All 10 Flows · 2026 · Free
2% of sends generates 30% of revenue.
Across 27 billion emails, automations were 2% of everything sent and 30% of all email revenue. Per send that's $3.41 against $0.155. Below is the complete build spec for the ten flows that make up that 2%. For each one:
- What triggers it
- The exact timing
- What goes in every email
- The suppression rules that keep flows from colliding
- The mistake that shows up most
What's inside
01Why flows win
An automated email is worth 22 campaign emails
Omnisend looked at 27 billion emails across 150,000 brands in 2025. Automated messages were 2% of everything sent and made 30% of all email revenue. Per send, the gap is wider still.
22x
An automated email earned $3.41. A scheduled campaign earned $0.155. Same list, same brand, same inbox.
Most brands put their whole calendar into the fifteen cent side and leave the three dollar side half built. The findings at the end of this report are all measuring that fifteen cent side.
The build spec
All ten flows, start to finish
Timings follow Klaviyo's and Omnisend's published guidance wherever they publish one, and are noted inline where they differ from a default. Revenue per email and conversion rates below are Omnisend's published 2025 benchmarks, drawn from 20 billion emails across 27,000+ brands. For comparison, a scheduled campaign email earned $0.155 and converted at 0.08%. Every flow with a published figure beats that by a wide margin.
| # | Flow | Emails | Span | Rev / email | Conv. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Welcome series | 5 | 7 days | $6.16 | 2.11% |
| 02 | Abandoned checkout | 4 | 48 hrs | $3.59 | 1.72% |
| 03 | Post-purchase | 4 | 21 days | $1.75 | 0.93% |
| 04 | Abandoned cart | 3 | 48 hrs | $3.59 | 1.72% |
| 05 | Winback | 3 | 7 days | $0.51 | 0.54% |
| 06 | Browse abandon | 2 | 24 hrs | $0.76 | 0.59% |
| 07 | VIP / loyalty | 3 | ongoing | n/a | n/a |
| 08 | Back in stock | 2 | 24 hrs | $9.14 | 6.72% |
| 09 | Price drop | 1 | instant | n/a | n/a |
| 10 | Sunset / re-engagement | 2 | 5 days | n/a | n/a |
| Campaign email | $0.155 | 0.08% |
NoteOmnisend doesn't split cart and checkout abandonment, so both carry the combined benchmark. VIP, price drop and sunset have no published per-email figure, which is worth knowing before you decide what to build first.
Flow 01
Welcome series
$6.16 per email · 2.11% conv.Trigger: any list signup. Split the entry by source if you can. Someone who took a popup discount, someone who opted in at checkout, and someone who joined from a footer form arrived with completely different intent and should not get identical emails.
Immediate
Deliver the promise. Whatever the popup offered, lead with it. One CTA. Tell them what they'll receive and how often.
+1 day
The problem you solve. Tell the brand story, but only the part that earns trust. No discount here, you already used yours.
+3 days
Bestsellers with proof attached to each one. Product-specific reviews, not a generic testimonial wall.
+5 days
Objection handling. Shipping cost, delivery time, returns, sizing, guarantee. This is the email that usually gets cut, and it's where non-buyers convert.
+7 days
Expiry. A real deadline on the entry offer. Then exit.
SuppressAnyone who purchases exits immediately into post-purchase.
MistakeStopping at three emails because the template had three slots.
Flow 02
Abandoned checkout
$3.59 per email · 1.72% conv.Trigger: checkout started, email captured, no order placed. This only fires if they entered an email before abandoning, so volume is lower than cart abandon and the intent is much higher.
2 hours
Assume it broke. No discount. Card declined, page crashed, phone died. Remove the friction and give them a direct link back to a filled cart.
12 hours
Trust. Reviews, guarantee, return policy, a real support contact.
24 hours
Answer the objection. Usually price, shipping or fit. Discount here only if margin allows.
48 hours
Expiry or scarcity, then exit the flow.
SuppressPurchasers, and anyone simultaneously in cart abandon. Checkout supersedes cart.
