Why You Need a Sunset Flow in Klaviyo

Are your emails being ignored? Low open rates can hurt your deliverability, leading to emails landing in spam. Many brands overlook inactive subscribers, but continuing to email them damages engagement rates and the sender's reputation.

A Klaviyo Sunset Flow automates re-engaging or removing inactive subscribers—keeping your list clean and improving deliverability.

To improve inbox placement and avoid being flagged as spam, it's crucial to follow best practices outlined in our Email Deliverability Checklist.

What Is a Sunset Flow in Klaviyo?

A sunset flow is an automated sequence that targets unengaged subscribers. It aims to either re-engage or suppress them to maintain email list health.

Benefits

• Higher Deliverability – Reduces spam complaints and keeps emails in inboxes.

• Improved Open Rates – Focuses on active, engaged subscribers.

• Better Email ROI – Stops wasting resources on inactive contacts.

For brands who want to drive lifetime value through automation, sunset flows complement our 8 Essential Klaviyo Flows to Boost Customer Loyalty.

The Ultimate Sunset Flow Strategy

Primary Goal:

Re-engage inactive subscribers before removing them.
Use targeted emails, personalised content, or exclusive offers to give unengaged contacts one last chance to stay. This helps retain valuable customers and boosts engagement.

Secondary Goal: 

Suppress contacts who remain inactive.
Removing unresponsive subscribers protects your sender's reputation, improves deliverability, and ensures your emails reach people who want to hear from you.

How to Set Up a Sunset Flow in Klaviyo (Step-by-Step Guide)

Setting up a sunset flow in Klaviyo helps you clean your list by phasing out subscribers who haven’t opened or clicked your emails in a long time. It’s a final chance to bring them back—before you remove them from future sends.

When Should You Sunset Subscribers?

Use a sunset flow when subscribers:

• Haven’t opened, clicked, or visited your site in months

• Haven’t placed any orders

• Are likely bringing down your open rate and hurting deliverability

These profiles are often unmonitored or inactive. Continuing to email them can get your emails marked as spam. Suppressing them will also help reduce your Klaviyo billing size.

Sending emails to these profiles can severely affect your open rates. Check out our proven Strategies to Boost Your Open Rates to keep engagement high.

Step 1: Create a Sunset Segment in Klaviyo

To build a strong Sunset Flow, start by identifying unengaged subscribers—people who haven’t opened, clicked, or browsed in a long time.

Go to Lists & Segments in your Klaviyo dashboard and click Create Segment.

Use the following criteria to define your unengaged audience:

• Can receive marketing = true

• Created at least 180 days ago

• Received at least 5 emails in the last 90 days

• Opened = 0 times

• Clicked = 0 times

• Active on Site = 0 times

• Viewed Product = 0 times

• Checkout Started = 0 times

• Placed Order = 0 times

Name this segment something like "Unengaged - Sunset Flow Trigger".

These contacts will trigger your sunset flow once they meet all conditions.

Step 2: Build Your Sunset Flow

You can either use Klaviyo’s pre-built flow or create your own for full control.

Option A: Use the Pre-Built Flow

• Go to Flows > Create Flow.

• Search for "sunset" and select "Sunset Unengaged Subscribers".

• Set the trigger to your sunset segment and click Create Flow.

• Customise emails to match your brand.

• Back-populate past profiles if needed.

  
  

Option B: Build From Scratch

• Go to Flows > Create Flow > Create From Scratch.

• Name your flow and set the trigger to your sunset segment.

• Add flow filters to remove anyone who opens or clicks during the flow.

  
  

• Add 1–3 emails to re-engage or allow opt-outs.

  
  

• Add a time delay (3–7 days) after the final email.

• Add an Update Profile Property step to tag unengaged users as Unengaged = True.

  
  

These tagged users can then be suppressed in future campaigns.

Using Klaviyo’s Conditional Split feature can help fine-tune these filters based on real user behaviour.

