The Setup
Some brands need their voice protected. The Sun Emporium needed their voice operationalized.
When we picked up the account in September 2022, the brand identity was already where it needed to be — warm, sun-forward, lifestyle-driven, the kind of aesthetic that feels less like a product catalog and more like an extended afternoon outside. The work in front of us wasn't to invent a voice. It was to turn that voice into a lifecycle system that runs on autopilot.
That's a different brief. And it's the right one for a brand at this stage.
The Approach
We mapped the customer journey across five lifecycle stages and built the email program to match each one:
- Welcome — first impression, brand introduction, soft path to first purchase
- Abandoned Cart — recovery sequence for customers who got close
- Browse Abandonment — re-engage interest before it cools off
- Post-Purchase — convert first buyers into repeat buyers
- Winback — reactivate customers who've gone quiet
Across those five stages we built 19 emails — not as a one-off campaign blast, but as the foundation of an always-on retention engine. Each touchpoint reinforced the brand. None of them sounded like a template.
The Welcome Flow
The welcome flow is the most important email program a brand will ever build. It's the only one that gets opened by people who have explicitly said they want to hear from you. Mess it up and the rest of the lifecycle struggles to recover.
We built a 5-email sequence designed to introduce the brand, set expectations, and earn the first purchase without leaning on aggressive discounting.
Abandoned Cart Recovery
Customers reach the cart for a reason. The job of an abandoned cart sequence isn't to nag — it's to make finishing the purchase feel like the natural next step. Three-email sequence, tightly timed, designed to remove friction and re-spark intent without burning trust.
Browse Abandonment
Browse abandonment is the most undervalued lifecycle flow in eCommerce. The customer told you what they're interested in by clicking — and most brands let that signal disappear. We don't.
The Sun Emporium's browse sequence keeps the conversation going, tailored to the specific products the customer was looking at.
Post-Purchase
A first purchase is the start of the relationship, not the end of it. The post-purchase sequence is where retention actually begins — and where the highest LTV is unlocked.
We built a four-email post-purchase journey covering order confirmation, anticipation, education, and the bridge to repeat purchase.
Winback
A customer who's gone quiet isn't lost. They've just stopped paying attention. The winback flow is a four-email sequence designed to remind them why they fell in love with the brand — and give them a reason to come back without resorting to aggressive discounting on the first touchpoint.
What This Build Represents
When a brand has a clear visual identity, the right move isn't to start over. It's to translate that identity into a lifecycle system that runs on its own — across welcome, cart, browse, post-purchase, and winback — so the brand voice keeps doing the work even when nobody on the team is writing emails that week.
That's what we built for The Sun Emporium. 19 emails. 5 flows. One coherent retention system.
Want a lifecycle system that matches your brand identity from welcome through winback? Book a free strategy call or see how we've done it for other brands.