MistakeDiscounting in email one. You just paid margin to someone who was already buying.
Flow 03
Post-purchase
$1.75 per email · 0.93% conv.Trigger: order placed. Everyone gets this one. Note that shipping and delivery notifications usually come from Shopify or your fulfillment app rather than your ESP, so this flow either rides alongside them or replaces them. Decide which before you build, or your customer gets two emails about the same box.
On ship
Delivery expectations. The highest open rate you'll ever get. Use it for something beyond a tracking number.
On delivery
How to use it well. Zero selling. This email exists to prevent the refund.
+14 days
Review request. One ask, no other CTA competing with it. Omnisend puts this at two weeks after fulfillment, which gives people time to actually use the thing.
+21 days
Cross-sell the natural companion to what they bought, not whatever is trending. Move this timing to match how long your product actually lasts. Twenty-one days is right for apparel and wrong for a 90 day supplement.
SuppressPause promotional campaigns for the first 7 days so this flow isn't competing with a flash sale.
MistakeSelling in email one. They just bought. Let them receive it first.
Flow 04
Abandoned cart
$3.59 per email · 1.72% conv.Trigger: added to cart, never reached checkout. Requires your ESP's onsite tracking script installed and firing, which is worth verifying before you blame the copy.
4 hours
The exact item. Image, name, price, one click back to a filled cart.
24 hours
Social proof on that specific product. Not brand-level reviews. Klaviyo recommends 20 to 48 hours after the first message, so anywhere in that window works.
48 hours
Incentive or urgency, then exit.
SuppressAnyone who reached checkout, who belongs in flow 02 instead. Klaviyo's required filter is "has placed order zero times since starting this flow," which runs before every message rather than only at entry.
MistakeShowing a generic bestseller instead of the thing they actually put in the cart. You know what they wanted. Use it.
Flow 05
Winback
$0.51 per email · 0.54% conv.Trigger: 1.5x their normal reorder gap with no purchase. Omnisend's default reactivation template starts at 30 days, which suits consumables. For considered purchases the same logic lands closer to 90 to 180 days. Use your own reorder gap rather than either default.
Before
Segment by historic AOV first. This step is the whole flow.
Day 0
What's changed since they last bought. A reason to look again.
+3 days
What launched since their last order. Genuinely new, not repackaged.
+7 days
Reactivation offer sized to their historic AOV. A $400 customer and a $40 customer get different numbers.
SuppressAnyone who has purchased inside the window. Engagement is the wrong filter here. Someone who opens every email and hasn't bought in six months is exactly who this flow is for.
MistakeOne winback for everybody. It's the cheapest revenue in the store and it gets the laziest segmentation.
Flow 06
Browse abandon
$0.76 per email · 0.59% conv.Trigger: product page viewed, with no add to cart. Same onsite tracking prerequisite as cart abandon. Most platforms fire on a single view, so if you want a two-view or dwell-time threshold you'll be building that filter yourself.
2 hours
The exact product viewed, plus two alternatives in the same category and price band.
24 hours
Reviews for that product. Address the specific hesitation: fit, quality, whether it's worth the money.
SuppressAnyone who has since carted or purchased.
MistakeNot having it at all. Far more people look at a product than put one in a cart, so this is the biggest group on your site you could be emailing. It also gets the least email.
Flow 07
VIP / loyalty
no published benchmarkTrigger: crossing a revenue percentile. Top 5% of spend, not "three or more orders."
On entry
Name the status and state the perks concretely. Vague "you're special" emails do nothing.
Per launch
Early access, 24 to 48 hours ahead of the main list. The perk that costs you nothing.
At risk
A separate trigger when a VIP crosses 1.5x their normal reorder gap. Losing one of these costs more than losing twenty regular customers.
SuppressNever send VIPs a discount shallower than one they've already had.
MistakeDefining VIP by order count. Someone with eight $20 orders isn't your best customer.
Flow 08
Back in stock
$9.14 per email · 6.72% conv.Trigger: restock of a product someone waitlisted. Requires a capture form on every out-of-stock product page, which is the step that usually never gets built.
