What is Channel Affinity?
Channel Affinity is a relatively new feature in Klaviyo that helps you choose the right channel for your customers. In short, the feature analyses the user's historical behaviour – do they typically open emails, or do they respond more to SMS?
With that knowledge, Klaviyo can automatically adapt your workflows. If a customer almost always opens your SMS messages, the system will prioritise sending SMS in future flows. And vice versa – if email is their preferred channel, that's where the communication lands.
Why is this smart?
The biggest challenge with SMS marketing is the risk of coming across as too intrusive. Many brands end up spamming users who never open their SMS messages anyway – and that can damage the relationship.
Channel Affinity ensures that you:
- Send on the right channel for each individual user.
- Avoid annoying those who are not receptive to SMS.
- Improve performance by focusing on what works best.
Practical examples
We are currently testing Channel Affinity across several Klaviyo flows:
- Price Drop Flow
- Added to Cart Flow
- Abandoned Check-out Flow
This means that a customer who habitually opens SMS messages receives the message there – while another customer in the same flow gets it via email.
What can you use it for?
- Abandoned Cart: Remind customers about their items via the channel they actually respond to.
- Price Drop Alerts: Only send SMS alerts to those who are engaged on SMS.
- Newsletter flows: Adapt your sends so that email-first users are not suddenly spammed with SMS.
What should you be aware of?
- Channel Affinity is still a relatively new feature, so the data foundation may be limited.
- Test the setup over time to assess the quality of the results.
- Use it as a supplement to segmentation – not a replacement.
Conclusion
Channel Affinity makes SMS marketing smarter by choosing the channel that makes the most sense for each individual user. This means fewer wasted messages, less risk of annoying your customers – and more effective communication.
If you want SMS to be a strong part of your marketing strategy, but without spamming your customers, Channel Affinity is a feature you should look more closely at.
