How to use replenishment emails in e-commerce

Your replenishment email flow is probably too generic. And it's hurting your customer retention and losing you sales. Most brands send the same replenishment emails to everyone—at the same time. But what if you personalized the timing based on how much a customer actually bought? Here’s an example that we did for one client: 🛒 Bought a 12-pack? → Time delay is 35 days 🛒 Bought a 24-pack? → Time delay is 45 days 🛒 Bought a 32-pack? → Time delay is 65 days (These are just example numbers to get the point across. I cannot share the exact numbers and time delays.) By doing this, the email hits when they actually need a refill—not too soon, not too late. ✅ Higher conversions (because the timing makes sense). ✅ Better retention (because the offer is relevant—they need it now because they're running low on it). ✅ More revenue (because you’re meeting customer demand perfectly & you can upsell them on something else as well). Every brand is different—analyze your time between orders and adjust your flow accordingly.

I see so many 7-fig eCom brands going all in on email marketing, yet struggling to boost CLTV. It sucks because the culprit is usually embarrassingly simple: Ignoring their drop-off points. Every brand has moments when customers are less likely to buy again. If you don’t know when those moments are, your emails are just cluttering inboxes. Let’s say you've got: - 1,000 customers - $100 AOV - 40-day natural repurchase window - 85-day drop-off point And you're running: - Generic win-back at 120 days - Basic replenishment at 60 days What’s happening? You’re losing: - Natural repurchase opportunities at 40 days - Letting churn creep in before 85 days - And missing out thousands in revenue from poorly timed emails Painful, right? Here’s how to fix this: 1. Understand your timing. Use tools like Triple Whale 🐳 or Lifetimely to find your “time between orders” metrics. 2. For replenishment emails, look at the average time it takes your customers to reorder. If it’s 40 days, send those emails at 30–35 days with a solid incentive. 3. For win-back flows, figure out when your customers are unlikely to return. If most churn happens after 85 days, send win-back emails at 70–80 days to recover them before it’s too late. Bottom line? Your email marketing probably isn’t broken. Your timing is. Fix that first. Then focus on: - Subject lines - Design - Offers - Copy Because the best email in the world sent at the wrong time is just another unopened email. #emailmarketing #DTC #emailcampaigns

80% of brands get replenishment timing wrong... Killng their profits. The "every 30 days" approach is bleeding your business dry. Here's the brutal truth about your customers: They don't repurchase in perfect 30-day cycles. → They forget to use your product some days → They apply more/less than recommended amounts → Their budgets fluctuate month-to-month → They stockpile during sales events We regularly see brands assuming their customers will reorder every 30 days, when actual repurchase cycles are often significantly longer. This disconnect creates a massive gap in your customer communication. Sending reminders when they're not ready to buy simply trains them to ignore your messages. The solution isn't complex, but it requires precision: 1. Track median (not mean) time between orders → Segment by product category → Segment by lifecycle stage → Remove outliers that skew your data 2. Build custom replenishment sequences based on consumption patterns → Time first reminder at 80% of median repurchase window → Schedule follow-ups at increasing frequency → Personalise messaging based on purchase history 3. Implement progressive optimisation → Test messaging that encourages consistent usage → Introduce subscription options at optimal moments → Incrementally reduce time between orders 4. Prioritise subscription experiences → Create VIP treatment for subscribers → Implement skip/pause options to reduce churn → Build automated win-back sequences specific to churned subscribers Your highest-value customers aren't the ones buying every 30 days because you told them to. They're the ones whose buying patterns YOU'VE adapted to.

