7 email flows that should be running in every online store
With automated emails, our team has generated more than $5 million in revenue for clients — and almost all of it came not from “advanced” tricks, but from seven basic flows, properly built and maintained. This article lays out the whole system: which flows, how many emails in each, and which triggers launch them in Omnisend.
Why flows, not yet another campaign
A flow (automation) is a series of emails sent automatically after a specific action a person takes: they subscribed, viewed a product, abandoned a cart, made a purchase. Unlike campaigns, which you send manually to your whole list, flows run in the background — always. Customer acquisition costs keep rising across all of e-commerce, so mechanisms that automatically warm up your audience and convert the visitors you already have are no longer a “nice to have” — they’re a profitability question.
The 80/20 rule in practice: one brand came to us wanting advanced cross-sell scenarios and complex splits. Instead, we focused on the fundamentals described below — and within one month, monthly revenue rose from $17,000 to $45,000. Mastering the fundamentals delivers 80% of the results. Start there.
All 7 flows in one table
| # | Flow | Emails | Trigger (Omnisend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome | 6–8 | Subscribed via a form |
| 2 | Site abandonment | 1 | Active on the site, didn’t view a product |
| 3 | Browse abandonment | 3–5 | Viewed a product |
| 4 | Abandoned cart | 5–7 | Added to cart |
| 5 | Abandoned checkout | 5–7 | Started checkout |
| 6 | Post-purchase | 3–4 | Order placed |
| 7 | Win-back | 3 | 60+ days since purchase |
Pay attention to the numbers: most stores run welcome and cart flows of 2–3 emails, “unchanged since the days we all had to wear masks outside”. A complete system uses considerably longer flows — and it’s precisely those extra emails that generate a large share of the revenue.
1. Welcome flow (6–8 emails)
Fires when someone joins your list through a pop-up or form. Its jobs: deliver the welcome discount, introduce the brand, showcase the products. The flow produces two outcomes: it converts window-shoppers who would otherwise have left for good, and it primes future buyers — with all their objections already answered. The exit from the flow is a purchase. We covered the basic 4-email version in the welcome series guide; the full 6–8 email structure is in the downloadable guide below.
2. Site abandonment flow (1 email)
The least known of the seven: someone was active on your site but didn’t click a single product — either they didn’t find anything they liked, or they simply got distracted. One email offering a helping hand (“looking for something specific?”) brings them back to browsing. The filters matter: the email is sent only if the person didn’t view a product, didn’t add to cart, didn’t buy, and hasn’t been in this flow in the last 30 days.
3. Browse abandonment flow (3–5 emails)
Someone viewed a product but didn’t add it to their cart — usually because they weren’t yet sold on either the brand or the product. The flow’s job is to remind, spark interest, and provide social proof (reviews) so the person returns to the product — or finds another one that fits better.
4–5. Abandoned cart and abandoned checkout flows (5–7 emails each)
The single most important insight in this article: these are TWO different flows. In most stores, the “abandoned cart” automation is really just an abandoned checkout flow — it only catches people who reached the checkout page. People who added a product to their cart but never got to checkout (and that’s most of them!) are left completely untouched. Without a true abandoned cart flow, you’re losing the majority of abandonments.
The mechanics of both flows: trigger — added to cart (or started checkout), filter — cart not updated for 1 hour, exit — order placed. The emails’ jobs: remind, show the product’s value, provide social proof, and reduce perceived risk (return policy, guarantees). We covered the basic version in the abandoned cart guide.
6. Post-purchase flow (3–4 emails)
Fires right after an order. You can take it in dozens of directions — community, upsell, cross-sell — but we keep it simple: thank the customer sincerely, remove buyer’s remorse, show how to get the most out of the product, and ask for a review. This flow has no exit condition — every buyer gets it, and it’s what decides whether the first purchase becomes a second. The full structure is in the post-purchase emails guide.
7. Win-back flow (3 emails)
Launches 60+ days after a purchase if the customer hasn’t come back. We deliberately keep it uncomplicated: these customers are already receiving your campaigns (we recommend 3–4 per week), so the bulk of repeat purchases will come from those. The win-back flow’s job is to prompt a restock, offer recommendations, and automate at least part of the customer journey. The exit is a new order. More detail in the win-back sequence guide.
The whole system — in one guide
This article gives you the structure. The guide gives you everything else you need to implement it:
- Diagrams of all 7 flows with email order and timing
- Real email examples for every flow
- Exact triggers, filters, and exit conditions in Omnisend
- Bonus: 10 ready-made email templates in Canva format
Grab the guide on our homepage — enter your email and it arrives instantly, no strings attached.
Get the free guide →How to optimize: test in campaigns, not in flows
A common mistake is running a pile of active A/B tests across different flows. It’s hard to manage, and you wait weeks for results. Our approach: campaigns are your testing ground — they deliver near-instant data. Did an educational email about how the product is made perform well? Move it into the welcome flow. Did the return policy email work? Into the abandoned cart flow. Don’t reinvent the wheel — move into your flows what has already proven its worth in campaigns.
And inside the flows themselves, test what moves the needle most:
- Delays — how long between the action and the first email, and between emails; the highest-impact test of all.
- Long vs short copy — short for impulse decisions, long for working through objections.
- Subject lines — with the discount or without, with emoji or without, ALL CAPS or not.
- Design vs plain text — for your most important emails, plain text often wins.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the abandoned cart and abandoned checkout flows?
They are two different flows with different triggers: the abandoned cart flow fires when someone adds a product to their cart but never reaches the checkout, while the abandoned checkout flow fires when they have already started the checkout but didn’t place the order. In most stores, the “abandoned cart” automation is actually just an abandoned checkout flow — without a true abandoned cart flow, you’re losing the majority of abandonments.
Which flow should you start with?
The fundamentals deliver 80% of the results: start with the welcome flow and the abandoned cart / abandoned checkout pair — they catch the hottest intent. Then the post-purchase flow, and add the site abandonment, browse abandonment, and win-back flows once the foundation is already working.
How many emails should each flow have?
The benchmarks we use in client projects: welcome flow — 6–8 emails, site abandonment — 1, browse abandonment — 3–5, abandoned cart and abandoned checkout — 5–7 each, post-purchase — 3–4, win-back — 3. Most stores run flows that are too short: 2–3 emails where a complete system uses 5–7.
Where should you A/B test emails — in flows or in campaigns?
In campaigns. Tests inside flows take weeks to produce results and are hard to manage at scale, while campaigns give you near-instant data. So test new angles (educational content, risk reversal, subject lines) in campaigns first, and move what has proven itself into your flow emails.
Want us to build all 7 flows for you?
If your store generates at least $20,000 a month, book a free intro consultation. We’ll show you how much revenue your email channel is currently leaving on the table.
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