What is Klaviyo? A Guide for NZ Businesses

If you’ve heard the name Klaviyo and you’re wondering what exactly it is – or how much it costs – you’re in the right place.

In short, Klaviyo is a marketing platform designed for ecommerce growth. It specialises in EDM (Electronic Direct Mail) marketing, i.e. email and SMS marketing for brands. In 2025, it’s gaining in popularity for NZ businesses due to its powerful automations, easy integrations, and strong ROI.

This post from Adhesion covers Klaviyo’s core features and pricing plans; everything you need to know to get started.

What Does Klaviyo Do?

Like other platforms such as Mailchimp, Klaviyo’s primary function is email marketing. You’re able to build and send branded emails using drag-and-drop templates, with additional features for automation, segmentation, or analytics.

Klaviyo’s audience segmentation allows you to divide your audience and target emails based on customer behaviour like purchase history or browsing activity. This means that your customers will see relevant messaging at just the right time, making your emails highly strategic and engagement-driven. Klaviyo’s platform holds a strong focus on customer lifetime value and retention, underpinned by this personalisation.

In addition to emails, Klaviyo also supports SMS marketing, reaching customers directly on their phones through automated text campaigns.

Campaigns vs. Flows

Klaviyo’s emails come in two main forms: campaigns and flows.

Campaigns are one-time sends, such as sales announcements or newsletters. They can be scheduled in advance and made to target certain segments of your list.

Flows are automated sequences triggered by actions, for example, a welcome email that sends instantly once someone subscribes to your list. Flows save time and can help boost revenue with “set-and-forget” marketing.

Ecommerce Integrations

Klaviyo works natively with popular ecommerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. It’s then able to sync data in real time, such as purchase events, site activity, and product feeds; this lets you create automated flows and customise messages based on the behaviour of your customers.

Learn more about ecommerce automations.

Pricing Plans

Klaviyo’s pricing plans include a Free Plan, Email Only, or Email + SMS. The free plan is available for up to 250 contacts and includes email support for 60 days, so it's great for getting started and testing out the platform.

Paid plans start from $20 USD a month (approximately $33 NZD) and scale upwards depending on how big your email list is and what SMS functionality you require. These plans include AI-powered features, predictive analytics, as well as the ability to remove Klaviyo branding from your emails (not available in the free plan).

SMS marketing is currently less common in New Zealand than in other countries like the United States, so if you simply want to level up your email strategy (and have more than 250 subscribers), then the paid email-only plan is a solid option; you’ll maintain flexibility while still making the most out of Klaviyo’s features.

Why NZ Businesses Use Klaviyo

• Klaviyo is great for ecommerce brands wanting to do more than just send bulk emails. With its user-friendly interface, analytics, and AI features, it’s the next step for smart emailing.
• Integrations with platforms like Shopify allow your emails to not only drive engagement, but sales as well.
• Klaviyo’s attribution metrics help you pinpoint exactly how well your channels are performing.
• As Klaviyo’s pricing is based on active profiles, you’ll only pay for what you’re sending.

Conclusion

Klaviyo offers powerful email and SMS marketing tools tailored for growth-focused businesses. Whether you're just starting out or looking to scale in 2025, it's a smart investment in customer retention and bringing your email strategy into the future.

Adhesion is a Klaviyo-accredited partner — we help NZ businesses set up, optimise, and grow with Klaviyo. Talk to us today to get started.