Why Segmentation Beats Broadcast
Sending the same message to your entire list treats a first-time buyer who spent £20 exactly the same as a loyal customer who has spent £2,000. Segmented campaigns — messages tailored to specific customer groups — consistently outperform broadcast emails across every measurable metric. Klaviyo reports that segmented campaigns generate 3–5x more revenue per recipient than unsegmented broadcasts. The effort of segmentation is front-loaded; the payoff compounds across every campaign you send.
Building Shopify Customer Segments
Shopify’s Customer Segments tool (Admin → Customers → Segments) lets you create segments using a query builder. Filter by: purchase count, last order date, total spend, products or collections purchased, location, tags, and subscription status. These native segments sync directly to Klaviyo and other email platforms as lists or exclusion filters.
RFM Segmentation
RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) is the most widely used framework for customer segmentation in ecommerce. Score customers on three dimensions: Recency (how recently did they last buy — 1 to 5 score), Frequency (how many orders have they placed), and Monetary (how much have they spent). High-RFM customers are your “Champions” — recent, frequent, high-spend. Low-RFM customers are at risk of churning permanently.
Klaviyo builds RFM analysis automatically with its predicted segments: Champions, Loyal Customers, At Risk, and Lapsed. Use these pre-built segments rather than building from scratch — they update dynamically as customer behaviour changes.
Key Segments to Create
- First-time buyers: purchased once, no subsequent order. Target with post-purchase sequence and second-order incentive.
- VIP (2+ orders, high spend): reward with exclusive access, personalised recommendations, early sale notifications.
- Lapsed (no purchase in 90+ days): winback campaign with incentive and survey to understand why they stopped.
- Browse-only: have not purchased but are actively engaging with emails and site. Target with specific product page they viewed.
- Category-specific buyers: purchased from Women’s Skincare only. Never send them menswear promotions.
- Sale buyers only: only purchased during sales. Can be targeted with exclusive “subscriber sale” to test full-price behaviour.
Personalised Recommendations by Segment
Product recommendations personalised to a customer’s purchase history outperform generic bestseller lists. Use Klaviyo’s catalogue integration to send emails that show “you might also like” products filtered to categories the customer has previously bought from. A skincare customer who bought moisturiser should see serums and SPF — not haircare, even if those are your bestsellers overall.
