- A gift order counts as a first order in Shopify and Klaviyo, but the buyer isn't running out of anything.
- You don't need a gift-flagging system to start: write your welcome, post-purchase, campaign and winback emails so they make sense to someone who gave the product away.
- If your checkout gives you gift signals, like order value, order quantity or a gift note, tag them. More data is better.
- The best January ask for a gift buyer is simple: "Want one for yourself?"
- The recipient is the real prospect, and you only reach them through what's in the box or a gift card.
Why is a gift order not a real first order?
Your flows can't tell the difference on their own. Say someone buys a three-pack of your snack bars for their brother in Denver. Klaviyo sees a Placed Order, the "Placed order ever?" split sends them down the customer path, and they're now a first-time buyer.
Then the post-purchase window ends and your reorder reminder kicks in. "Running low?" They aren't. They never opened the box. Their brother did.
That's the whole problem. Every flow that assumes the buyer is the user (reorder reminders, replenishment timing, "how are you liking it?" check-ins, review requests) can end up aimed at the wrong person.
How big the gift angle is depends on what you sell. For consumer tech or jewelry it's obvious: a lot of orders are gifts, so the gift path belongs everywhere. For food and beverage it's less direct. People don't usually gift snacks. What they do is order their own favorites so there's something good in the house when people come over. Both of those buyers show up in your December data looking the same, and neither one fits a standard reorder script.
Why do reorder flows need the right people in them?
Reorder reminders are some of the best money in email for a consumable brand. Across 4 consumable brands, replenishment flows earned about $2.23 per person, around 28x the best campaign. Only 2 of the 4 brands had one built.
One skincare brand's reorder reminder flow grew 496% in one month. A reorder flow works when it's timed to when people actually run out, and that only works if they're using the product.
Gift buyers muddy that. When a slice of your December first orders are gifts, those buyers get reorder emails that don't fit them, your flow's revenue per person drops, and you start second-guessing timing that was fine for everyone else.
So the reorder email has to work for both. The second order comes from the right message reaching the person who actually uses the product, which is the idea behind any repeat purchase email strategy. Replenishment email timing covers how to set the window for the people using it.
How do you make your gift buyer email flows gift-friendly?
This is how I handle it. Instead of building a separate track for gift buyers, I make the lifecycle marketing gift-oriented where it makes sense for the product, mostly in the customer-facing branches of the automations. If nobody gifts what you sell, skip this. If they do, here's where I'd add the gift angle around the holidays:
- Welcome series. In November and December, plenty of new subscribers are likely shopping for someone else. Give them a clear path to gift sets, bundles and gift cards alongside the "here's who we are" story.
- Post-purchase. Write it so it reads right either way. Thank them, confirm it shipped, and add a line for people who sent it to someone: what to tell them, and how to grab one for themselves.
- Reorder reminder. Keep the timing, add one line for gifters. "Gave this one away? Get one for you." That way the email still lands for the buyers who never opened the box.
- Campaigns. Gift sets, gift cards and shipping dates do the work from late November through mid-December. Gifting is the reason to buy, so say it plainly. And for food and beverage, flip it: a lot of people buy their favorites for themselves to share with the guests coming to them, so "stock up for the people coming over" sells right alongside "ship a gift."
- Winback. Around the holidays, gifting is a good reason to come back. A lapsed customer who won't reorder for themselves might still buy for someone else.
None of this needs a new segment or tag. It's copy inside flows you should already have. The post-purchase email flow post shows the base flow I'd start from before adding a gift line.
What should a gift buyer email say in January?
The goal is to turn "I bought this for someone" into "I buy this for me." Since I'm not flagging gift buyers by default, I'd send this as a short January campaign series to people whose first order came in November or December, written so it works whether they kept the product or gave it away:
- "Did they love it? (Or did you keep it?)" Early January. Warm, short, no hard pitch. Link to the product they bought.
