ReCapture vs Capture: Which Does Your Shopify Store Need First?

Introduction

Every Shopify store running Klaviyo has the same fundamental bottleneck: Klaviyo can only send recovery emails to shoppers it can identify. For most stores, that is roughly 14% of cart abandoners.

The remaining 86% fall into two categories:

1. Known subscribers whose session Klaviyo cannot recognize — people already on your list, visiting on a new device or after cookie expiry
2. Truly anonymous visitors — people with no Klaviyo profile, who have never submitted an email to your store

ReCapture addresses the first group. Capture addresses the second. Understanding this distinction is the key to choosing where to start.

What Is ReCapture?

ReCapture identifies existing Klaviyo subscribers whose on-site behavior is currently invisible to Klaviyo's native pixel.

When a known subscriber visits your store — but on a different device, with an expired cookie, or through a privacy-restricted browser — Klaviyo sees an anonymous session. The subscriber's Add to Cart event fires, but their flow never triggers because Klaviyo cannot connect the session to their profile.

ReCapture fixes this by matching behavioral signals from the current session to your Klaviyo subscriber list using a broader identity graph. When a match is found, the subscriber's Klaviyo profile is updated with their current cart and browsing data, and your existing flow triggers as normal.

What ReCapture is not: a list growth tool. It does not add new contacts to Klaviyo. It restores visibility of contacts already there.

→ Full explanation: What Is ReCapture?

What Is Capture?

Capture identifies anonymous visitors who have no existing Klaviyo profile — people who have never submitted an email to your store, are not in your list, and are completely invisible to Klaviyo.

Capture matches anonymous browsing sessions to email addresses through Attribuly's identity graph, which aggregates consented first-party identity data across a network of brands and publishers. When a match is found, the anonymous visitor becomes a new contact in Klaviyo, entering your abandoned cart or browse abandonment flow.

What Capture is: a list growth and reach expansion tool. It adds net-new contacts your store would otherwise never have been able to reach.

→ Full explanation: Visitor Identification for Shopify: Complete Buyer's Guide

Side-by-Side Comparison

The Revenue Math for Each Product

Both products increase flow entries. The revenue math is the same structure but the inputs differ.

ReCapture revenue model

Monthly incremental revenue =
  Additional re-identified subscribers × Flow conversion rate × AOV

If ReCapture identifies an additional 150 existing subscribers per month entering your flow, at 5% conversion and $150 AOV:

150 × 5% × $150 = $1,125/month incremental

Because these are existing subscribers with a prior relationship, conversion rates from ReCapture-identified contacts are typically comparable to your existing flow performance.

Capture revenue model

Monthly incremental revenue =
  Additional new contacts identified × Flow conversion rate × AOV

If Capture identifies 300 new contacts per month, at 3% conversion (slightly lower because these are less familiar with your brand) and $150 AOV:

300 × 3% × $150 = $1,350/month incremental

Capture generates more absolute contacts because it taps a larger pool (all anonymous visitors vs only unidentified subscribers). But conversion rates for newly identified anonymous contacts tend to be 1–2 percentage points lower than for ReCapture-identified known subscribers.

How to Decide Which to Start With

Start with ReCapture if:

✓ You have 5,000+ active Klaviyo subscribers. The larger your list, the more subscribers ReCapture can re-identify. With a small list, the incremental volume is limited.

✓ Your abandoned cart flow is already working. ReCapture feeds existing subscribers into your current flow. If the flow is converting acceptably, adding more known contacts is the lowest-friction path to more revenue.

✓ Your traffic is mixed US and international. ReCapture's match rates are less geography-dependent than Capture's, because it matches against your own subscriber list rather than relying purely on the external identity graph.

✓ You want the simplest possible setup. ReCapture requires only a Klaviyo connection and the Attribuly pixel. No new flows, no new email content, no segment configuration needed on day one.

Start with Capture if:

✓ Your Klaviyo list is small (under 3,000 active subscribers). With a small list, ReCapture has limited material to work with. Capture grows your addressable audience from the outside.

✓ You have significant US traffic. Capture's identity graph is US-primary. Stores where 60%+ of traffic comes from the US see the strongest results from Capture.

✓ You want to grow your email list, not just recover from it. Capture adds net-new contacts — it expands your future retargeting and campaign audience, not just your flow coverage today.

✓ Your AOV is above $100. Higher-AOV stores see stronger ROI from Capture because each recovered order justifies the cost of identifying and engaging a new contact.

Use both when:

You have a large list AND significant anonymous traffic — which describes most established Shopify stores. At this stage, ReCapture closes the subscriber gap and Capture expands reach beyond your list simultaneously.

In practice, most stores add ReCapture first (faster setup, faster results, no new content needed), then add Capture in month two or three once ReCapture performance is validated.

Common Questions

Does using both products create duplicate contacts in Klaviyo?

No. ReCapture updates existing profiles. Capture creates new profiles only when the visitor has no existing Klaviyo record. If Capture identifies someone who is already in your Klaviyo list (for example, a subscriber using a new device), it updates the existing profile rather than creating a duplicate — the same de-duplication logic applies.

Can I run both at the same time from day one?

Yes. There is no technical reason not to run both simultaneously. The practical reason to sequence them is to make performance measurement cleaner — if you activate both at once, it is harder to attribute incremental lift to each product separately. Starting with ReCapture first gives you a clean baseline to measure Capture's additive impact.

Do ReCapture and Capture contacts need different Klaviyo flows?

Not necessarily, but segmentation within flows improves performance. A conditional split in your Klaviyo flow — separating ReCapture-identified known subscribers from Capture-identified new contacts — allows you to send slightly different email content to each group. Known subscribers can receive a more direct re-engagement message; new contacts benefit from more product-focused content that does not assume familiarity.