An abandoned cart email is an automated message sent to a shopper who added items to their online cart but left the site without completing checkout.
What is an abandoned cart email in practice is usually a short sequence rather than a single message. The first email typically goes out within an hour or two as a simple reminder, sometimes followed by a second email a day later that addresses common objections like shipping cost or sizing, and occasionally a third email offering a small incentive to complete the purchase. Cart abandonment email sequences are one of the highest-converting types of automated email a store can send, since the shopper has already shown clear purchase intent.
How Abandoned Cart Recovery Works
- A shopper adds a product to their cart but leaves the site before completing payment.
- A trigger detects the abandonment, usually after a set period of inactivity, such as 30 to 60 minutes.
- The first reminder email sends automatically, showing the exact items left behind.
- Follow-up emails send on a delay if the cart is still not completed, often with added detail or an incentive.
- The sequence stops once the shopper completes the purchase or unsubscribes.
Abandoned cart email examples that perform well tend to show the actual product image and price, use a clear single call-to-action, and avoid sounding overly promotional in the first message.
Related terms:
Adflipr’s Abandoned Cart Recovery feature detects abandoned carts automatically for Shopify and WooCommerce stores and sends the recovery sequence without manual setup.