Step 3: Suppress Unengaged Profiles (Ongoing)

Once subscribers go through the entire sunset flow without engaging, it’s time to suppress them to keep your list clean.

1. Go to Lists & Segments > Create Segment.

2. Name it "Unengaged - Suppression Ready".

3. Use this condition:

   • Properties about someone > Unengaged = true

4. Save the segment.

5. Click the three-dot icon next to the segment and choose Suppress Current Members.

   
   

Suppression ensures these users don’t receive future marketing emails, protecting your deliverability and reducing Klaviyo list size.

Step 4: Include Past Profiles

The flow only triggers for people who newly qualify for the segment. If you want to add people who already qualify:

1. Click Manage Flow.

2. Choose Add Past Profiles.

3. Make sure your emails are set to Manual or Live.

   
   

This ensures older unengaged contacts go through the sunset flow too.

Source: Klaviyo 

Advanced Strategies to Maximize Klaviyo Sunset Flow Success

1. AI & Predictive Analytics for Smarter Suppression

• Use Klaviyo’s predictive analytics to estimate future buying potential based on browsing, purchase, and engagement history.

• Leverage Predicted Customer Lifetime Value (PCLV) and Churn Risk Score to inform suppression decisions.

• Avoid blanket suppression rules—keep high-value profiles in re-engagement flows longer.

• Prioritise users with low likelihood to convert for suppression, protecting deliverability without losing revenue opportunities.

  
  

Source: ECommerceIntelligence

2. Multi-Channel Re-Engagement Before Suppression

• Pair email and SMS for a final re-engagement push before suppressing subscribers.

• Klaviyo case studies show 30–50% higher conversions with email + SMS vs. email alone.

• Sync unengaged segments to Facebook Custom Audiences and Google Ads via Klaviyo integrations.

• Use ads with copy like “We miss you—come back for 15% off” to draw users back in.

  
  

Source: Klaviyo 

3. Behavioral-Based Sunset Flow Segmentation

Not all unengaged users are created equal. Segment them by:

• Low-Intent: Never opened/clicked — suppress quicker.

• Previously Engaged: Opened/clicked 90+ days ago — give longer re-engagement windows.

• Loyal Customers/VIPs: Previously made purchases — personalise messaging heavily and suppress last.

This segmentation allows you to customise incentives and timing, preserving high-value contacts longer.

4. Incentive Experimentation: What Actually Works?

Discounts aren’t your only weapon. Many brands have successfully re-engaged with:

• Loyalty point offers (e.g., “Click here to earn 50 points”)

• Early access to sales or collections

• Charity incentives (e.g., “We’ll donate $5 if you click to stay subscribed”)

These non-discount motivators avoid discount fatigue and train customers to engage for value.

Need inspiration for structuring the right promotional message? See our Email Template for Product Promotion.

5. AI-Optimised Send Times & Frequency Testing

Use Klaviyo’s Smart Send Time to determine the best hour/day to reach each contact. This is especially useful in sunset flows where every touchpoint counts. Combine this with A/B tests on:

• Morning vs. evening sends

• 2 vs. 3 emails in the sequence

• Frequency delays between touches

Campaign Monitor found that AI-optimised send times boosted open rates by up to 23%.

We broke down how to use this feature in our Klaviyo Smart Sending Guide, which includes tips for optimising email frequency and avoiding fatigue.

Source: Klaviyo 

6. Conditional Splits for Smarter Suppression Timing

Use Klaviyo's conditional splits to hold off on suppressing users who:

• Recently browsed products

• Abandoned cart within 7 days

• Contacted customer support

This ensures you're not cutting off users who may still be in the decision-making phase.

Source: Klaviyo 

7. Personalisation That Feels Human, Not Automated

Don’t just use “Hey {{ first_name }}.” Instead, pull in:

• Last product browsed

• Previous orders

• Category interests

Example: “Still thinking about the linen sofa? It’s waiting for you.”

Klaviyo’s blog highlights how personalised subject lines can increase open rates by 26%.

