Welcome: strike while curious
A new subscriber's first 48 hours are the most attentive they'll ever be. Three to five emails: deliver the signup offer instantly, tell the story that makes you worth choosing, show bestsellers, handle objections. This flow routinely earns more per recipient than any other automation in the account.
Abandoned checkout: the money on the table
They chose products and stopped at the till. A reminder within hours, social proof the next day, and only then, if ever, an incentive. Lead with the discount and you train customers to abandon on purpose. Recover politely first.
Browse abandonment: gentler, earlier
Viewed but never carted. One or two light touches showing what they looked at plus related pieces. It's window shopping, so sell like a good shopkeeper, not a security guard chasing them down the street.
Post-purchase and winback: where profit lives
Post-purchase builds the second order: thank, reassure, educate on the product, then recommend. Winback catches customers going quiet at your reorder cycle with your strongest reason to return. Acquisition costs mean the first order often just buys the customer. These two flows are where the actual margin is.