Catch the reorder before your customer runs out, and before they buy it somewhere else.
If you sell something people use up, every customer has a moment when they are about to run out and decide where to rebuy. A replenishment flow reaches them right then with a one-click reorder, turning a predictable need into repeat revenue instead of a lost sale. Here is a sequence that works, and how to size what those reorders are worth.
The right reminder at the moment of need
A replenishment flow is built for consumables: products a customer uses up and rebuys on a rough cycle. It reaches them just before they run out, with an easy path back to reorder the exact thing they bought. Because the need is predictable, this is one of the most dependable repeat-purchase drivers a consumables store has. It also quietly protects you from churn. The moment a customer runs out is exactly when a competitor's ad can win them, so getting there first with a one-click reorder keeps the relationship yours.
The setting most replenishment flows get wrong
The flow lives or dies on timing. Send too early and the reminder is irrelevant; too late and they have already run out and rebought elsewhere. The mistake most stores make is using one window for the whole catalog. A 30-day supplement and a 90-day refill run out on completely different schedules, so the interval should be set per product, tuned to how long that item actually lasts. Where customer behavior varies, Klaviyo's expected date of next order can adapt the timing per person, catching a heavy user and a light user each at their own runout. Get the interval right and even a plain reminder converts; get it wrong and the sharpest copy still arrives too late.
A replenishment flow that works
Two to three emails, built around a well-timed reminder and a one-click path back. Adapt the timing to each product's cycle.
Time to restock
Shortly before the average runout
A simple, well-timed reminder centered on the exact product they bought, with a one-click reorder or a pre-filled cart so buying again takes seconds. Lead with convenience, not a discount. This single email does most of the work.
Make it effortless (and offer to automate)
A few days later, if they have not reordered
A gentle nudge that they may be running low, plus the subscribe-and-save option: same product, on a schedule, so they never run out again. This is a natural place to convert a repeat buyer into a subscriber, because the value of never running out is clearest right at the reorder moment.
Last reminder or a small nudge
About a week later
A final reminder for anyone who slipped past the first two. If your margins allow, a modest reorder incentive or a bundle can tip the fence-sitters, but the timing and the one-click path matter more than the offer.
The rules that keep it working
A replenishment flow rewards precision, so the guardrails are mostly about timing and friction.
Set the interval per product, not per catalog
The reminder is only useful if it lands near the real runout. Time it to each product's usage cycle, or use Klaviyo's expected date of next order, so a monthly item and a quarterly item are each caught at the right moment.
Make reordering a single click
A pre-filled cart or one-click reorder link removes the friction that kills repeat purchases. The easier the path back, the more of the reminder converts.
Use it to convert subscribers
A customer who reorders the same thing on a cycle is your best subscription candidate. Put subscribe-and-save in the flow so a repeat manual buyer can lock in future orders and you capture the recurring revenue.
Exclude active subscribers
Anyone already on a subscription for that product does not need a reorder reminder. Suppress them so the flow never nags someone whose reorders are already automated.
Do not over-remind
One well-timed reminder plus a light follow-up beats a stream of nudges. Too many restock emails for a product someone chose not to rebuy reads as pressure and can cost you the deliverability that carries the rest of your sends.
How to size the revenue before you build it
For the right catalog, replenishment is one of the higher-value flows per recipient, because it fires on very high intent: a customer who is about to run out and needs exactly what they bought before. That value depends entirely on whether you sell something people reorder, which is the catch. What a replenishment flow is worth depends on how much of your catalog is consumable and how reliably customers rebuy it. A store built on refills and subscriptions has a large, predictable reorder stream to capture; a store selling mostly one-time durable goods will get more from its other core flows first. Once it is live, watch its revenue per recipient and the subscribe-and-save conversions it drives to know it is working. That is a revenue question specific to your account, not a generic benchmark. A free Klaviyo audit reads your reorder patterns and catalog and estimates what a replenishment flow is worth on your store, ranked against every other email you are not sending yet, so you build the one that pays first.
Is it safe to connect Klaviyo?
- Read-only. It can read your campaign and flow performance. It cannot send, edit, or delete anything in your account.
- No customer data stored. It works from your metrics, not your subscriber list. Names, emails, and phone numbers are never stored.
- Nothing ships without you. Built emails land as drafts for your review; nothing is pushed to Klaviyo on its own.
- Built by an operator. David Refaeli-Berman ran enterprise email at Chewy, Amazon, Overstock, and Bed Bath & Beyond.
Questions
What is a replenishment flow in Klaviyo?
It is an automated email series for consumable products that reminds a customer to reorder just before they are likely to run out. Instead of waiting for them to remember, it reaches them at the moment of need with an easy path back to buy, which is one of the most reliable repeat-purchase drivers a consumables store has.
Which stores need a replenishment flow?
Any store selling something people use up and rebuy on a rough cycle: supplements, coffee, skincare, pet food, cleaning products, refills. If a typical customer runs out and needs another one, a replenishment flow fits. Stores selling durable one-time purchases get far less from it and are usually better served by cross-sell and win-back flows.
How do you set the timing on a replenishment flow?
Base it on how long the product actually lasts, per product, not one blanket window for the whole catalog. A 30-day supplement and a 90-day refill need different timers. Aim to land the reminder a little before the average runout so the reorder arrives in time. Klaviyo's expected date of next order can adapt the timing to each customer's real cadence rather than a fixed guess.
How does a replenishment flow relate to a subscription?
They solve the same problem from two directions. A replenishment flow prompts a manual reorder each cycle; a subscription automates it. A good replenishment email is also the natural place to offer subscribe-and-save, turning a repeat manual buyer into a subscriber and locking in the future revenue. Many stores use the flow as their main subscription-conversion path.
What is the difference between a replenishment flow and a win-back flow?
Timing and intent. A replenishment flow fires before the customer lapses, on a predictable consumption cycle, to make the expected reorder effortless. A win-back flow fires after a customer has already gone quiet and tries to re-earn them. Replenishment keeps a good customer on cadence; win-back recovers one who fell off it.
Find out what capturing every reorder is worth on your store.
A free audit sizes the revenue a replenishment flow would recover for your account, then ranks it against the other flows you're missing.
Size my replenishment flow free