How do you keep automation relevant as customers, channels, and markets change? Astrid & Miyu shares what it takes to keep every journey in step.

For Astrid & Miyu, successful SMS automation isn't about building more journeys. It's about keeping existing journeys relevant as customers browse, shop, and return to the brand.

Today, automation accounts for approximately 68% of the London jewelry brand's SMS revenue. That result comes from a strategy built on regularly updating automated messages, connecting customer data, and responding to changing shopping behavior.

At a recent What’s In Store event, Becky Shepherd (Head of CRM, Astrid & Miyu), Claudia Slutzkin (Senior Customer Success Manager, Shopify), and Junel Oberholzer (Senior Director, International Strategy, Attentive) discussed how the brand connects its online and in-store experiences—and why the right foundation matters as it grows internationally.

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A focused product range with a complex customer journey

Astrid & Miyu has grown from a handful of stores into an international jewellery brand with approximately 30 locations and a strong e-commerce business. But its customers don't follow a simple path to purchase. Someone might discover the brand online, book a piercing in store, then return months later to buy a gift.

“It really opened my eyes to what true omnichannel CRM looks like,” Becky said. “For us, marketing is all about supporting customers wherever they are in that journey.”

That means thinking beyond the next purchase. Educational content, gifting inspiration, and personalized messaging all help the team stay relevant as customers discover the brand, shop, and return.

Automation that never stands still

Astrid & Miyu adopted SMS early. The team recognized an opportunity to “react to moments in minutes rather than hours,” and its subscriber list grew significantly throughout 2022.

Today, automation drives approximately 68% of the brand's SMS revenue. Its core journeys—welcome, browse, and abandoned basket—continue to generate the majority of that revenue. But the team doesn't leave those journeys unchanged just because they're performing well.

“The real key is treating automation as something that’s constantly evolving rather than something you build once and forget,” Becky said. “Whether someone joins today or six months from now, they’re still receiving messaging that feels timely and relevant.”

When Astrid & Miyu launches a new collection, introduces a promotion, or changes its marketing priorities, the team updates its automated journeys to reflect those changes.

The brand also uses information beyond purchase history to make messages more useful. Because Attentive integrates with both Shopify and Yotpo, the team can pull a customer’s loyalty points into an abandoned basket message, giving them one more reason to complete their purchase.

The lesson is that automation can run continuously, but the strategy behind it still needs regular attention.

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One commerce foundation across every market

Keeping customer experiences connected becomes increasingly important as a brand expands across stores, websites, and international markets. Until recently, Astrid & Miyu operated separate Shopify setups for the US and for the UK and Europe, each with its own website and in-store tills.

The team has since brought those operations together through a unified Shopify setup, connecting customer records and inventory information across its markets.

“As a UK customer, I can now visit the Astrid & Miyu store in New York and they will know my purchase history and preferences,” Claudia said. “The store associate sees the same customer the website sees.”

That gives customers a more consistent experience whether they're browsing online or visiting a physical store. Claudia summed up the distinction: “Omnichannel joins your systems together. Unified commerce means you only have one.”

For Astrid & Miyu, that connected setup also gives its CRM team a clearer view of how customers shop across different experiences.

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How Attentive and Shopify work together

Shopify connects Astrid & Miyu's commerce operations, while Attentive helps the team understand customer behavior and send timely, personalized SMS messages. Together, they connect what customers do with how the brand communicates.

Browsing and basket activity can inform automated journeys, while additional information, such as loyalty points, can make those messages more relevant. But access to more data isn't the only measure of a successful automation strategy. Claudia put it this way: “Automation maturity isn’t how many flows you have—it’s how many data sources those flows can see, and how recently anyone looked at them.”

For Astrid & Miyu, that means combining connected customer information with regular reviews of the messages customers receive. Rather than continually adding new journeys, the team can focus on improving the ones already contributing to revenue.

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Adapting the strategy for US customers

As Astrid & Miyu expands in the US, Becky and her team are learning that what works in the UK doesn't necessarily translate directly to another market. SMS is a more established marketing channel in the US, giving the brand opportunities to communicate with customers differently.

Seasonal shopping behavior also varies. Advent calendars are a major moment for Astrid & Miyu in the UK, while US customers respond to a different calendar of retail events, including Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Where customers live matters, too. With stores in New York and Los Angeles, many US customers won't live near a physical location. That means the CRM team needs to think about how customers discover the brand, engage with its products, and build a relationship through digital channels. Rather than copying its UK approach, Astrid & Miyu is adapting its messaging to reflect how customers shop in each market.

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Building relationships before Black Friday and Cyber Monday

As Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) approach, the team is looking beyond revenue generated during the promotional weekend.

Astrid & Miyu is thinking about how to build its subscriber base ahead of the event, engage customers throughout Cyber Week, and continue the relationship after a purchase. Claudia said the metric she's watching is “the share of your BFCM revenue that comes from people who were already engaged with you before the sale started.”

It's a useful reminder that strong holiday performance doesn't begin when a promotion goes live. It builds through the relationships brands develop with customers throughout the year.

For Astrid & Miyu, that means connecting customer behavior across shopping experiences, keeping automated journeys relevant, and adapting its approach as the business grows. The result is an SMS program where automation contributes a significant share of revenue—without the team treating those journeys as finished once they're launched.