Hey it’s Idris from Retentiononly.
Most ecommerce brands build the same email flows.
Some of them quietly print money. Others look good in Klaviyo but barely move revenue.
After working with 50+ ecommerce brands and generating over €65M via email, one thing is clear:
Not all flows are created equal.
I just published a YouTube video where I break this down in detail and rank every major ecommerce email flow from S-tier (best) to D-tier (worst) based on what actually works in 2026.
This email is the short, actionable version.
S-Tier: Non-negotiable revenue drivers
1. Welcome Flow
This is the most important flow you have.
Why?
Because it directly affects your CPA and new customer ROAS.
You already paid for the traffic. The welcome flow decides whether that spend turns into revenue or wasted ad budget.
What top-performing welcome flows do:
Heavy social proof and authority
Strong risk reversal
Best-performing ads repurposed as emails
Surveys to remove purchase friction
Clear, persuasive pushes to buy early
If this flow underperforms, everything else becomes harder.
2. Abandoned Checkout Flow
The abandoned checkout flow gets triggered when a customer or subscriber enters the checkout, provides their email address, but does not complete the purchase.
This usually indicates very high purchase intent, which is why this flow consistently has one of the highest conversion rates of all email flows.
These people were one click away from buying.
They are hot. Conversion rates are high. And they don't even need to be subscribers.
For most brands, this flow generates the second-highest revenue after the welcome flow and directly lowers CPA.
3. Post-Purchase Flow
This is the heart of retention.
The post-purchase flow gets triggered immediately after a customer completes their first purchase.
Its purpose is to educate the customer, build trust, reinforce the buying decision, and guide them toward a second purchase, directly impacting repurchase rate and customer lifetime value.
Repurchase rate drives LTV. LTV drives profit.
Great post-purchase flows:
Build habits around the product
Reduce buyer's remorse
Lead naturally into the next purchase
This is why brands like AG1, Seed and Heights obsess over this flow.
4. Winback Flow
This is where most ecommerce brands profits are made.
If someone didn't repurchase after post-purchase education, this flow takes over.
A strong winback flow:
Starts immediately after the post-purchase window ends
Tests stronger offers
Uses urgency and new angles
Is unapologetically persuasive
When structured properly, this flow can rival abandoned checkout revenue.
A-Tier: Strong but secondary
5. Abandoned Cart Flow
Often confused with the abandoned checkout flow.
It triggers earlier in the journey when a customer or subscriber comes from an email and adds a product to their cart.
Lower intent and lower conversion rate, but still important.
6. Browse Abandonment Flow
Much colder traffic.
The browse abandonment flow gets triggered when a customer or subscriber views a product page but does not add the product to their cart or start checkout.
In other words, they showed interest, but their intent is still relatively low compared to cart or checkout abandoners.
Works best when split into:
Window shoppers (viewed more than 3 products in the last 5 days)
Single-product viewers (viewed less than 3 products in the last 5 days)
Useful, but not a top priority.
B-Tier: Situational
7. Abandoned Site Flow
Very low intent.
The abandoned site flow gets triggered when a customer or subscriber visits your website but does not view a specific product, add anything to their cart, or start checkout.
They are simply active on the site, which means purchase intent is very low compared to all other abandonment flows.
Good for:
Trust
Risk reversal
Highlighting bestsellers
Revenue impact is limited.
8. Upsell Flow (Post-Purchase)
Highly niche-dependent.
Best setup:
Trigger ~30 minutes post-purchase
Aggressive offer (25–35%)
Clear logic why buying more now helps
Works extremely well for:
Supplements
Skincare
Home and living
Powerful when applicable, useless when not.
C-Tier: Nice to have
9. Birthday Flow
The birthday flow gets triggered based on the date of birth a customer or subscriber has shared with you.
We typically start this flow 7 days before their birthday, so they have enough time to redeem their birthday gift and receive what they gifted themselves before their actual birthday.
Feels good. Builds goodwill. Does not move meaningful revenue.
Build it after your S, A and B tier flows are dialed in.
D-Tier: Overrated
10. Sunset Flow
Does not generate revenue.
The sunset flow gets triggered when a customer or subscriber has not opened or clicked an email for a defined period of time.
We mostly use 90 days of inactivity.
Its purpose is to identify and suppress inactive profiles, not to drive purchases or generate revenue.
If you actively manage deliverability and suppress inactive profiles, this flow adds little value.
If you want the full breakdown, including:
Why each flow is ranked where it is
When it makes sense to build it
Real examples from high-performing brands
Watch the full YouTube breakdown here: 👉 [LINK]
You can also get the free Miro board with the full ranking and email examples for every flow here: 👉 [LINK]
This will save you months of testing and a lot of wasted effort.
Talk soon,
Idris
P.S.
If you run an ecommerce brand doing at least $100k/mo USD and you want have to have a free audit to uncover problems and hidden opportunities to generate more revenue and profits with email marketing, book a call here ».