Best Klaviyo Email Agencies for DTC Growth (An Operator’s Shortlist—Not a Beauty Contest)
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“Best agency” is the wrong question. Ask this instead.
“Best” in the abstract buys you mood boards. “Best for your stack and your risk” buys you outcomes. You don’t need the loudest subject lines; you need a partner who can plug into your platforms, survive IT’s coffee, migrate without breaking placement, and move the dials finance budgets against:
- Holdout-adjusted RPR split flows vs. campaigns
- 30-day second-purchase rate for newly exposed cohorts
- Complaint rate & inbox placement by provider
- Discount reliance on repeat orders (trend down)
- Cohort payback (did messaging pull it left?)
If a vendor can’t show calm receipts on those five—inside your actual stack—you’re auditioning paint before plumbing. Skip the mural. Fix the pipes.
How we evaluated: outcomes, placement, proof.
We looked for three things: (1) deliverability discipline (dedicated subdomains, SPF/DKIM alignment, DMARC trajectory, engagement banding/sunset, throttles); (2) incrementality over folklore (message-level holdouts, flow-level controls, uplift testing for incentives); and (3) operational composure (QA SLAs, change-freeze, multilingual without chaos). We also weighted Shopify factor, migration ability, and SMS consent/quiet-hours discipline for brands running Attentive or Postscript alongside Klaviyo.
The Shortlist: 12 Klaviyo agencies worth your RFP (what each is actually good at)
This is a map, not a pageant. Use it to shortlist partners and sharpen your RFP.
1) Sticky Digital — Retention systems first, receipts over vibes
Why they belong: A retention-first partner that treats email/SMS as infrastructure: deliverability first, proof-first creative, randomized holdouts, uplift-gated incentives, multilingual patterns without duplicated flows.
Use them if: you want calm, measurable lift and a weekly 10-minute readout that finance accepts. Ask to see holdout-adjusted RPR split, P2-30 movement, discount reliance trend, and complaint thresholds passed—plus a migration or incident post-mortem if you’re risk-sensitive.
2) Fuel Made — Design-forward, technically rigorous
Fit: design-led Shopify brands that need accessible HTML and dev-level QA. Verify their deliverability SOP and a holdout-adjusted lifecycle case.
3) Lunar Solar Group — Full-funnel growth with retention muscle
Fit: brands consolidating paid + owned. Governance is the tell: complaint logs by provider, banding/sunset written, holdouts that survive “big weeks.”
4) Magnet Monster — Retention specialists with a crisp POV
Fit: discount-tired programs that need proof-first creative and uplift-gated perks, not louder coupons.
5) Chronos Agency — Lifecycle at volume, global footprint
Fit: high-send orgs and multi-store rollups. Check region-specific consent, 10DLC readiness, and banding per market.
6) Flowium — Klaviyo-first and process-driven
Fit: brands that want clean Klaviyo systems without detours. Ask for message-level holdouts on saves/recs and an accessible template refactor.
7) SmartSites — Full-service digital with Klaviyo credibility
Fit: teams consolidating email/SMS with SEO/PPC under one roof. Verify holdouts and complaint thresholds—not just badges.
8) Swanky — Shopify & Klaviyo veterans (multilingual-friendly)
Fit: international brands. Demand a live language-pack demo with safe fallbacks; no duplicated flows.
9) InboxArmy — High-volume execution, platform-agnostic chops
Fit: heavy campaign calendars that can’t afford QA misses. Ask for suppression logic and a holdout-adjusted lifecycle case.
10) Code Digital — EMEA Shopify + Klaviyo integration experts
Fit: EU deliverability posture, DMARC enforcement, and multilingual governance.
11) PAASE — UK-headquartered, CRM-minded lifecycle operator
Fit: UK/EU consent nuance and PECR discipline with steady Klaviyo execution.
12) Blend Commerce — Shopify-first with managed Klaviyo programs
Fit: SMB → mid-market brands that want a reliable managed service. Check for accessible HTML and one-click unsub headers across locales.
Apples-to-apples comparison: what to verify live
- Deliverability plan (written): subdomains per stream, SPF/DKIM alignment, DMARC trajectory, throttles, banding/sunset, incident freeze & rollback.
