Shopify
The 12 email and SMS automations every Shopify store should run.
What each one does, when it should send, how to keep them from piling up on one shopper, and how Amy writes, times and tests them for you.
Updated · 4 min read
The short answer
Every Shopify store should run at least a welcome, an abandoned cart and a post-purchase automation, then add browse abandonment, shipping updates, reorder reminders, review requests and win-backs. Amy writes all 12 from your catalog. Each one starts switched off: you read it, edit it if you like, send yourself a test, then turn it on. All 12 can send texts too, and texting stays off for each one until you turn it on. Campaigns always need your approval.
The 12 automations, and when each one sends
| Automation | When it sends | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome | The moment someone subscribes through your popup or a signup form. The text follows as soon as they give a phone number. | It delivers the offer they just signed up for, while they’re still on your site. |
| Abandoned cart | An hour after a shopper starts checkout and doesn’t finish. If they order in the meantime, nothing sends. | The button rebuilds their cart on any device, so finishing takes one tap. |
| Browse abandonment | Four hours after a known shopper views a product and doesn’t buy. One reminder per shopper per day, naming the product they looked at last. | It reaches shoppers who were interested but never reached checkout. |
| Post-purchase | As soon as an order is placed. | A thank-you and what happens next, with store credit if you offer it. |
| Shipping updates | When the order is on its way, out for delivery, delivered, ready for pickup, or a delivery was missed. You pick which moments send. | Fewer “where’s my order?” emails to answer. |
| Reorder reminders | Timed to how often your customers reorder. Until Amy can measure that from your orders, 30 days after an order. | Brings customers back right when they’re running low. |
| Review requests | Four days after the carrier reports the order delivered, or 21 days after the order if no delivery is reported. | Asks while the product is in their hands. |
| Repeat-buyer thanks | A day after a customer’s second order, once per customer. | Thanks the customers most likely to become regulars. |
| Subscription win-back | When a customer cancels a subscription. | If you sell subscriptions, it asks them back. |
| Failed payment | Every time a subscription payment is declined. | Saves the subscription before it lapses. |
| List win-back | When a subscribed customer’s last order passes 90 days. Once per customer. | Reaches customers drifting away before they’re gone. |
| Unspent credit reminder | A week before a shopper’s store credit expires, and the morning it runs out, only if it’s still unspent. | Turns credit you gave into an order. |
Where to start
If you turn on three, make them these:
- Welcome. New subscribers expect to hear from you right away, and the popup offer is why they signed up.
- Abandoned cart. These shoppers had items in checkout. A reminder an hour later catches them while they still remember why.
- Post-purchase. The first email after an order sets up every one after it.
Then add browse abandonment and shipping updates, and the rest once those are running.
Timing that doesn’t bombard anyone
Twelve automations can pile up on one shopper. Amy spaces them:
- One automated marketing message per person per channel in 24 hours. The first one due wins, and the welcome is exempt.
- Browse abandonment sends at most once per shopper per day.
- A list win-back waits for a reorder reminder that’s still coming, and a reorder reminder steps aside for a win-back that went out in the last 30 days.
- The repeat-buyer thanks waits a day, so it doesn’t land beside the order confirmation.
- Marketing texts go out only between 8am and 8pm in the shopper’s own time zone, and never to a shopper whose time zone Amy can’t tell.
Tested while they run
Amy tests three subject lines on every marketing automation, each a different angle, and keeps the one more people open once it’s clearly ahead. Then she writes new challengers against the winner. Texts are tested too: Amy tries different opening lines and keeps the one that leads to more orders, and a line that draws more STOP replies can’t win. Order confirmations and shipping updates are never tested.
Store credit and offers
After an order, Amy can give the customer store credit only they can use, show it in their emails, and remind them before it expires. Promotions use only the offers you approve, and a receipt never carries one to someone who didn’t opt in to marketing.
Klaviyo flows vs. Amy’s automations
Klaviyo gives you a flow builder and a template library: you design each flow, write each email and decide the timing. Amy gives you the 12 finished automations above, written from your catalog, with no builder to learn. If you need branching journeys with different paths for different shoppers, Klaviyo is the better fit. Amy vs. Klaviyo.
Questions
What email automations should a Shopify store have?
At least a welcome, an abandoned cart and a post-purchase email. Then browse abandonment, shipping updates, reorder reminders, review requests, a repeat-buyer thank-you and win-backs. Amy writes all 12 from your catalog.
When should an abandoned cart email send?
Amy sends it an hour after a shopper starts checkout and doesn’t finish, and skips it if they order in the meantime.
Can Shopify automations send texts?
On Amy, yes. All 12 can send texts too, and texting stays off for each one until you turn it on.
How do I stop customers getting too many emails?
Space the automations. Amy sends one automated marketing message per person per channel in 24 hours, sends browse abandonment at most once a day, and lets a win-back and a reorder reminder step aside for each other.
Do I need a flow builder?
Not with Amy. You get 12 finished automations, each switched off until you read it and turn it on. If you want to design branching journeys yourself, a builder like Klaviyo’s is the better fit.
Does Amy A/B test automations?
Yes. Amy tests three subject lines on every marketing automation and keeps the one more people open, and tests the opening line of texts on orders. Order confirmations and shipping updates are never tested.
Will Amy send an automation I haven’t seen?
No. Every automation starts switched off, and you read and approve it before it runs.