8. Exit-Intent Popups for Last-Minute Saves

Right before suppressing a user, try one last nudge with a popup triggered by inactivity or exit intent:

• “Want to stay subscribed?”

• “Reactivate now and get exclusive perks.”

Tools like Justuno or Klaviyo Forms can help capture this intent and route it to a “saved” segment.

We shared more high-converting popup strategies in our guide on Top 8 Klaviyo Pop-Up Form Strategies to Drive Conversions.

Source: CSS Tricks

9. Compliance & Deliverability Protection

Sunset flows play a key role in staying GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and CCPA compliant. Klaviyo recommends:

• Always include clear unsubscribe links

• Honour suppression preferences

• Use Klaviyo’s Deliverability Monitoring dashboard to identify a list of health trends

When done right, sunset flows can increase inbox placement by reducing complaint rates and bounce rates.

Common Mistakes & How to Fix Them

Many brands make mistakes in their sunset flow setup that diminish its effectiveness or hurt deliverability.

If you’re unsure what to test first, refer to our 10 Essential A/B Tests to Boost Email Conversions.

Key Metrics to Track & Optimize Your Sunset Flow

To measure the success of your sunset flow and ensure you're improving performance over time, focus on the metrics Klaviyo can directly report:

• Flow Open Rate – Monitor how many recipients open each sunset email.

• Click-Through Rate (CTR) – Track how many subscribers click links in your re-engagement emails.

• Flow Conversion Rate – Measure the percentage of users who re-engage (click, open, or purchase) during the flow.

• Suppression Volume – Use your suppression segment to track how many profiles are flagged and removed.

• Profile Re-engagement Rate – Set up tags or events to monitor which profiles exit the segment before suppression.

• List Growth vs. Suppression Trend – Compare subscriber list growth with sunset-driven list cleaning over time.

• Deliverability Metrics – Check spam complaint rate, bounce rate, and inbox placement via Klaviyo’s Deliverability tab.

FAQs 

1. How often should I run a sunset flow?

•  Ideally, run your sunset flow on an ongoing basis. New inactive users should automatically be filtered in via segment triggers.

2. Will sunset flow impact my Klaviyo billing?

•  Yes—in a good way. Suppressing inactive profiles can reduce your contact count and lower your Klaviyo bill.

3. Can I reactivate suppressed contacts later?

•  Suppressed contacts won’t receive future marketing unless manually reactivated. Only re-add them if they opt back in.

4. Do SMS subscribers need their own sunset flow?

•  Yes. SMS sunset flows should be built separately to comply with different regulations and engagement behaviours.

5. How many emails should I include in the sunset flow?

• Stick to 2–3 re-engagement emails. Sending more can damage your sender's reputation if recipients still aren’t opening.

6. Should I exclude seasonal shoppers from suppression?

• Yes. Use purchase behaviour to identify those who only buy during specific seasons and consider keeping them on a separate list.

Conclusion

If your emails aren’t getting opened, it’s time to take action. A Klaviyo Sunset Flow helps you protect your email reputation by removing contacts who no longer interact. 

But it’s not just about suppressing—it’s also your last chance to re-engage users with smart segmentation, incentives, and AI-backed timing. By removing the dead weight, your emails reach the right audience, and your list becomes a real asset, not a liability.

Whether you're seeing a dip in open rates or prepping for your next campaign push, sunset flows should be part of your long-term list health strategy. A clean list = better results.

Key Takeaways

• Use sunset flows to re-engage or suppress inactive subscribers.

• AI and predictive analytics help avoid suppressing high-value users.

• Combine email, SMS, and ads for better re-engagement.

• Test different incentives beyond discounts to win back users.

• Regularly track open rate, click rate, suppression volume, and deliverability.

• Suppressing inactive contacts can lower your Klaviyo bill and boost inbox placement.

Want to protect deliverability whilst minimising churn? 

Set up a Klaviyo Sunset Flow that prioritises re-engagement before suppression—keeping high-intent customers while cleaning your list. Boost email performance now! Click here for a free audit.