About the Analysis
We pulled flow-by-flow performance data from 14 accounts in the Sweat Pants Agency portfolio with sufficient flow taxonomy and revenue attribution. Categories were normalized across Klaviyo, Postscript, and Attentive setups. Findings draw from the broader 4,000+ campaign dataset across 40+ accounts.
Where the money lives vs where the leverage is
The same flow category can dominate Total Revenue (because of volume) while underperforming on Revenue Per Send. Looking at both rankings side-by-side surfaces the gap that matters: high-RPS flows that most brands don't run yet.
Top 10 by Total Revenue
| Flow | Revenue | Adoption |
|---|---|---|
| #1Welcome | $298K | 100% |
| #2Cart Abandonment | $127K | 100% |
| #3Browse Abandonment | $76K | 100% |
| #4Back in Stock | $34K | 29% |
| #5Loyalty / Referral | $30K | 50% |
| #6Subscription Ops | $28K | 50% |
| #7Post Purchase | $27K | 79% |
| #8Winback | $23K | 79% |
| #9Review / Survey | $9K | 64% |
| #10Replenishment | $7K | 50% |
Top 10 by Revenue Per Send
| Flow | RPS | Adoption |
|---|---|---|
| #1Cart Abandonment | $1.50 | 100% |
| #2Welcome | $1.01 | 100% |
| #3Loyalty / Referral | $1.00 | 50% |
| #4Back in Stock | $0.84 | 29% |
| #5Browse Abandonment | $0.41 | 100% |
| #6Cross-Sell / Upsell | $0.35 | 57% |
| #7Winback | $0.32 | 79% |
| #8Replenishment | $0.28 | 50% |
| #9Subscription Ops | $0.21 | 50% |
| #10Post Purchase | $0.19 | 79% |
Red adoption % = under-built opportunity
Source: Sweat Pants Agency portfolio · 14 accounts with full flow taxonomy · trailing 12 months
Look at Back in Stock. $34K total revenue (Rank 4), $0.84 RPS (Rank 4), 29% adoption. That's the marquee under-built flow in the portfolio. The brands running it earn meaningful revenue. The 71% who aren't are leaving the highest-leverage category-specific flow on the table.
The three under-built flows worth fixing
We flag a flow as under-built when its RPS ranks in the top 5 of the portfolio AND its adoption is below 60%. Three flows meet both criteria.
Back in Stock
$0.84 RPS
Adoption: 29% · 71% of brands don't run this
Loyalty / Referral
$1.00 RPS
Adoption: 50% · 50% of brands don't run this
Replenishment
$0.28 RPS
Adoption: 50% · 50% of brands don't run this
Back in Stock is the biggest unlock for brands with any out-of-stock SKUs. Loyalty / Referral compounds with existing customer retention. Replenishment is essential for consumables (food, treats, beauty, supplements). If you sell anything that runs out, ships out, or rewards repeat purchase, these three flows have the highest expected return on build effort.
Which flows do you have?
Use this as a fast diagnostic. The universal flows are baseline. The high-RPS flows are the upside.
Universal (100% should have)
- Welcome
- Cart Abandonment
- Browse Abandonment
High-RPS upside
- Loyalty / Referral
- Back in Stock
- Replenishment
- Birthday / Anniversary
Why this matters
Most retention programs we audit have Welcome, Cart Abandonment, and Browse Abandonment locked in. They're universal because they're obvious. The gap shows up in the next tier — the niche flows that have high RPS but require deeper Klaviyo work, product-feed integrations (Back in Stock), or program design (Loyalty / Referral, Replenishment).
The under-built flows are typically built one at a time by a senior lifecycle marketer or agency. They're where the second 10% of email revenue lift typically lives, after the obvious flows are already optimized.
What to do Monday
- Audit your flow library. Check which of the universal three (Welcome, Cart Abandonment, Browse Abandonment) you have live. If any are missing, build first.
- Identify the highest-RPS flow you're not running. Back in Stock if you have out-of-stock SKUs. Loyalty / Referral if you have repeat customers. Replenishment if you sell consumables.
- Build one flow this quarter. Not five. Pick the one with the highest expected return given your catalog and customer base, and ship it well.
- Measure RPS, not total revenue, on the new flow. Total revenue is misleading because it depends on send volume. RPS tells you if the flow is earning its slot.
How we use this in our audits at Sweat Pants Agency
The flow audit is the second step in every retention audit we run, after benchmark placement. We map the brand's existing flows against the top 10 RPS categories, flag the gaps, and prioritize by expected revenue impact. Most brands have 3-4 flows live. Best-in-class brands have 8-12. The gap is usually the biggest single retention lever available in the first 90 days.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Cart Abandonment higher RPS than Welcome?
Cart Abandonment sends to a more targeted, higher-intent audience. The recipient was actively in the buying flow when something interrupted them. Welcome sends to anyone who signed up for emails, which includes browsers, future buyers, and people who came in just for the discount. Both flows are universal (100% adoption in our portfolio), but Cart Abandonment converts at higher per-send economics because the audience is pre-qualified.
Why do Post Purchase and Subscription Ops have low RPS?
These are operational flows, not conversion flows. Post Purchase typically sends order confirmations, shipping updates, delivery confirmations, and review requests. Subscription Ops sends renewal reminders, payment failures, skip-this-month options. Neither is designed to drive incremental purchase, so their RPS is naturally lower. They're still worth running, but don't measure them on RPS. Measure on operational completeness.
Cite this report
You're welcome to quote any figure from this report. Please credit Sweat Pants Agency and link to this page.
Citation
Sweat Pants Agency, "The Email Flow Performance Report," May 2026. https://sweatpantsagency.com/reports/email-flow-benchmarks
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<a href="https://sweatpantsagency.com/reports/email-flow-benchmarks">The Email Flow Performance Report</a> by Sweat Pants AgencyWant to see how your account stacks up?
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