Instant
Speed is the entire flow. Minutes matter. Batch this hourly and you've lost most of it.
+24 hours
Only if inventory is genuinely limited. Say the real number.
SuppressAnyone who bought the item elsewhere in your catalog in the meantime.
MistakeNo capture form on the out-of-stock page. The flow can't fire on demand you never collected.
Flow 09
Price drop
no published benchmarkTrigger: a price reduction on a product they viewed or carted.
Instant
Old price struck through, new price beside it. One product, one message.
SuppressCap the frequency. Once a quarter per customer is a reasonable starting point, then tune it against your discount cadence.
MistakeRunning it too often and teaching your list that waiting always pays.
Flow 10
Sunset / re-engagement
protects everything elseTrigger: 90 to 180 days with no click and no site activity, tuned to your purchase cycle. Do not build this on opens. Apple Mail Privacy Protection auto-opens a large share of your list, so an open-based sunset flow will suppress engaged people and keep dead ones.
Day 0
A real preference choice. Fewer emails, different topics, or none. Make the options genuine.
+5 days
Final notice before suppression.
Then
Suppress them. Actually do it. This is the step that gets skipped.
SuppressThat's the point of it. Everyone past the final notice stays off your sending list.
MistakeNever running it. Dead weight drags inbox placement for every other flow on this page.
If you only build three
Back in stock, post-purchase, browse abandon
Every brand already has a welcome series and a cart abandon. They're sitting in every ESP's template library, so they get built on day one.
Of what's left, back in stock earns more per email than anything else Omnisend measured. $9.14 against $6.16 for a welcome email, converting at 6.72%. It only fires on a restock so it sends less, but those sends are the best ones you've got. Most stores never build the capture form that makes it work.
Post-purchase next, because that person just proved they'll pay you. Then browse abandon. Way more people look at a product than cart one, and even at $0.76 an email it beats a campaign send by about 5x.
The other half
So why is almost nobody building these?
Because the calendar is full of something else. We pulled 677,729 emails from 7,036 Shopify brands to see what they're sending instead. Four things came back.
What this measures
These are broadcast campaigns: the email brands send out to their whole list. Automated flows aren't in here, because those only fire for someone who triggers them. The category and audience tags come from software reading each email. Those two numbers are just counts.
02Who the email is for
Your best customers get the least email
3.4x
"Deal Seekers" is the second most-targeted audience in ecommerce email. Ahead of men, ahead of new customers, ahead of everyone except women
| Target audience | Emails | |
|---|---|---|
| Women | 182,546 | |
| Deal Seekers | 147,898 | |
| Newsletter Subscribers | 145,195 | |
| Men | 105,434 | |
| New Customers | 63,824 | |
| Returning Customers | 43,779 | |
| Parents | 27,527 | |
| VIP Customers | 4,083 |
VIP customers, the people who have spent the most with you, receive 36x less targeted email than deal seekers.
03What they're selling
Flash sales are the single largest category of ecommerce email
| Promotion type | Emails | |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Sale | 202,499 | |
| New Product Launch | 70,758 | |
| Seasonal Offer | 68,628 | |
| Loyalty / Rewards | 29,960 | |
| Giveaway / Contest | 22,755 | |
| Clearance Sale | 20,627 | |
| Holiday Sale | 16,898 | |
| Buy One Get One | 10,287 |
Four of the eight biggest promotion types are just a discount with a different name on it. That's 302,041 emails.
04How hard they send
Apparel brands email three and a half times harder than gift brands
| Category | Brands | Emails | Per brand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apparel & Accessories | 1,941 | 213,184 | 110 |
| Beauty & Personal Care | 747 | 62,602 | 84 |
| Pets | 162 | 10,623 | 66 |
| Electronics & Tech | 290 | 18,467 | 64 |
| Food & Beverage | 563 | 34,198 | 61 |
| Home & Living | 674 | 34,699 | 51 |
| Tools, Auto & DIY | 335 | 14,846 | 44 |
| Health, Fitness & Wellness | 639 | 27,139 | 42 |
| General / Department | 1,171 | 39,597 | 34 |
| Gifts & Lifestyle | 513 | 16,078 | 31 |
05The heaviest sender
What sending this hard looks like
Dr. Squatch shows up more than almost any other brand in Inboox.
