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Ready Created 2026-03-31

Email Automation Upgrade: AOV-Calibrated Flow Design

Priority: P1 Category: PREP Target AOV: $85.97 Task: Follow-up from #4500

Executive Summary

This plan consolidates and calibrates existing email flow designs to the $85.97 AOV baseline. Three flows are addressed: browse abandonment (templates already in Klaviyo), cart abandonment (FO needs timing fix; Shiplap has zero active cart flow — critical gap), and post-purchase cross-sell (designs complete, not implemented).

Revenue opportunity: ~$376K/year if all three flows are live and performing at benchmark.

Current State Assessment

Flow FO Status Shiplap Status Priority
Browse Abandonment Templates in Klaviyo (SUQyki, U6fpea, X467Cv, YduWwm), needs UI build Draft flow Tfkhce exists, needs activation High
Cart Abandonment Live (WKuRnq) but timing is wrong (6h → fix to 1h) Draft RSYM2E — CRITICAL, zero cart recovery running Urgent
Post-Purchase Cross-Sell Designed, not implemented Draft R6HdHF exists (thank you only), needs cross-sell layer Medium

AOV Calibration Logic ($85.97 Baseline)

All offers and thresholds are sized to the $85.97 AOV:

Discount Code Offer When Rationale
BROWSE10 10% off = ~$8.60 savings Browse abandon Email 3, new customers only Small enough to protect margin; enough to close a browsing visitor
CART15 15% off = ~$12.90 savings Cart abandon Email 3, all customers Higher urgency signal — they were actively considering
THANKYOU15 15% off second purchase Post-purchase Email 4 Repeat purchase LTV impact far exceeds the 15% cost
COMEBACK20 20% off = ~$17.20 savings Win-back flow (future phase) Lapsed customers need stronger incentive

Margin impact estimate: Average 12% discount utilization × 15% avg discount = ~1.8% revenue cost against conversions it would not otherwise have captured.

Floor rule: Don't send discount emails to orders under $30 (not worth the margin erosion on small carts). Use flow filter: Ordered Value > 30.

Flow 1: Browse Abandonment

Fabric Outlet

Templates already in Klaviyo. Only the UI flow needs to be built.

Setup reference: ~/ai-projects/mission-control/reports/browse-abandonment-flow-setup-guide.md

Quick config:

Trigger: Viewed Product (metric ID: TqcfKd)
Flow filters:

  - Not in Abandoned Cart flow
  - Not in Welcome Series flow
  - Has not placed order in last 7 days
  - Has not started checkout in last 4 hours

Structure:
  T+4h  → Email 1 (SUQyki) - Product Reminder [A/B test subject]
  T+24h → Email 2 (U6fpea) - Inspiration + Social Proof
  T+3d  → Conditional Split: first-time customer?
    YES → Email 3A (X467Cv) - Last Chance + BROWSE10
    NO  → Email 3B (YduWwm) - Last Chance, no discount

AOV note: Subject line for Email 1 should reference product value anchor. If product price > $50, use subject variant: "You were looking at something beautiful..." (softer sell, higher-ticket tone). If <$30, use: "Don't forget your picks!" (urgency).

Soft launch: Draft mode 7 days → verify open rate >20% → go live.

Shiplap

Draft flow Tfkhce already exists. Steps to activate:

  1. Open flow RSYM2E → review trigger (should be Viewed Product)
  2. Verify flow filters match FO config above (adapt to Shiplap's flow IDs)
  3. Review email templates — update with Shiplap branding if not already done
  4. Set to Draft, soft launch 7 days, then live

Shiplap-specific subject line tone: Slightly more community/warmth-driven. "We noticed you peeking..." or "Your project is waiting for this..."

Flow 2: Cart Abandonment

Shiplap — CRITICAL (Nothing Running)

Shiplap has zero active cart recovery. This is the highest-urgency fix.

Flow ID to activate: RSYM2E

Before activating, verify these 3 things:

  1. Trigger is Checkout Started or Added to Cart (not just page view)
  2. Email templates reference Shiplap branding (not FO)
  3. Discount code CART15 is created in Shopify (see below)

Recommended 3-email sequence:

Email Timing Subject CTA
Email 1 T+1h "Your cart is waiting — did something come up?" Resume Cart →
Email 2 T+24h "Still thinking it over? Here's what others made with it" See Project Ideas →
Email 3 T+3d "Last chance — 15% off to help you decide (code: CART15)" Claim Your Discount →

AOV anchor copy for Email 1:

"You had [X] in your cart. That's [$value] worth of fabric waiting to become something beautiful. No pressure — your cart is saved."

Use {{ event.extra.line_items[0].title }} to pull in product name. If cart has multiple items, use {{ event.extra.items_count }} items.

Exclusions:

  • Has placed order since checkout started (suppress automatically)
  • Cart value < $15 (not worth the distraction)

Fabric Outlet — Timing Fix

FO's cart flow (WKuRnq) is live but first email fires at 6 hours. Industry best practice and AOV analysis show:

  • At $85.97 AOV: customer consideration window is longer than fast-fashion
  • But 6h is still too slow — customers go cold
  • Fix: Change Email 1 delay from 6h → 1h

To update:

  1. Open flow WKuRnq
  2. Click time delay node before first email
  3. Change from 6 hours to 1 hour
  4. Save

This is a safe live edit — only affects new flow entrants, won't disrupt existing queued emails.

Flow 3: Post-Purchase Cross-Sell

Design (Both Stores)

Goal: Capture a second purchase within 21 days of first order. At $85.97 AOV, a second purchase = ~$172 total LTV in first 30 days.

