Yotpo recently announced that its Email & SMS product will sunset in December 2025. For many eCommerce brands, that means making a big decision: Where to migrate their customer communications.
At StubGroup, we’ve been helping clients navigate the process of migrating from Yotpo’s Email & SMS platform into Klaviyo.
In this article we’ll go into what we’ve learned, the challenges we encountered, and how you can set yourself up for success during the migration.
Why Klaviyo?
When a platform sunsets, there’s no shortage of alternatives. But Klaviyo stood out for a few clear reasons:
- Native Shopify integration – Making product and customer syncing seamless.
- Robust automation tools – With flows, conditional splits, and filters that go beyond what Yotpo offered.
- AI assistance – Klaviyo’s AI builder speeds up recreating flows, reducing the manual workload.
- Future-proofing – With Yotpo’s product on the way out, Klaviyo is doubling down on innovation in email, SMS, and loyalty integrations.
The Migration Reality: What Moves Automatically (and What Doesn’t)
Here’s the first thing to know: there’s no one-click migration from Yotpo to Klaviyo.
- Flows: Every automation flow needs to be rebuilt manually in Klaviyo. Yup, that sucks. While AI helps, customization is still required.
- Segments: Yotpo segments don’t carry over. You’ll need to export CSVs from Yotpo and rebuild segment logic inside Klaviyo.
- Customer Data: Profile data exports cleanly but may require mapping custom properties to Klaviyo equivalents.
- Reviews: If you’re using Yotpo Reviews, it does integrate with Klaviyo… but you’re not migrating flows, just syncing review events.
For one client, this meant prioritizing key automations like Post-Purchase Nurture, Welcome Series, and Winback Flows. We leaned on Klaviyo’s AI flow generator for the structure, then layered in copy and strategy ourselves.
Rebuilding Core Flows: A Practical Walkthrough
We rebuilt flows in Klaviyo step by step, starting with the essentials:
- Post-Purchase Flow (Customer Nurture): In Yotpo, the focus was quick discounts. In Klaviyo, we shifted to brand storytelling, resources, and appreciation before introducing incentives.
- Welcome Flow: We rebuilt the pop-up welcome flow with SMS + Email touchpoints, focusing on rewards points and best sellers rather than discount codes.
- Customer Winback Flow: Instead of sending inactive discount codes, we reframed the series to highlight rewards, fast turnaround, and new products.
Klaviyo’s conditional splits made it easy to tailor messaging for first-time buyers vs. repeat customers vs. VIPs: Something Yotpo handled less elegantly.
The Loyalty Program Complication
One of the biggest wrinkles in this migration was the loyalty program.Yotpo Loyalty data was still visible on the client’s site, but not flowing into Klaviyo.
Klaviyo can integrate with loyalty platforms like Smile.io or LoyaltyLion, but that requires setting up a new integration rather than porting Yotpo’s existing loyalty setup.
Our interim solution: pause loyalty-related emails until a new program is chosen and integrated. That way, customers aren’t promised rewards we can’t deliver.
If your brand relies heavily on loyalty, plan ahead. You’ll likely need to migrate loyalty separately from email/SMS.
Lessons Learned
- Plan your flow hierarchy first. Start with the most revenue-driving automations (Welcome, Post-Purchase, Winback) before tackling secondary flows.
- Don’t assume discounts transfer. If codes aren’t active in Klaviyo, strip them out or replace them with rewards/inspiration.
- Check integrations early. Go to Klaviyo’s Integrations tab and confirm whether your loyalty program has a supported connector.
- Use AI as a starting point, not an endpoint. Klaviyo’s AI flow generator builds structure quickly, but the messaging still needs your brand’s touch.
- Be transparent with clients. We kept DTFJAX updated at every step so they understood what was carried over vs. rebuilt from scratch.
Preparing for December
Suppose you’re still on Yotpo Email & SMS. In that case, the December sunset date is coming quickly. Migrating to Klaviyo isn’t just a lift-and-shift, it’s an opportunity to rethink your automation strategy, clean up data, and future-proof your communications.
At StubGroup, we’ve seen firsthand how a smart migration can unlock new segmentation, more engaging flows, and better ROI.
Final Thoughts
Yotpo’s exit from Email & SMS is forcing many brands to act.
But it doesn’t have to be painful.
With the right partner and process, you can turn migration into a growth opportunity.
If your brand needs help navigating the move from Yotpo to Klaviyo, the StubGroup team is here to guide you through every step.
