How to build a welcome series for a Shopify store

A welcome flow in Klaviyo starts when someone is added to a list, so the list is the foundation. New accounts come with an empty list called Email List, which is fine to use. Whatever you choose, it has to be the list that sign-ups actually join. source, checked 28 September 2026

The newsletter box in your theme footer is a Shopify form, not a Klaviyo one, but its sign-ups can still flow into Klaviyo. Open the Shopify integration's settings in Klaviyo and choose the same list there. Then open each live Klaviyo sign-up form and check it adds people to that list too. source, checked 28 September 2026

• Theme footer form: set through the Shopify integration's list setting
• Klaviyo pop-ups and embedded forms: set inside each form
• Anything else, such as a quiz app: check where its sign-ups go before launch

With double opt-in, a new subscriber has to click a confirmation email before they join the list, and only then does the welcome flow start. It keeps typos and fake addresses off your list. Klaviyo lists start this way and Klaviyo suggests keeping it on for your main list. If you switch to single opt-in, the welcome email reaches people faster but you give up that check. source, checked 28 September 2026

Klaviyo can add a ready-made flow called Welcome Series to your account, and it is the quickest start: the trigger, delays and three draft emails are already there. If you would rather build it yourself, create a blank flow and choose the list trigger. source, checked 28 September 2026

Klaviyo's pre-built series sends email 1 straight away, email 2 after a three-day delay and email 3 after a four-day delay, so the whole thing runs over roughly a week. Keep that shape for your first version. Change the gaps later with a flow A/B split once you have enough sign-ups to compare two paths. source, checked 28 September 2026

If your pop-up said "join for free shipping on your first order", the code goes in email 1, near the top, with the terms in one plain line underneath. Someone who signed up for a code and has to hunt for it will not open email 2. source, checked 28 September 2026

After the code, say in two or three sentences what the store sells and who it is for, and link to one collection. Save the long story for the next email.

Email 2 answers why your shop exists: who makes the products, what you refuse to compromise on, one customer review. Email 3 is the sales email. Use a product block with four or so best sellers, because a new subscriber's first order is usually a product other people already chose. source, checked 28 September 2026

Put a conditional split before email 2 that checks whether the person has ordered since entering the flow. Anyone on the yes path gets a thank-you and care tips instead of a reminder that their code is still waiting. Everyone else carries on through the series. source, checked 28 September 2026

Set the emails to manual, then sign up through your own footer form with an address that has never been on the list. Check the confirmation email arrives if double opt-in is on, that the new profile appears on the right list, and that email 1 is waiting in the flow. Read every email on a phone, click every link, and try the code at checkout. When all of that works, switch the emails to live.