A gap-analysis checklist for your store's automated flows (welcome, cart, browse, post-purchase and win-back) with message outlines and how to automate each.
1 July 2026 · 6 min read · Daniel Stevens
Last updated 31 August 2026
This audit walks through the five flows that matter (welcome, cart, browse, post-purchase and win-back) so you can see the full customer journey at a glance. Score each one, then prioritise the flow with the strongest revenue opportunity.
Roughly 7 in 10 online carts are abandoned across the industry, and repeat customers are far cheaper to keep than new ones are to find. A full set of flows quietly works both problems while you get on with running the shop. Use the checklist below as your gap analysis, then use the message outlines to fill the holes.
For every flow, mark it:
Use the score to prioritise your next improvement. Start with cart recovery, then work down.
Fires when: someone signs up or places a first order. Job: introduce the brand, set delivery and returns expectations, point to best sellers.
Checklist
Copy-paste message outline
Subject: Welcome: here's what to expect Thanks for joining [brand]. Here's how we do things: [delivery], [returns], [support]. New here? These are the pieces our customers reach for first: [3 products]. Reply with any questions. Our team reads every response.
How to automate it: trigger on the sign-up or first-order event in your store, then send a two- or three-email sequence over the first week. Split the path for people who bought versus people who only subscribed.
Fires when: items are added but the order isn't completed. Job: bring the shopper back without nagging.
Checklist
Copy-paste message outline
Message 1 (email, ~30 min): You left something behind. Your [item] is still in your basket. [button: back to my cart]. Reply with any questions about sizing or delivery. Message 2 (SMS, ~24 h): Still thinking it over? Your basket's saved for now: [link]. Message 3 (email, ~48–72 h): Last reminder before your basket clears. [Optional modest incentive for higher-value carts.] [button]
How to automate it: trigger on the checkout-abandoned event, delay 30 minutes, then branch on cart value: a plain reminder for low-value baskets, reassurance for mid-value, and a personal or AI chat agent touch for high-value ones.
Fires when: someone views a product repeatedly but never adds it to the cart. Job: a soft nudge, not a hard sell.
Checklist
Copy-paste message outline
Subject: Still eyeing the [product]? You had a look at [product]. Here it is again, plus what other customers say about it: [review]. [button: take another look]
How to automate it: trigger on a browse event with a view threshold, wait a few hours, and send a single email. Suppress it if the person has since added the item to their cart, so they don't get two messages at once.
Fires when: a set number of days after delivery. Job: collect reviews and customer photos you can reuse everywhere else.
Checklist
Copy-paste message outline
Subject: How's your [product] working out? It's been a couple of weeks. We'd love to know how you're getting on. Leave a quick review here: [link]. Snapped a photo? Reply and send it over; we love seeing our products out in the wild.
How to automate it: trigger on the delivery-confirmed event, delay to suit the product (a few days for consumables, longer for durables), then send the request. Route any low scores to your support team so problems get caught early.
Fires when: a customer hasn't ordered within a defined window. Job: bring lapsed customers back before they drift for good.
Checklist
Copy-paste message outline
Subject: It's been a while: here's what's new We noticed it's been a few months since your last order of [product]. Here's what's landed since: [new items]. [Optional welcome-back offer.] [button: see what's new]
How to automate it: trigger when a customer's last-order date passes your chosen window, check they haven't ordered since, and send a short two-email sequence. Stop the flow the moment they buy again.
These flows share the same plumbing: your store as the source of truth, your email and SMS platform to send, your helpdesk to catch replies and your CRM to coordinate each message. Connecting those systems cleanly is the core integration work, and it is the heart of workflow automation.
Once it's running, track recovered revenue, repeat-order rate and flow performance in a scheduled summary. Reporting automation gathers the approved fields and delivers that recurring output. Turing BI takes over when you need governed analysis or a decision dashboard.
Score your five flows, then start with the strongest revenue opportunity. Tell us what you want to automate and we'll design the next flows around your store and existing tools, then return a free plan with a fixed quote to review. For a faster read on where you stand, take the Automation Scorecard.
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