HeySunday almost lost us as a customer. And the worst part? They did nothing wrong! We actually loved the product. But here's what went wrong... A few months ago my wife signed up for a subscription through their Recharge subscription offering. Every 30 days, we get a package of laundry detergent. It's perfect. But month 1 we ran out a week early. No big deal, we had some old detergent we used. Then it happened again. And again... Until eventually we found ourselves a week short of subscription renewal with no detergent. So we went out and bought something else. 😅 Fortunately for HeySunday, we actually didn't like the other option. But what if we had?! We'd likely be gone. This is why I'm so bullish on Repeat. We really should be receiving a package every 3 weeks, not 1x/month. For people like us who don't fit the standard subscription replenishment options, we're going to cancel. Or worse... We're going to shop a competitor. This is one of the problems we're trying to solve with Repeat. With properly timed replenishment messaging we would a) spend more, and b) stick around longer. While you don't want customers to build up toooo much product, you also don't want them to run out too early. The former could just result in a pause... The latter almost certainly guarantees your customer will go buy another product. So here's what I'd do if I was HeySunday. 1. Keep the subscription, it's great. You want to make sure your customers are getting regular deliveries of your product. 2. Survey your subscribers with KnoCommerce to find out how fast they're actually using the product. You may find you don't have optimized subscription windows for your customers. 3. Set up Repeat, and integrate with Postscript, Klaviyo, or Attentive. Send a text message with an easy re-order when your customer is likely to be running low. Run this alongside your subscriptions. You can do both, with Repeat acting as a supplement to help lower the risk that your customers run out (and increase your LTV). Repeat can also tell you how often your customers actually buy so you can better tailor your subscription windows. I.e. maybe 21 days is actually better than 30 for most customers. Fortunately for us my wife didn't cancel, so now we've got a back stock of detergent to hold us over for a few months. Hopefully HeySunday can get Repeat in place before I need it in 4-6 months. 😉

Most brands are leaving millions in email revenue on the table because they don’t have the right flows set up. After running these for 100s of brands, here are the 15 go-to flows that drive the most sales: 1/ Welcome – First impressions matter. Send a welcome email with a discount (if applicable), follow up with what makes your brand different, and share valuable content. 2/ Abandoned Checkout – If someone starts checkout but doesn’t buy, send a reminder, follow up with social proof, offer a last-chance discount, & address any objections with a “How can we help?” email. 3/ Abandoned Cart – They added to cart but didn’t start checkout, so remind them, use testimonials for trust, & instead of a direct discount, try “Your cart price just dropped” to grab attention. 4/ Abandoned Browse – If someone viewed a product but didn’t add to cart, nudge them back with a “Still thinking about it?” email, highlight what makes your product better, & offer an exclusive incentive if needed. 5/ Abandoned Site – If they browsed but didn’t engage, send them helpful content, social proof, or a small incentive to get them deeper into your funnel. 6/ Cross-Sell Flow – After purchase, recommend a complementary product, educate them on how to maximize their purchase, & position the next buy as the natural next step. 7/ Back-in-Stock Flow – Capture emails for sold-out products, offer alternatives while they wait, & when the item is restocked, create urgency by reminding them it sold out before. 8/ Post-Purchase Flow – Thank them for buying, send setup guides or product tips, follow up with a note from the founder, & open a direct line for support to build trust for repeat sales. 9/ Replenishment Flow – If you sell consumables, remind customers when they’re running low, offer a subscription for convenience, & make reordering a one-click process. 10/ Winback Flow – If someone hasn’t purchased in 90+ days, remind them of what they’re missing, update them on new products, & offer a one-time incentive to bring them back. 11/ Sunset Flow – For inactive subscribers, send a “We miss you” email, show them what’s new, & ask if they still want to hear from you before removing them. 12/ Review Request Flow – Ask for a review 30 days after purchase, offer an incentive like store credit or a discount, & follow up if they don’t respond. 13/ First Purchase Anniversary – Celebrate their 1-year mark with a thank-you email, a small gift or discount, & an opportunity to re-engage. 14/ Subscription Upsell Flow – Encourage customers to subscribe by highlighting convenience, cost savings, & making the upgrade process seamless. 15/ Predicted Next Purchase Flow – Use data to predict when someone is likely to buy again, send a reminder at the right time, & make the purchase as effortless as possible. Most brands focus only on campaigns & maybe some of the basic flows, but these flows generate the real money. Watch the full breakdown in the video below & leave your thoughts!