What is Klaviyo?

Klaviyo is a marketing platform designed for ecommerce teams to run targeted email and SMS campaigns driven by customer data. It helps turn information collected from online stores into personalised communications at scale, supporting growth for online retailers and direct-to-consumer brands.

The platform focuses on lifecycle marketing, enabling marketers and ecommerce managers to engage customers with relevant messages throughout the buying journey. By centralising data and messaging, Klaviyo aims to make it easier to nurture relationships and drive revenue without extensive IT overhead.

Key Features and Capabilities

  • Email marketing campaigns and automated workflows to reach customers at key moments
  • SMS marketing to extend outreach beyond email
  • Advanced segmentation to target messages based on customer data and behaviour
  • Personalisation and product recommendations within emails and messages
  • Audience growth tools, including signup forms to capture new contacts
  • Analytics and reporting with revenue attribution to measure impact
  • Data-driven insights to optimise campaigns and customer interactions
  • Integrations with ecommerce platforms and other apps to sync data and campaigns

How Klaviyo Is Typically Used

In practice, Klaviyo supports a range of common ecommerce marketing workflows. Teams set up welcome series to introduce new subscribers and begin relationship-building from the first interaction. Lifecycle campaigns are used to re-engage customers based on purchase history and browsing activity, ensuring messages remain relevant over time.

Automated flows can be configured to respond to user actions, such as joining a list, abandoning a cart, or making a purchase, with subsequent messages offering tailored content and product suggestions. Segmentation enables targeted initiatives—focusing on high-value customers, lapsed buyers, or specific product interests—while analytics provide visibility into revenue impact and engagement trends.

Who Klaviyo Is Best Suited For

Klaviyo is aimed at ecommerce-oriented organisations that rely on direct-to-consumer channels. This includes online retailers of varying sizes, from growing startups to established brands, that want to use customer data to personalise marketing and improve retention.

Teams typically include marketers, growth professionals, and ecommerce managers who are responsible for email and messaging strategies. The platform is positioned for businesses that operate online stores or integrate with online storefronts to manage customer communications across channels.

Deployment, Access and Integrations

Klaviyo is presented as a web-based platform delivered as a software solution for ecommerce teams. Accessed via a browser, the system is designed to sync data from online stores and apps to power campaigns and automation. The site emphasises integrations with ecommerce platforms and related tools, enabling data to flow between Klaviyo and a store to support targeted marketing and reporting.

Summary

Klaviyo is a marketing platform tailored for ecommerce teams that want to leverage customer data to drive personalised communications across email and SMS. Its core strengths lie in data-driven segmentation, automation workflows, and analytics that tie marketing activity to revenue. The platform is designed to integrate with ecommerce environments and support marketers in managing campaigns and customer experiences at scale.

Example workflow

A purchase or signup drops the customer into the right Klaviyo flow. No manual work.

Frequently asked questions

What is Klaviyo best used for?
Klaviyo is a marketing platform for ecommerce that enables email and SMS campaigns, automation workflows, and data-driven segmentation to personalise customer communications.
Does Klaviyo integrate with Shopify?
Klaviyo offers integrations with popular ecommerce platforms, including Shopify, to sync store data and campaigns.
Can Klaviyo send SMS messages?
Yes. Klaviyo includes SMS marketing as part of its messaging capabilities, alongside email campaigns.
Is Klaviyo suitable for small businesses?
Klaviyo targets ecommerce teams of various sizes, with features that support growth through data-driven marketing and automation.
Can I use Klaviyo to test my campaigns?
Klaviyo provides tools for creating and evaluating campaigns and flows, enabling performance comparisons and optimisation based on results.
What data does Klaviyo use for targeting?
Klaviyo uses customer data collected from stores and related apps to segment audiences and personalise communications.
Can I export data from Klaviyo?
Klaviyo provides data exporting options to support reporting and integration needs, subject to the platform's available features.
How do I start using Klaviyo?
Start by connecting your ecommerce store, importing contacts, and configuring either a welcome series or an initial campaign to familiarise yourself with the interface.

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