Retention case study
SwissGear retention
Email, SMS and loyalty for a 100,000+ subscriber list.
Email, SMS and loyalty for a 100,000+ subscriber list.
Luggage is a considered purchase. People research for weeks, buy before a trip, then do not need another suitcase for years. That makes retention hard: the job is to stay useful between purchases, catch shoppers at the moment they are ready, and bring the right customers back for backpacks, accessories and the next trip.
I ran the Klaviyo email and SMS program for SwissGear.ca, from the lifecycle flows and segmentation to the seasonal campaign calendar, alongside the Smile.io loyalty program and the review programs on Trustpilot and Yotpo.
The flows did the steady work: welcome, browse abandonment, abandoned cart, post-purchase, replenishment, loyalty and win-back journeys in Klaviyo, each with its own goal, timing and exit rules so nobody got a discount they did not need.
Every flow was split by channel. Email carried the story and the product detail, and SMS was kept for the moments that were time sensitive.
Turn a new subscriber into a first order.
Win back shoppers who left items behind.
Re-engage lapsed buyers, then protect deliverability.
Beyond the core journeys, the program was built from a library of flows that could be switched on as the business needed them: a student signup for back to school, a referral program, price drop and low inventory alerts, birthday offers and persona-based paths for travellers, commuters and families.
Campaigns followed the marketing calendar: launches like the Signature Collection, seasonal moments like back to school, clearance, and the build-up to Black Friday. Every campaign had a brief with the audience, offer, send time and success metric set up front.
I directed the creative and copy with the design team, built the emails in Klaviyo, and tested subject lines, send times, offers and creative across segments.
SMS was reserved for messages that earned a buzz in someone’s pocket: VIP early access, cart reminders, back in stock alerts and win-back offers. Short, useful and always with a product image and one clear link.
The messages below are mockups of the SMS formats the program used.
SwissGear VIP: Black Friday starts early for you. Up to 40% off medium luggage, 24 hours before everyone else. swissgear.ca/vip
Still thinking about the Energie carry-on? It’s waiting in your cart, and it fits most overhead bins. swissgear.ca/cart
Good news: the ScanSmart 1900 backpack is back in stock in Black. Popular sizes go fast. swissgear.ca/scansmart
We miss you! It’s been a while since your last trip with SwissGear. Here’s 15% off your next order: COMEBACK15 swissgear.caThe record Black Friday and Cyber Monday ran as one plan across Shopify Plus, Klaviyo, Meta and Google, with email and SMS carrying each phase.
High-intent and VIP audiences, built from browsing and purchase history, got the first look with pop-ups and a dedicated landing page.
Tiered offers across the catalogue lifted order value, with product blocks for every price point.
Abandoned-cart flows and retargeting brought shoppers back while the deals were live.
A last wave across email, SMS and paid closed the weekend.
Not every subscriber is the same. I built high-intent and VIP audiences from site behaviour and purchase history, then reached them with early access, Klaviyo pop-ups and dedicated landing pages before a sale opened to everyone.
The Smile.io loyalty program gave customers a reason to come back between trips: points for orders, reviews and referrals, redeemable on the next purchase. It helped lift repeat purchase rate and customer lifetime value.
Reviews ran through Trustpilot and Yotpo, with rewards to grow review volume, and I built reporting on reviews and sentiment that went back to product, marketing and ecommerce teams.
Tell us how your SwissGear held up and earn 100 points toward your next order.
Write a reviewKlaviyo revenue, flow performance and list health were part of the monthly board review, reported next to the website and paid media so the board could see how much of the business CRM was driving.
Every promotion got a post-mortem on conversion, order value, units per order and sell-through, and the findings shaped the next month’s calendar.
I build email, SMS and loyalty programs that bring customers back for the next order, not just the next sale.
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