The browse abandonment flow for Shopify stores
A two-email browse abandonment flow for Shopify stores: when to send, what to say without sounding creepy, full copy, and setup notes for Klaviyo and Omnisend.
The flow at a glance
Browse abandonment reaches people who looked at a product but did not add it to cart. They are earlier in the decision than cart abandoners, so the flow should help them decide, not push them to buy.
Conditions: exit anyone who starts checkout or orders. Skip anyone in the cart flow. Limit to once a week per person.
- 1Email 1: Help them decide
- 2Email 2: Options
Lighter than the cart flow, on purpose
Looking at a product is a weaker signal than adding it to the cart, and the emails should read that way: fewer of them, no countdown, nothing that assumes the shopper has made up their mind. Klaviyo's own guidance makes the same distinction. source, checked 25 September 2026
The frequency cap matters more here than in any other flow, because regular visitors browse often. Omnisend's help centre suggests letting the same contact back in only every week and a half to a fortnight. source, checked 25 September 2026
Email 1: Help them decide
Subject: A few things people ask about product
Preview: Quick answers before you choose
Three short questions and answers about the product they viewed, taken from your reviews and customer questions. One image. One button to the product.
Why it works: it answers the questions that usually come before adding to cart, without mentioning that you tracked them.
Email 2: Options
Subject: Not quite right? Try these
Preview: Three picks customers pair with it
The product they viewed, plus two or three alternatives or pairings, each with one line about who it suits. One review.
Why it works: if the first product was not right, the next one might be.
Setup notes
Klaviyo: trigger on "Viewed Product" and add the flow filters "Started Checkout zero times since starting this flow" and "has not been in this flow in the last 7 days". Use a dynamic product block for the viewed item. Klaviyo's onsite tracking must be installed and the visitor identified.
Omnisend: start from the browse abandonment workflow template and add exit conditions for checkout started and order placed.
Klaviyo: tracking comes first
The flow starts on Viewed Product, and that event only exists if onsite tracking is running. On Shopify it comes from Klaviyo's app embed, so check the embed is switched on in your theme before you wonder why the flow is empty. source, checked 25 September 2026
Build the email fresh rather than copying your cart reminder. The cart email pulls in the whole cart; this one shows the single product that was viewed, and a copied template carries the wrong product blocks with it. source, checked 25 September 2026
Omnisend calls this flow something else
In Omnisend, the workflow that follows up a product view is Product Abandonment. Its Browse Abandonment workflow is for people who looked at the homepage or a collection but never opened a product. If you want the emails on this page, start from the Product Abandonment preset, and use Browse Abandonment only for the earlier stage. source, checked 25 September 2026
What to measure
- Click rate and placed order rate
- Share of recipients who later enter the cart flow
- Unsubscribe rate. If it climbs, send less often
What a quiet flow is telling you
Low volume usually means few identified visitors, not a broken flow. The fix sits upstream: a signup form on product pages, and links in your campaigns that land on products rather than the homepage, so more of your browsers are people the tool already knows.
Questions people ask
Is browse abandonment email creepy?
It can be if it says 'we saw you looking'. Frame it as helpful: a short guide to the product, answers to common questions, or similar options.
Who gets browse abandonment emails?
Only visitors you can identify, usually subscribers or past customers who clicked from an email or are logged in.
Why do visitors from Europe never get this email?
On Shopify, Klaviyo follows your customer privacy settings, so visitors in the EU, EEA, UK and Switzerland who have not consented are not tracked, and cannot enter the flow. source, checked 25 September 2026
Which product appears if someone looked at several?
It depends on the filter you chose in Klaviyo. With a filter on recent entries to the flow it is the first product they viewed; with a filter on viewing again since entering it is the most recent one. Pick deliberately rather than by default. source, checked 25 September 2026
How Tilly builds it
Tilly writes the "people ask" answers from your actual reviews and questions, for the persona most likely to be browsing that product.
How Tilly's email agent runs it
Tilly's default is a single email, sent 4 hours after the product view, with no discount. It is checked against orders before it sends, so a shopper who has already bought never gets it. The flow goes to Klaviyo as a draft, so you read it before anything sends.
See this on your own store
Paste your store URL. The first pass takes about a minute and needs no account. Save a card (nothing is charged) and Tilly reads the whole store and works out who buys from you.