Why Klaviyo Is the Best Email Platform for Shopify
Shopify and Klaviyo were practically made for each other. The native Klaviyo-Shopify integration syncs your entire customer database, order history, product catalog, and real-time events in minutes — no technical setup required.
This means you can segment by purchase history, trigger flows based on real shopping behavior, and personalize emails with live product data from your store — all without a developer.
Before You Start: What You’ll Need
- A Shopify store (any plan)
- A Klaviyo account (free up to 500 contacts)
- Admin access to both platforms
- Your Shopify store URL
Step 1: Install the Klaviyo App on Shopify
Go to the Shopify App Store and search for “Klaviyo: Email Marketing & SMS.” Click Add App and follow the installation prompts. Klaviyo will ask for permissions to read your customer data, orders, and products — approve all of them. This is what powers the deep integration.
Once installed, you’ll be redirected to Klaviyo to complete account setup or log in to your existing account.
Step 2: Sync Your Existing Customer Data
After connecting, Klaviyo will offer to import your historical customer and order data. Accept this — it’s crucial for:
- Segmenting customers by purchase history from day one
- Activating winback flows for lapsed customers immediately
- Calculating accurate CLV (customer lifetime value) metrics
- Running accurate RFM analysis (Recency, Frequency, Monetary)
Large stores may take a few hours to fully sync. You’ll receive an email when the import is complete.
Step 3: Enable On-Site Tracking
Klaviyo automatically installs a JavaScript snippet on your Shopify store when you connect. This snippet tracks:
- Active on Site events (for abandoned cart and browse abandonment flows)
- Viewed Product events
- Added to Cart events
- Started Checkout events
Verify it’s working by visiting your Shopify store in a browser where you’re identified in Klaviyo (e.g., after clicking a Klaviyo email link) and checking the Activity Feed in your Klaviyo profile.
Step 4: Set Up Your Signup Forms
Your email list grows through signup forms. In Klaviyo, go to Sign-Up Forms → Create Form. Klaviyo offers:
- Popups (modal overlays — high conversion, 3–8% of visitors)
- Flyouts (slide-in from corner — less intrusive)
- Embedded forms (inline in pages or footers)
- Multi-step forms (email → SMS — great for building dual-channel lists)
Connect each form to a Klaviyo list. Use a welcome series flow trigger on that list to automatically email new subscribers.
Step 5: Activate Core Automated Flows
With Shopify data flowing into Klaviyo, activate these flows immediately:
- Welcome Series: triggered when someone joins your email list
- Abandoned Cart: triggered 1–4 hours after “Started Checkout” with no order
- Browse Abandonment: triggered 1–4 hours after “Viewed Product” with no cart
- Post-Purchase: triggered after every order to cross-sell and build loyalty
- Winback: triggered 90–180 days after last purchase for lapsed customers
Klaviyo has pre-built flow templates for all of these — use them as starting points, then customize the content for your brand.
Step 6: Sync Your Product Catalog
Klaviyo syncs your Shopify product catalog automatically. This enables:
- Dynamic product blocks in emails showing real-time prices and images
- Product recommendation blocks (frequently bought together, related items)
- Back-in-stock flows for sold-out products
- Accurate revenue attribution tracking per email
Measuring Success
Once your integration is live, Klaviyo tracks revenue directly attributed to emails and flows. Benchmark targets for Shopify stores:
- Email-attributed revenue: 20–40% of total store revenue
- Average open rate: 35–55% (flows), 25–40% (campaigns)
- Average click rate: 3–8%
- Revenue per recipient: $0.50–$3.00 depending on AOV
Need help setting up and optimizing your Klaviyo-Shopify integration? Work with a certified Klaviyo partner to get it done right from day one.