How SOAR Running paced 235x ROI on Klaviyo
235x
Klaviyo ROI over the last 12 months
17%
YoY growth in Klaviyo-attributed revenue over last 12 months
65%
of total ecommerce revenue attributed to Klaviyo over last 12 months
SOAR Running is a London-based performance running brand, founded by designer Tim Soar in 2015, that blends elite-level functionality with a high-fashion sensibility.
The brand focuses on securing repeat purchases from serious, race-oriented runners who invest heavily in kit, care about materials and design detail, and expect apparel that matches their commitment to training and racing.
From the outset, SOAR Running has sold internationally, with around 40% of DTC revenue in the UK and 60% overseas—mostly in the US—supported by pop-ups at major races and marathons.
Learn how SOAR Running uses Klaviyo to turn serious runners into loyal customers
Challenge
As boutique running brands have exploded and competition has increased, SOAR Running has relied on email as its most important owned channel to turn interest into loyal customers who consistently buy new kit.
In the early years, it ran on a bespoke ecommerce setup with Mailchimp, which was not built for the global footprint the brand wanted as it grew, and a move to Shopify created the need for a more integrated, automation-ready email platform.
The challenge was amplified by SOAR Running’s positioning and size. Selling high-priced, highly technical garments to a niche of performance‑focused runners, and keeping them coming back for new kit and upgrades, demands deeper storytelling than social and paid channels can support. With a lean team and limited resources, SOAR Running needed an intuitive platform they could run day-to-day while still giving them room to expand segmentation, personalisation, and automation over time.
Solution
SOAR Running moved to Klaviyo when it migrated to Shopify, choosing Klaviyo as the strongest, most natural integration for the new ecommerce stack, and the best option for developing a more sophisticated direct messaging approach to nurture customers. The team now runs its entire DTC email programme via Klaviyo, from campaigns to lifecycle flows.
Klaviyo lets SOAR Running match its premium product experience with equally premium email creative, using the visual editor to showcase distinctive prints, photography and campaign assets in polished templates that a small team can manage without developers. Powerful segmentation makes it easy to target cohorts by geography and engagement for local events and tightly controlled discounts, making email SOAR Running’s primary conversion channel.
Klaviyo matches our communication needs as we grow. It suited us when we were smaller and still suits us as our list, markets and communications have become more complex. It feels like a platform that can scale with us.
Strategy
SOAR Running has built a Klaviyo strategy that turns a niche, high‑intent audience of performance runners into long‑term, ongoing customers through targeted, design‑led emails.
- Geo- and event-targeted campaigns that drive repeat purchases: Using Klaviyo segmentation, SOAR Running matches campaigns to where customers are and what's happening in their running calendar. For example, the team targeted runners near Boston in the US during the week of the Boston Marathon, with emails encouraging them to visit a SOAR Running pop-up store. It also highlights London‑based events only to subscribers in and around the city, rather than alienating customers elsewhere with irrelevant content.
- “Earned” discounting that protects their premium brand and maintains loyalty: As a high-end label, SOAR Running is careful to ensure rewards feel exclusive rather than promotional. Instead of relying on blanket discounting, the brand uses engagement initiatives such as surveys, challenges, and partner activations to reward customers with unique coupon codes delivered through Klaviyo flows. Sign ups from these activations are captured through Klaviyo forms embedded on the SOAR Running website, alongside third-party apps and databases that feed data into Klaviyo. By keeping offers private and tailored to the individual, the brand reinforces its premium positioning while driving stronger loyalty and ongoing engagement.
Together, these tactics have helped SOAR Running deliver a 32% repeat purchase rate over the last 12 months, up from the prior year.
Email is one of our most important customer touchpoints. When we want to drive results or have something meaningful to share, it is the channel we look to first, both for engagement and for its clear link back to sales. For that reason, Klaviyo plays a central role in our marketing strategy.