Campaigns recorded
1,257
in Inboox
Avg subject length
27ch
roughly four words
Sent 4 to 7 AM
43%
scheduled before dawn
Tuesday is their heaviest day at 32%. Short subject lines, sent before dawn, over and over. Whatever you think of it, they've done it more than a thousand times.
Score yourself
Five checks against your last 10 sends
- Count the discounts. Of your last 10 campaigns, how many had a price cut in the subject line? More than five and you're training your list to wait.
- Find your VIP email. When did you last send something written only for your top 5% of spenders? If you don't segment that way, you're in the 36x.
- Check the ratio. Count campaigns aimed at winning a first purchase against those aimed at a second one. Look at the ratio you actually get.
- Look past checkout. How many automated emails does a new customer get in their first 30 days that aren't shipping notifications? Three or fewer means flow 03 isn't built.
- Read your last flash sale. Would it have worked without the discount? If not, the discount is doing all the work and your margin is paying for it.
All five are getting at the same thing. Everything built for the first purchase, barely anything built for the second.
You have the spec. Now it has to get built.
Ten flows. Twenty-nine emails. Every one of them needs your brand voice, your products, your timing, and a check against the others so nothing collides.
I built Dimond AI to help with exactly this. It's three tools:
- Flow Mapper audits the sequences you have live
- Email Writer drafts the ones you don't, in your voice
- Virtual Chase plans the calendar around them
It remembers your brand between sessions, so you're not re-pasting your positioning and product list every time you open it.
Try it for $1$1 for 7 days, then $47/mo. Cancel anytime.
Want to dig through the data yourself?
Every number in this report came out of Inboox. 1.5M real emails from fast-growing Shopify brands, searchable by journey stage, promotion type, industry and audience.
Browse the database7 day free trial, no credit card.
Sources. Per-automation revenue and conversion figures: Omnisend, Email marketing benchmarks, 2025 data, 20 billion emails across 27,000+ brands. Automation share of sends and revenue: Omnisend, 2026 Ecommerce Marketing Report, 27 billion emails across 150,000 brands. Campaign and audience data: Inboox. Flow timing and suppression logic: Klaviyo, abandoned cart flow documentation and Omnisend, email automation templates. Sequence structure, email-by-email content and common mistakes: Chase Dimond, from a decade of building these for ecommerce brands.
How we got this. Inboox holds 1.5M emails. 677,729 of them carry the tags this report uses, from 7,036 Shopify brands, US sends only. Every percentage here is out of that 677,729. "Emails per brand" is a running total, not a monthly rate, so it picks up both how hard a brand sends and how long we've been collecting them. Read it as one category against another.
What this doesn't cover. The audience and promotion tags come from software reading each email, not from the brands themselves. Everything here is broadcast email, collected by signing up to brand lists. Triggered flows aren't in it, so nothing on this page tells you how many brands run them. Revenue per email and conversion rates beside each flow are Omnisend's published benchmarks, not our measurements. Omnisend reports cart and checkout abandonment together, so both flows carry the same figure. Three flows have no published benchmark and are marked n/a.
How we got this. Inboox holds 1.5M emails. 677,729 of them carry the tags this report uses, from 7,036 Shopify brands, US sends only. Every percentage here is out of that 677,729. "Emails per brand" is a running total, not a monthly rate, so it picks up both how hard a brand sends and how long we've been collecting them. Read it as one category against another.
What this doesn't cover. The audience and promotion tags come from software reading each email, not from the brands themselves. Everything here is broadcast email, collected by signing up to brand lists. Triggered flows aren't in it, so nothing on this page tells you how many brands run them. Revenue per email and conversion rates beside each flow are Omnisend's published benchmarks, not our measurements. Omnisend reports cart and checkout abandonment together, so both flows carry the same figure. Three flows have no published benchmark and are marked n/a.
