Bring customers back with a Shopify winback sequence

This customer winback premade puts a short return invitation above a product grid, without leading with a discount. Use it for the first message in the sequence, then choose recommendations that fit the audience. For the refill example below, replace the general invitation and select the refill collection.

Define inactivity around the purchase cycle

Choose an interval that reflects the product. A household refill and a dining table have different buying cycles. Look at the gap between purchases in your own store before deciding that someone is overdue.

For a worked example, suppose repeat buyers of your refill products commonly return after about six weeks. You could test a 60-day inactivity threshold. This is a planning example, not a benchmark or a claim that every customer needs a refill after 60 days.

The trigger measures purchase inactivity. It does not mean that the person stopped reading your emails, and it does not measure product consumption. Keep those distinctions in the copy: “Ready for a refill?” is more accurate than “You've run out.”

Configure the trigger and the entry audience

In Automations, choose Customer winback and set the number of days since the last purchase. Use the trigger's Filters to narrow the audience when the same interval is inappropriate for everyone.

Contact conditions include order count, total spend, last order date, tags, and custom fields. Order count and total spend describe the customer's history; they do not identify the contents of one particular order. Use a deliberately maintained product-interest tag or field when your campaign depends on an interest you know about.

Combine conditions with AND when both must hold. A repeat-customer campaign might require order count greater than one AND a relevant interest tag. OR would admit people who meet only one condition, making the audience broader than intended.

Handle existing inactive customers separately

The winback trigger applies to customers who reach the configured threshold after activation. It does not retroactively enroll everyone who has already passed it.

For that existing group, create a segment using the relevant last-order-date and contact conditions. Review the audience, then send a one-time broadcast or start a Workflow for the selected contacts. Keep this catch-up campaign distinct from the ongoing automation so you can check overlap and interpret its results.

The same distinction matters when changing the plan later: an automated future entry rule and a one-time selection of existing contacts solve different problems. See the automations overview for workflows and segment entry.

Choose recommendations for a returning customer

In the email editor, add Product cards and choose Customer may also like for suggestions based on purchase history. This differs from recommendations tied to the order that started a New order automation. A winback campaign is about the customer's history, not a newly completed order.

If you want full control over the offer, choose a specific collection or a small manual selection instead. A refill campaign should not unexpectedly turn into a promotion for unrelated new arrivals.

Check what the email looks like when recommendations are limited. The introduction and main button should still make sense without a long product grid. A useful collection link can give the reader a clear next step.

Start with a helpful return invitation

Subject

Ready for another refill?

Preview

Find the everyday essentials you came for last time.

It's been a little while since your last visit.

If you're ready to restock, we've gathered our refill essentials in one place. You can compare sizes and choose what works for your home now.

Need help finding the right refill for a product you already own? Reply and tell us which one.

Explore the refill collection→

We'd be happy to help you find your next everyday favorite. Thanks for shopping with us before.

Only use this version for a relevant audience and a monitored reply-to address. A general store may need a broader invitation focused on new products or a practical guide.

Start from a customer winback premade template where available, or adapt a simple Design ideas layout. Replace the sample product selection and every offer before sending. Keep one primary purpose: returning to a relevant collection, rather than simultaneously requesting a review and promoting an unrelated sale.

Add a second message only when it adds value

A later incentive can be a separate Send email action after an Add delay. For example, wait a week, then offer a benefit to customers who still match the intended inactivity conditions. Put those conditions on the later action as well; entry into a sequence is not proof that the customer's situation is unchanged a week later.

Do not assume the checkout-recovery stop behavior applies to a winback sequence. Test what happens when a customer purchases between messages, and use the available last-order conditions to keep the later promotion relevant.

Subject

A little thank-you for your next visit

Preview

Here's an offer on the refill collection.

If you've been considering a refill, we'd love to welcome you back.

Use RETURN10 for 10% off the refill collection. The offer applies to refills only and cannot be combined with another discount.

You'll find the eligible products through the button below.

Choose a refill→

Thank you for giving our products a place in your home. We're here if you need help choosing.

RETURN10 is an illustrative code: replace it with your real discount and its actual expiry terms before using this example. Shopify's Coupon element supports shared codes and unique single-use codes. A unique code controls redemption; a countdown is a visual element and does not establish the discount's expiry.

Check the full sequence before activation

Test the first email with a contact whose purchase history suits the recommendation. Check the coupon with an eligible product, then with an excluded one. Verify the later action's filters using a recent purchaser and an inactive customer.

For the catch-up audience, inspect several contact histories to confirm that the segment selects the intended last-order dates. For the ongoing automation, remember that you need a customer reaching the threshold after activation to test entry.

Track returning purchases as well as clicks. If readers click the collection but do not order, inspect product availability, refill compatibility, and offer conditions before increasing the discount. For customers who recently bought, a post-purchase cross-sell is a different, more timely journey.