If you're sending the same email to every subscriber on your list, you're leaving serious money on the table. The difference between a good email campaign and a great one often comes down to one critical factor: segmentation. Klaviyo segmentation strategies enable you to divide your audience into meaningful groups and deliver personalized messages that resonate with each customer's unique journey, preferences, and behaviors.
In this comprehensive guide, you'll discover proven klaviyo segmentation strategies that leading ecommerce brands use to increase engagement, reduce churn, and drive measurable revenue growth. Whether you're just getting started with Klaviyo or looking to optimize your existing segments, you'll find actionable insights and practical examples you can implement immediately.
Email marketing remains one of the highest-ROI channels for ecommerce businesses, with an average return of $42 for every dollar spent. However, that average masks a significant truth: segmented campaigns dramatically outperform generic blasts. According to Klaviyo's own data, segmented emails generate 760% more revenue than non-segmented campaigns.
The reason is simple: your customers are at different stages of their journey with your brand. A first-time visitor needs different messaging than a loyal repeat customer. Someone who abandoned their cart yesterday requires a different approach than someone who hasn't engaged in six months. Klaviyo segmentation strategies allow you to recognize these differences and respond appropriately.
Beyond revenue, proper segmentation protects your sender reputation and keeps your audience engaged. When you send relevant content to the right people at the right time, you'll see lower unsubscribe rates, fewer spam complaints, and better deliverability across your entire email program. Just like customer retention strategies that focus on keeping existing customers happy, segmentation ensures your email marketing efforts are targeted and effective.
Your most engaged subscribers are your most valuable asset. Creating segments based on email engagement helps you identify your superfans and adjust your strategy for less active subscribers. Start by building these three fundamental engagement segments:
Highly Engaged Subscribers: These are people who have opened or clicked an email in the last 30 days. This segment represents your most responsive audience and should receive your full range of campaigns, including new product launches, time-sensitive promotions, and educational content.
Moderately Engaged Subscribers: This group has opened or clicked within the last 90 days but not in the past 30. They're still interested but may need more compelling reasons to engage. Test different subject lines, offer types, and sending frequencies with this segment.
Inactive Subscribers: Anyone who hasn't opened an email in 90+ days falls into this category. Rather than continuing to send your regular campaigns (which can hurt deliverability), create a separate re-engagement campaign or reduce their email frequency significantly.
How customers have purchased from you in the past is one of the strongest predictors of how they'll purchase in the future. These klaviyo segmentation strategies based on purchase behavior allow you to tailor your messaging to each customer's relationship with your brand:
First-Time Customers: Create a segment for anyone who has placed exactly one order. These customers are in a critical phase—they've shown initial trust in your brand, but they haven't yet become loyal repeat buyers. Send them onboarding sequences, product education, and gentle nudges toward their second purchase.
Repeat Customers: Identify customers with two or more orders. This segment has proven their loyalty and typically has a much higher lifetime value. Reward them with exclusive offers, early access to new products, and VIP treatment that acknowledges their continued support. Consider implementing referral programs specifically for this high-value segment to turn them into brand advocates.
High-Value Customers: Set a threshold based on your average order value (typically 2-3x AOV or customers who have spent $500+). This segment deserves your best offers, personalized recommendations, and white-glove service. Consider creating a formal VIP or loyalty program for this group.
One-Time Purchasers (90+ Days Ago): These customers bought once but never returned. Create win-back campaigns specifically for this segment, addressing potential barriers to their second purchase and offering compelling incentives to come back.
Understanding which products your customers have purchased or shown interest in unlocks powerful personalization opportunities. Product-based klaviyo segmentation strategies help you send relevant recommendations and targeted promotions:
Category Purchasers: Segment customers based on the product categories they've bought from. If someone has purchased skincare products but never makeup, don't send them makeup promotions—focus on complementary skincare items or new arrivals in categories they've shown interest in.
Specific Product Owners: For certain products, ownership creates unique opportunities. If you sell coffee makers, you can segment coffee maker owners and promote coffee beans, filters, and accessories. If you sell supplements, segment by specific supplement type to send refill reminders at appropriate intervals.
Browse Abandoners by Category: Track which product categories people view on your site but don't purchase. This behavioral data helps you understand interest even without a purchase and enables targeted campaigns featuring those categories.
Where a customer is in their journey with your brand should fundamentally shape your communication strategy. These lifecycle-based segments ensure you're sending appropriate messages at each stage:
New Subscribers: Anyone who joined your list in the last 14-30 days needs a proper welcome series. This segment should receive introductory content, brand story, best-selling products, and a compelling first-purchase incentive.
Active Shoppers: Customers who have browsed or added to cart in the last 7 days are showing active purchase intent. Increase email frequency for this segment and send timely reminders, social proof, and urgency-building messages.
