t keep hammering.

Practical tip: branch on behavior. If someone opens email 1 but doesn’t click, the next email should be more direct. If they purchase, exit them from the flow immediately — don’t welcome someone who already bought.

Step 4 — Use Klaviyo’s event data

This is where Klaviyo beats simpler tools (we compare them in the Klaviyo review). You can branch the welcome on:

• Whether they’re a new vs returning customer
• What product/category they were viewing when they signed up (pass that via Shopify events)
• Their predicted LTV segment

Even a light version of this — “new vs returning” — noticeably lifts the welcome conversion.

Step 5 — Measure and prune

Watch flow revenue and conversion rate, not just opens. If email 2 underperforms, it’s usually proof or offer, not copy length. And keep your list clean — our abandoned-cart flow guide covers the other high-ROI sequence to build next.

Bottom line

A welcome flow isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s the cheapest revenue you’ll ever make, because the audience is warmest at signup. Build the three-email version, branch on behavior, and exit buyers fast. Then move on to cart recovery.

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Written by the team behind a working Shopify store, after rebuilding our Klaviyo welcome and cart flows. For the tool decision behind all this, see the Klaviyo vs Omnisend vs Mailchimp comparison.