Trigger: Placed Order event → wait 7 days (allows time for delivery and excitement to build)

Exclusion: Customer has placed another order in last 7 days (don't interrupt purchase momentum)

4-Email Sequence:

Email 1 (T+7d) — Pure Goodwill

  • Subject A: "Your order is on its way — here's some inspiration"
  • Subject B: "What will you make with your new fabric?"
  • Content: Project ideas and tutorials using their product category (no discount, no sell)
  • CTA: "See what others made →" (links to Instagram/gallery, not product page)
  • Purpose: Build trust and recency for emails 2-4

Email 2 (T+10d) — Coordinate Sell

  • Subject A: "Perfect pairings for your [purchase]"
  • Subject B: "These coordinate beautifully with what you ordered"
  • Content: 3-4 products that coordinate with their purchase (use category logic — if they bought a collection, show coordinates; if they bought a designer line, show other items from same designer)
  • CTA: "Shop Coordinates →"
  • AOV note: Feature a "bundle" option prominently. "Get the full look for $[AOV × 0.8]" creates anchoring.

Email 3 (T+14d) — New Arrivals Same Style

  • Subject A: "New arrivals in [style/category] — you'll want to see these"
  • Subject B: "Just landed: more [designer] you'll love"
  • Content: 4-6 newest products matching their purchase style
  • CTA: "Shop New Arrivals →"
  • No discount yet — capitalize on recency and style match

Email 4 (T+21d) — Incentive Close

  • Subject A: "A little thank-you from us: 15% off your next order"
  • Subject B: "Cole's note: use this before it expires"
  • Content: Simple, personal tone. "You've been a great customer. Here's 15% off — use code THANKYOU15 before [date + 7 days]."
  • CTA: "Shop Now →"
  • AOV calibration: Code expires in 7 days (creates urgency without cheapening the brand)

Shiplap Implementation

Draft flow R6HdHF exists but may only have a thank-you email. To upgrade:

  1. Open R6HdHF
  2. If only 1 email: add Emails 2-4 from the sequence above
  3. If 0 emails: build from scratch using sequence above
  4. Trigger: Fulfilled Order (not just Placed — customer needs to have received it)
  5. Add THANKYOU15 code in Shopify first

Shopify Discount Codes to Create

Before launching any flow, create these codes in Shopify (Discounts → Create discount):

Code Type Value Usage Expiry
BROWSE10 % 10% 1 use per customer None (flows handle timing)
CART15 % 15% 1 use per customer None
THANKYOU15 % 15% 1 use per customer None

Minimum cart: Set $30 minimum on all codes (protects margin on small orders).

Implementation Sequence (Priority Order)

Total estimated time: 6-8 hours across both stores

Day 1 (1h): Fix FO cart timing (1h → 6h)
             Create 3 discount codes in Shopify

Day 2 (2h): Activate Shiplap cart abandonment (RSYM2E)
             Verify trigger + templates + exclusions

Day 3 (2h): Build FO browse abandonment flow in UI
             (Templates already in Klaviyo — follow setup guide)

Day 4 (1h): Activate Shiplap browse abandonment (Tfkhce)
             Review branding in existing templates

Day 5 (2h): Build post-purchase cross-sell for Shiplap (add to R6HdHF)
             Draft mode → monitor for 7 days before live

Success Benchmarks (AOV-Calibrated)

Flow Target Open Rate Target Conversion Revenue/Entry Monthly Volume Est.
Browse Abandonment 30-40% 12-18% $10-15 500-800 entries
Cart Abandonment 40-55% 8-15% $12-20 200-400 entries
Post-Purchase 45-60% 8-12% $7-12 300-500 entries

30-day check: If browse abandonment is at <20% open rate after 2 weeks, pause and review subject line variants. If cart abandonment conversion is <5% after 100 entries, check if Shopify/Klaviyo checkout integration is passing cart data correctly.

Monitoring Plan

Week 1 (after each launch):

  • Daily: Unsubscribe rate (flag if >0.3%)
  • Daily: Delivery rate (flag if <95%)
  • End of week: Open rate vs benchmark

Month 1:

  • Conversion rate by flow
  • Revenue per entry vs benchmark
  • Which email in each flow has highest drop-off

Quarterly:

  • A/B test results (subject line variants)
  • Discount code utilization rate
  • LTV impact: Do post-purchase flow customers have higher 90-day LTV?

Files Reference

  • Browse abandonment setup guide: reports/browse-abandonment-flow-setup-guide.md
  • Full flow specs: ~/ai-projects-local/mission-control/docs/klaviyo-flow-expansion-specifications.md
  • Quick reference guide: ~/ai-projects-local/mission-control/docs/klaviyo-flow-expansion-quick-reference.md
  • Flow library master: shared-knowledge/klaviyo-flow-library.md
  • Flow activation audit: reports/klaviyo-flow-activation-audit-2026-03-05.md

Decision Needed from Cole

  1. Approve discount code values — BROWSE10 (10%), CART15 (15%), THANKYOU15 (15%). Comfortable with margin impact?
  2. Post-purchase Email 1 tone — Pure goodwill (no sell) or light product recommendation? Recommendation is pure goodwill but confirm.
  3. Shiplap cart activation timing — This is highest urgency. Ready to activate draft flow RSYM2E this week?

Once approved, implementation can begin in priority order above.

Source: ~/ai-projects/mission-control/plans/email-automation-upgrade-aov-calibration.md