- I build VIP lists by customer spend, with the threshold set brand by brand. There's no universal number.
- For consumables, high spend usually comes from reordering, so add a recency check to keep the list current.
- VIPs should get things other people don't: early access, first dibs on restocks, bundles and a real thank you.
- Don't train your best customers to wait for a code. They already buy at full price.
What counts as a VIP for a consumable brand?
For my clients, a VIP is a customer who's spent past a set amount. I set that amount brand by brand, because spend means different things in different stores. $300 might be a once-a-year customer for a brand selling $90 jars, and a ten-order regular for a brand selling $30 bags.
For consumables, high spend almost always comes from reordering. Your best customer might not have the biggest single order. They have the habit. So once spend gets someone onto the list, I'd look at two more things:
- How recently they ordered. A VIP who hasn't bought in a year isn't a VIP anymore. They're a winback.
- Whether they subscribe. Active subscribers are already your most loyal group, and they deserve their own track.
How do you build a VIP email segment in Klaviyo?
Start with spend, then tighten it.
Step 1: set the spend threshold
Klaviyo calculates historic CLV, which it describes as the total value of a customer's past orders, net of refunds and returns. You can segment on it with the condition "Predictive analytics about someone," then pick the CLV metric and set the value (Klaviyo).
The threshold comes from the brand's own numbers. Here's one way to get a first pass. Say your average customer has spent $60 with you. A VIP line around 3x that, $180, picks out people who've clearly come back for more. Then check how many people land in the segment. If it's a handful, lower it. If it's half your customers, raise it.
One thing to watch: customers who order in large quantities can jump past any spend threshold in a single order. I usually keep them out of my automations, so decide on purpose whether they belong on your VIP list or get handled on their own.
Step 2: add recency
Add a condition that they've placed an order in the last 90 days. Adjust it to your product. If your product lasts 30 days, 90 days is fine. If it lasts 90 days, stretch it to 120 or 150 so you don't kick out people who are right on schedule.
If you don't have enough data for CLV yet
Klaviyo's CLV and predictive fields only show up once you have at least 500 customers who've placed an order, at least 180 days of order history with orders in the last 30 days, and some customers with 3 or more orders (Klaviyo). Until then, order count is a decent stand-in for spend. Someone who's placed 3 or more orders has usually spent well above your average.
Spot the next VIPs with predicted CLV
Klaviyo also predicts how much a customer will spend in the next year. It's useful for finding people on their way to VIP status, like a two-time buyer whose pattern looks like your best customers. I'd use it alongside the spend threshold, not instead of it.
Keep subscribers separate
If you run subscriptions, I'd keep active subscribers in their own segment. They get pre-charge reminders and subscription offers. VIP one-time buyers get a nudge toward a subscription: they save money, and you get predictable monthly revenue. Mixing them means sending "subscribe and save" to people who already do.
For the bigger picture on how I split a list, read my guide to email segmentation for ecommerce.
What should you send VIPs?
Things that make them feel like insiders, and that give them a reason to buy. Here's where I'd start.
- Early access to launches. Give VIPs a day before everyone else on a new product or flavor. They're the most likely to try it, and their reviews help the full launch. My post on the product launch email covers the full sequence.
- First dibs on restocks. When something sells out, the restock email is your biggest send of the month. One snack brand's "We're back baby!" restock email made $48,771 from 30,498 people, its best campaign ever. Letting VIPs in first makes that send feel like a perk. More in my guide to Klaviyo back in stock emails.
- Bundles. Build a bundle around what VIPs already buy most. It raises the order value without cutting the price of the product they'd buy anyway.
- Limited runs. A seasonal flavor or small batch, offered to VIPs first.
- A real thank you. A note from the founder, once or twice a year. Keep it short, and still give them one thing to click.
- A question. Ask what they'd like you to make next. It's a cheap way to learn what your best customers want.
Content warms people up, but somebody has to ask for the sale. So most VIP emails should still have one clear thing to buy.
Should VIPs get bigger discounts?
I'd be careful here. Your VIPs already buy at full price, over and over. A deep discount teaches them to wait for one.
It's the same logic I use for customers in my flows: a slightly upgraded offer, an offer to buy more, or a subscription offer, never just a deeper code. For VIPs, I'd lean on:
- Access instead of price. Early, first, limited.
- Buy more. A bundle or a bigger-order offer, instead of money off the one product they'd buy anyway.
- A subscription offer. They save on a monthly order, and you get predictable monthly revenue.
If you run a loyalty or points program, email is where it becomes visible. A points balance reminder, a "you just hit a new tier" email or a "your reward is waiting" nudge all give VIPs a reason to come back without a sitewide code.
Why do smaller, targeted sends earn more per person?
Because the right people are getting the right email. This is the reason a VIP segment is worth building in the first place.
At a fitness tech brand, a send to an engaged segment of 7,145 people earned $0.19 per person. A full-list blast to 49,475 people earned $0.04 per person. That's not a VIP segment exactly, but it's the same idea: the people who already care earn you more per email.
Judge VIP sends by clicks and revenue per person, not opens. Apple Mail inflates opens. More on that in my post on open rate vs click rate.
Where these numbers come from
The restock and engaged-segment numbers are from single brands, a snack brand and a fitness tech brand. Results depend on the product, the list and the offer, so treat them as examples, not benchmarks. The unsubscribe point in the FAQ comes from pooled data across 4 consumable brands and 2,897 campaigns, a small sample, so it's directional.
How do you know your VIP program is working?
Track a few numbers every month:
- How many people are in the VIP segment, and whether it's growing.
- Share of revenue from VIPs. If a small group carries a big share, protect them.
- How many two-time buyers become three-time buyers. That's the pipeline into VIP.
- How many VIPs slip out because they stopped ordering. Klaviyo's churn risk prediction can flag people whose odds of buying again are dropping, once you meet the predictive analytics requirements above (Klaviyo).
For how VIPs fit into the second, third and fourth order, see my repeat purchase email strategy.
FAQ
How much does someone have to spend to be a VIP?
There's no universal number. I set the threshold for each brand from its own order data. A few times your average customer's spend is a reasonable first pass, then adjust until the segment is a size you can actually treat differently.
Can I use CLV segments for a small store?
Only once you meet Klaviyo's requirements: at least 500 customers who've ordered, 180 days of order history with orders in the last 30 days, and some customers with 3 or more orders. Until then, use order count and recency.
What's the difference between a VIP segment and a loyalty program?
A VIP segment is a group you build in Klaviyo so you can email them differently. A loyalty program is a points or rewards system, usually run through an app. You can have one without the other, but they work well together.
Should VIPs get fewer emails or more?
Usually they can handle more, as long as the emails are relevant. In my data, 3 of 4 consumable brands saw no rise in unsubscribes when they sent more. Watch clicks and unsubscribes in the segment and adjust.
What should I do when a VIP stops buying?
Move them into a winback built for past VIPs. Don't send them the same winback as a one-time buyer. Acknowledge that they've been with you a while.
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.