At-Risk Customers: Identify customers who previously purchased regularly but haven't bought in longer than their typical purchase cycle. For example, if your average repeat purchase happens every 60 days, flag customers at 75-90 days for special attention.
Churned Customers: Once customers exceed their expected purchase cycle by a significant margin (typically 2x), they've likely churned. Create aggressive win-back campaigns for this segment with your strongest offers.
Klaviyo's predictive analytics features use machine learning to identify patterns in your customer data. These advanced klaviyo segmentation strategies help you act on insights before they become obvious:
Predicted Next Order Date: Klaviyo calculates when each customer is likely to make their next purchase based on historical patterns. Create segments of customers approaching their predicted order date and send timely reminders or incentives.
Churn Risk Prediction: The platform can identify customers at high risk of churning before they actually do. Segment these customers and intervene with special offers, surveys to understand concerns, or personalized outreach. Combining this with word-of-mouth marketing strategies can help you re-engage at-risk customers through their networks.
Expected Customer Lifetime Value: Klaviyo predicts each customer's total lifetime value. Segment by predicted LTV to allocate your marketing resources efficiently—invest more in acquiring and retaining high-predicted-value customers.
The most powerful klaviyo segmentation strategies combine multiple criteria to create highly specific audience groups. While simple segments are useful, layering conditions creates surgical precision:
Engaged High-Value Customers: Combine engagement metrics with purchase value. For example: "Has opened an email in the last 30 days AND has spent $500+ lifetime." This segment represents your absolute best customers who deserve premium treatment.
Category-Specific Win-Back: Rather than a generic win-back campaign, create segments like "Purchased skincare products 90-180 days ago AND has not purchased since." This allows category-specific messaging that references their past purchases.
Geographic + Behavioral Segments: Combine location with behavior for hyper-relevant campaigns. For example: "Located in cold-weather states AND browsed winter products in the last 14 days." This enables timely, contextually relevant promotions.
Static segments require manual updates, but dynamic segments automatically adjust as customer data changes. This automation ensures your klaviyo segmentation strategies scale efficiently:
Real-Time Behavior Triggers: Create segments that automatically include customers based on recent actions. For example, anyone who views a product page more than three times in a week might be showing high intent and should receive targeted follow-up.
Rolling Time Windows: Instead of fixed date ranges, use rolling windows like "purchased in the last 30 days" rather than "purchased in January." This keeps segments current without manual maintenance.
Progressive Profiling Segments: As you collect more data about customers through purchases, surveys, or preference centers, create segments that become increasingly refined. Start broad and narrow as you learn more about each subscriber.
Effective measurement ensures your segmentation efforts deliver real business results. Track these key performance indicators for each segment:
Engagement Metrics: Monitor open rates, click rates, and click-to-open rates by segment. Segments should show meaningfully different engagement levels—if they don't, your segmentation criteria may not be creating truly distinct groups.
Revenue Metrics: Track revenue per recipient, conversion rate, and average order value for each segment. High-value segments should generate significantly more revenue per email sent.
List Health Metrics: Watch unsubscribe rates and spam complaint rates by segment. Segments receiving well-targeted content should show lower unsubscribe rates than your list average.
Customer Lifecycle Metrics: For lifecycle segments, track progression rates. What percentage of new subscribers become first-time customers? How many first-time customers become repeat buyers? These conversion rates between lifecycle stages indicate the effectiveness of your segment-specific nurturing.
Klaviyo segmentation strategies represent the difference between email marketing that feels like spam and email marketing that feels like a personalized shopping experience. By implementing the approaches outlined in this guide—from fundamental engagement and purchase behavior segments to advanced predictive analytics and multi-dimensional targeting—you'll create email campaigns that resonate with each customer's unique journey.
Start with your core segments, measure results rigorously, and continuously refine your approach based on data. The most successful ecommerce brands treat segmentation not as a one-time setup task but as an ongoing optimization process that evolves with their business and customers.
Remember: the goal isn't to create the most segments possible, but to create meaningful distinctions that enable genuinely different communication strategies. When you send the right message to the right person at the right time, you'll see dramatic improvements in engagement, conversion, and ultimately, revenue—the true measure of effective klaviyo segmentation strategies.
Raúl Galera is the Growth Lead at ReferralCandy, where they’ve helped 30,000+ eCommerce brands drive sales through referrals and word-of-mouth marketing. Over the past 8+ years, Raúl has worked hands-on with DTC merchants of all sizes (from scrappy Shopify startups to household names) helping them turn happy customers into revenue-driving advocates. Raúl’s been featured on dozens of top eCommerce podcasts, contributed to leading industry publications, and regularly speaks about customer acquisition, retention, and brand growth at industry events.
Grow your sales at a ridiculously
lower CAC.