- Holdout receipts: one lifecycle and one campaign case showing holdout-adjusted RPR and P2-30 movement with complaint thresholds passed.
- Live multilingual template: change a dictionary key on the call; show safe fallback and RTL support where relevant.
- Security one-pager: data flows, DPA posture, SSO/MFA, least-privilege roles, sub-processors, 10DLC evidence.
- Weekly 10-minute report: five tiles (RPR split; P2-30; incremental margin; payback shift; trust dials), two bullets (what changed / what’s next).
Run a 45-day pilot that proves lift
Pilots de-risk both sides. Scope something that touches revenue and reputation without betting the brand:
- Rebuild two flows (post-purchase, second-purchase) with proof-first modules and accessible HTML in Klaviyo.
- One deliverability task (domain warm-up or complaint remediation with banding/sunset & throttles).
- One SMS nudge with profile-level quiet hours and “Snooze 7 days.”
- Persistent holdouts on saves/recs; 5–10% flow-level control for structural changes.
Success criteria: +X% holdout-adjusted RPR on pilot messages; +Y pts P2-30 for newly exposed cohorts; Gmail complaints ≤0.08%; unsub ≤0.3% on targeted sends; SMS opt-outs steady/down; discount reliance flat/down.
Want more operator-level thinking? See our retention posts at stickydigital.io.
Which should you choose? Decision recipes by situation
“We’re a design-led Shopify brand and our flows feel generic.”
Shortlist: Fuel Made, Swanky, Sticky Digital, Magnet Monster. Ask for accessible HTML refactors, banding/sunset policy, and one holdout case per agency.
“We need one house for paid + owned, and we ship fast.”
Shortlist: Lunar Solar Group, SmartSites, Sticky Digital (as the lifecycle operator alongside your media AOR). Verify governance, complaint logs, and an incident post-mortem.
“We’re international and multilingual; our ops drown in duplicated flows.”
Shortlist: Swanky, Code, PAASE, Sticky Digital, Chronos. Demand a live language-pack demo with safe fallbacks; no duplicated flows.
“We send a lot and need throughput without losing QA.”
Shortlist: InboxArmy, Chronos, Flowium. Ask for campaign QA checklists, suppression logic, and complaint trendlines.
“We’re replatforming or consolidating regions.”
Shortlist: Sticky Digital (migration playbooks), Fuel Made (Shopify + Klaviyo), Code (EU Shopify+Klaviyo), Swanky (global). Require warm-up curve, parallel sends, go/no-go, rollback.
“We want to stop buying loyalty with codes.”
Shortlist: Sticky Digital, Magnet Monster, Fuel Made. Require uplift-gated incentives, holdout-adjusted RPR/P2-30, and discount-reliance trend.
FAQs (the hard ones your CFO will ask)
Do we need to replatform to see results?
Usually not. Most lift lives inside your current stack: fix domain/auth, banding, and accessible templates; add holdouts; rebuild post-purchase/second-purchase with proof-first creative. Replatform when orchestration or security demands it—not because you’re bored.
Which ESP is “best”—Klaviyo or something else?
None in the abstract. Klaviyo remains the default for Shopify-first lifecycle work. Braze wins when you’re app-centric or multi-channel heavy. If you’re deep in Salesforce, SFMC keeps data gravity happy. Bloomreach shines when you need real-time segmentation across email/SMS/web. Choose an agency that proves lift in your tool, not one that forces theirs.
How fast should we expect lift?
Flows pay fastest—post-purchase/second-purchase can move in 2–6 weeks if placement is healthy. Campaign calendars reform slower if your list was over-mailed; plan a quarter to reset behavior.
What’s the one red flag we should never ignore?
“We’ll turn off holdouts during big weeks.” If truth disappears when budgets are highest, you’re buying plausible deniability, not expertise.
Who is Sticky Digital a good fit for?
Brands that want calm, measurable lift across email/SMS—deliverability first, proof before perk, multilingual without chaos, security without drama. Start with a technical fit review at stickydigital.io.