- "Want one for yourself?" About a week later. This is the real ask. Talk about the product from a user's point of view, not a gifter's. A starter size or single unit is a good fit here.
- "Save it for next time." Late January. Remind them you exist for the next gifting moment (birthdays, Valentine's, Mother's Day) and point them to gift cards or gift sets.
These aren't the only sends in January. They sit inside a normal January calendar; they just do a job the rest of the calendar can't.
If they buy something for themselves, that's a real first customer, and the reorder reminder makes sense from there.
An offer can help on email two, but don't lead with one. The offer is a conversion layer, not always the main idea. For more on how January fits around this, see January email marketing ideas.
How do you reach the person who got the gift?
The recipient is the one using your product, and the one who could become a long-term customer. But they're not on your list. Here's how I'd try to change that:
- An insert in the box with a QR code. It goes to your signup form with a simple offer for their first order. Make it clear this is for the person holding the product.
- Gift cards. The recipient redeems it on your site, enters their own email at checkout, and becomes a profile you can talk to.
- Packaging that does the work. A line on the box or label pointing to your site helps even when there's no insert.
And if you can mark orders as gifts at checkout, use it on the fulfillment side too: add gift packaging or a printed note so the recipient knows what they're holding and who it's from. Amazon does this. Flower shops do it. That extra layer is a better first impression than a bare brown box, and the first impression is all the recipient gets.
These signups have already tried the product. They don't need convincing, they need to know how to get more. Across 4 consumable brands, welcome email #1 earned about $4.50 per person, so the first thing a recipient sees after scanning matters.
Candle brands live with gifting more than most. The candle brand email marketing post covers it from that angle.
Should you tag gift orders?
If you can, yes. More data is better. There's no single "this is a gift" field in Shopify, so you're looking for signals:
- Order value or order quantity. A first order that's unusually large, or a multi-pack from someone who's never bought before, is a decent December hint on its own.
- A gift note or gift message, if your checkout or a gift app collects one.
- Gift wrap, if you sell it as an add-on product.
- A shipping address that doesn't match billing. Not every one is a gift (people ship to work), but in December it's a strong hint.
- A gift card purchase, or a gift set that only exists for gifting.
Before building on any of these, open a few December orders in Shopify, find the same orders on the customer's Klaviyo profile, and see which details actually came through. If the signals are there, a Shopify tag or Klaviyo profile property lets you keep those buyers out of replenishment and review requests until they buy for themselves. Review requests are timed to the third order anyway, so most gift buyers won't hit one.
Either way, the gift-friendly copy above still does most of the work. Tagging sharpens it; it doesn't replace it.
Where these numbers come from
The replenishment and welcome numbers are pooled from 4 consumable brands (2,897 campaigns, $17.7M in email revenue). It's a small sample, so read it as directional. The 496% figure is from one skincare brand's reorder reminder flow.
FAQ
What is a gift buyer email?
It's an email written for someone who bought your product as a gift. Instead of assuming they're running low, it asks whether the gift landed and whether they'd like one for themselves.
Do I need to flag gift orders?
Not to get started. Making your welcome, post-purchase, campaign and winback emails gift-friendly covers most of it without any new tags. But if your checkout gives you the signals, like order value, quantity or a gift note, tag them. More data is better.
Should gift buyers get my reorder reminder?
Write the reminder so it works for them too, with one line for people who gave it away. If you do flag gift orders, keep those buyers out of replenishment until they buy something for themselves.
When should I send the "want one for yourself?" email?
Early to mid January, after a short "did they love it?" check-in. Give the gift a week or two to be opened and used first.
Can I get the gift recipient's email?
Not directly. Put a QR code insert in the box that goes to your signup form, and make gift cards easy to buy. Both get the recipient onto your site with their own email.
Founder of Bardown Digital, a Chicago-based Klaviyo email and retention agency for Shopify brands. He's worked with brands doing $500K to $100M a year, with $100M+ in email-attributed revenue across them.