Winback Email Examples for Ecommerce: How to Bring Customers Back

The most important part of a winback email is usually when it sends.

Not the subject line. Not the discount. Not the design.

A customer should enter winback when they are becoming late relative to their normal buying behavior.

If most customers repurchase around day 35, a day-90 winback is late.

If customers normally purchase once every two years, a day-60 winback is absurd.

Our rule:

Build winback timing around the actual buying cycle.

By Emiel Dingemans, Founder of Magicianly

Winback vs Re-Engagement

These are related but different.

Winback

Customer purchased before but has not purchased again when expected.

Goal: create another purchase or restore the customer relationship.

Re-Engagement

Subscriber has stopped engaging with email.

Goal: determine whether they still want the communication.

A customer can be:

• highly engaged with email but overdue for purchase
• completely disengaged but recently purchased

Do not treat those states as identical.

Step 1: Find the Normal Repurchase Window

Calculate:

• average time between first and second purchase
• median where useful
• product-level reorder behavior
• customer segment differences

Then decide: when does someone become meaningfully late?

Klaviyo's own current winback guidance recommends understanding the normal buying cycle before deciding when the first winback message should send, documented in Klaviyo's winback flow article.

If you have not measured this yet, start with ecommerce repeat purchase rate.

Example 1: Simple Reorder Reminder

Subject:

Time for another one?

Body:

It has been a little while since your last order. If you're running low, your usual product is here.

Works well when the product has a clear repeat cycle. No discount required.

Example 2: "Anything Changed?"

Subject:

Still using it?

Body:

Hey, you ordered a while back and we noticed you have not reordered. If something about the product did not work for you, reply and let us know. We actually read the responses. Emiel

Useful because not every lapsed customer needs another sales pitch.

Some need to tell you what went wrong.

Example 3: Product Education

Subject:

One thing customers often miss

Body:

If you stopped using it because you did not notice the result you expected, this may help.

Only use approved product guidance and claims.

Example 4: What's New

Subject:

A few things changed since your last order

Show:

• new product
• new formula
• new feature
• improved experience
• new category

A customer who stopped buying may simply need a new reason to look.

Example 5: New Product

Subject:

Thought you might like this one

If their old product or category tells you something about preference, introduce a relevant new product.

Do not send every lapsed buyer every launch. Use customer state.

Example 6: Social Proof

Subject:

What customers are saying now

Show fresh proof. Particularly useful if:

• brand was newer at first purchase
• product has improved
• more reviews now exist

Use real approved proof.

Example 7: Plain-Text Founder Winback

Subject:

quick question

Body:

Hey, you ordered from us a while ago but have not been back since. I'm curious if there was something we could have done better. If you have a second, just reply. Emiel

Not every email requires a shopping CTA.

Customer feedback can be the purpose.

Example 8: Category-Specific Winback

A customer previously bought:

Skincare

Talk about routine, season and product concern.

Coffee

Talk about running out, new roast and brewing preference.

Apparel

Talk about new season, new collection and complementary item.

Supplements

Talk about approved usage, replenishment and new format.

Example 9: Repeat Customer Who Lapsed

Someone with five historical orders is not the same as a one-time customer.

Messaging can acknowledge that they have been with you for a while.

Potential options:

• personal note
• VIP offer
• new products
• exclusive access

Do not treat your former best customer like a cold lead.

Example 10: One-Time Customer Who Never Returned

Focus on:

• product experience
• objection
• second-purchase reason
• complementary product
• feedback

You still need to prove why purchase #2 should happen.

Example 11: Incentive Winback

Subject:

A little reason to come back

Body:

If you've been thinking about another order, here's 15% off for the next 48 hours.

Discounts can work.

But we prefer not to make the entire winback strategy: customer lapses, give coupon.

Test:

• discount vs no discount
• amount
• timing
• audience
• margin
• later customer behavior

Example 12: Higher Incentive Later

A useful sequence can escalate.

Early Winback

No incentive.

Later

Small incentive.

Later Still

Potentially stronger incentive for selected customers.

This protects margin among customers who would return without a discount.

Example 13: New vs Existing Product

If a customer used to buy product A, test:

Replenishment Angle

Buy A again.

Discovery Angle

Try B.

The correct choice depends on:

• category
• normal repeat behavior
• customer history

Example 14: Seasonal Winback

Subject:

Back for summer

A customer may not be permanently churned. Their need may be seasonal.

Examples:

• outerwear
• gifting
• outdoor
• travel
• seasonal skincare
• sports

Use seasonality where it reflects the product.

Example 15: One-Time Purchase Instead of Subscription

For churned subscription customers, do not assume the only win is resubscribing.

A profitable one-time purchase can still restore the relationship.

More on that lifecycle in subscription cancellation emails.

A Practical Winback Sequence

Example only.

Email 1

Simple relevance or reorder.

Email 2

New reason, objection or education.

Email 3

Plain text or feedback.

Email 4

Potential offer.

The exact sequence depends on:

• buying cycle
• margin
• product
• customer value
• historical response

For the platform build itself, see our Klaviyo winback flow guide.

Do Not Trigger Winback Too Early

If the customer normally purchases every 60 days, a day-30 "We miss you" email is not winback.

They are not late yet. They are normal.

Bad timing makes lifecycle automation feel robotic.

Replenishment Comes Before Winback

For consumables:

Replenishment

Customer is approaching normal reorder timing.

Winback

Customer is now meaningfully beyond expected reorder timing.

These are different customer states, which is why we treat replenishment emails as a separate lifecycle.

Winback Should Exit After Purchase

Obvious, but important.

If someone repurchases, stop sending "we miss you".

Klaviyo flow and profile filters can be used to ensure someone remains eligible as they move through the flow, described in Klaviyo's flow triggers and filters documentation.

Segment by Customer Value

You may want different treatment for:

• one-time customer
• repeat customer
• VIP
• subscriber
• high-AOV buyer

A high-value former customer can justify:

• more personal treatment
• support
• stronger offer
• different cadence

What Should You Measure?

Reorder Rate

How many lapsed buyers purchase again?

Revenue Per Recipient

Useful for version comparison.

Discount Cost

How much margin did the incentive consume?

Time to Purchase

Did the flow accelerate return?

Repeat Behavior After Winback

Did they become a customer again, or buy once because of a coupon and disappear?

Unsubscribe

Are you continuing too aggressively?

Winback is also where attribution gets flattering, so read Klaviyo attribution before treating the revenue number as incremental.

Tests We Like

• early vs later trigger
• plain text vs designed
• product-led vs founder-led
• discount vs no discount
• incentive amount
• specific product vs store-wide
• feedback-first
• new product vs reorder
• VIP treatment

Winback is one flow inside a wider system. The full picture sits in our email marketing automation examples.

Our Verdict

Winback is not: send 20% off after 90 days.

It is:

Identify when this specific customer is becoming late and give them a relevant reason to return.

The best reason may be:

• need
• product
• education
• update
• support
• seasonality
• discount

Choose the reason that fits the customer.