Abandoned Cart Recovery Emails
Learn how to create an Abandoned Cart Recovery Email Campaign to recover lost sales in your store.
Last updated
Learn how to create an Abandoned Cart Recovery Email Campaign to recover lost sales in your store.
Last updated
Nowadays, Abandoned Cart Recovery emails have become a must-have tool for any eCommerce business.
When a customer adds a product to the cart at your online store but doesn't complete the purchase, that cart can be considered an abandoned cart. Sending automated abandoned cart recovery email reminders is the most effective and hassle-free method for making customers come back to the store and recover their abandoned carts.
Our study found that most of our merchants can recover at least 10–20% of their abandoned carts with an effective 'Abandoned Cart Recovery' automation workflow.
By default, the eCommerce platforms (be it WooCommerce or Shopify) do not offer an effective abandoned cart recovery solution. The single email reminder from Shopify is not effective enough to recover the lost revenue.
According to several studies and our own research of analyzing over 1000+ stores, it has been found that an effective Abandoned Carts Recovery Workflow with at least 3 to 5 email reminders can help recover at least 10 to 20% of the lost sales.
A successful email workflow to recover abandoned carts should have at least 3 to 5 emails, sent at well-timed intervals. Each email in the sequence should focus on different aspects.
Email 1 A Simple Reminder
The purpose of your first email should just serve as a reminder. Just let the customer know what items were left in their cart. It can be sent 30 minutes to 1 hour after the customer has started the checkout.
Just make sure you have given your customer service phone number
Ask a question. Whether they experience any trouble checking out
Do they have any questions about the product(s) before completing the purchase?
Email 2 A motivation to complete the purchase
This email should be sent 12 to 24 hours after the customer has started the checkout.
Make sure to include a simple motivation. A 5 to 10% coupon code, or a free shipping offer that encourages their return.
You can also consider including a few best-selling or featured products in your store in this email
Email 3 Reminder of the motivation + Brand Value with a social proof
This email should be sent 24 to 48 hours after the customer has started the checkout.
It should remind them about the offer in Email #2 but should ask the customer to take quick action to complete the purchase. Example: "Your coupon will expire soon."
Include customer reviews or testimonials in this email as this will help build a trust
Email 4 Product Scarcity or A Sense of Urgency
This email should be sent 72 to 120 hours (3 days to 5 days) after the customer has started the checkout.
Use this email to add a sense of urgency. You can say something like "Stocks won't last for long. Order now"
Also, remind them about the brand value with a few more social proofs like reviews/testimonials in this email
Email 5 Fear of Missing Out
This email should be sent 5 to 7 days after the customer has started the checkout
This email is more like a last effort to bring the customer back. You can remind the customer what they will be missing out on if they don't buy. Also, the inclusion of some of the popular products in the store will help a lot.
NOTE If not 5 emails, please make sure that you have at least 3 emails in the sequence.
The success of an Abandoned Cart Recovery email vastly depends on the content of the email. An effective email should have an engaging subject line, personalized content, and a single call to action.
Engaging Subject: The subject line needs to be interesting enough to get the recipient to open the email. Including a promotional offer, some humor, or a question can help capture the customer’s attention and get a click. Avoid lengthy subject lines. A simple one like "Forgot something?" will ensure a better open rate.
Personalization: The email should be tailored to the recipient. For example, include the items that were left in their cart and other personal information, such as their name.
Here is a list of shortcodes that can be used for personalization in your email content:
{{billing_address.first_name}} - The First name of the customer.
{billing_address.last_name}} - The last name of the customer.
{{customer_name}} - The full name of the customer (the first and the last name)
{{abandoned_checkout_url}} - The unique recovery URL for the cart abandoned by the customer. You can use this in any links or buttons in your email copy.
Let's create an Abandoned Cart Recovery workflow on the above example with Retainful automation.
Retainful comes with a pre-built workflow template for abandoned cart recovery, it will come in handy if you don’t have time to create a workflow from scratch. The pre-built workflow template consists of three emails scheduled to be sent in good time intervals.
Follow the below steps to configure the Abandoned Cart Recovery workflow:
Login to your Retainful dashboard
Go to ‘Automation’ -> Create Workflow -> Choose ‘Abandoned Cart Recovery with dynamic coupon’.
3. Give a ‘Name’ to your abandoned cart recovery workflow and click ‘Create Flow.'
This will help you to prevent customers from entering the same workflow simultaneously within a short period.
1. Click on ‘Trigger’ to find the trigger settings on the right side.
Click on Entry Rule -> Add Rules
Select ‘Skip if the customer entered the workflow’ -> In the last
Enter the days and click on ‘Add’.
For example, if you would like to prevent a customer from entering the workflow if he had already entered the workflow in the last 3 days, you can set up the Entry Rule like,
Skip if the customer entered the workflow -> In the last -> 3 (Days)
5. After adding the Entry Rule, click on the ‘Save Rule’ button to add the Entry Rule to the workflow.
For example, if a customer comes to your store, adds an item to the cart, and submits his email address on the checkout page at 10:00 AM. He/She will immediately enter into the workflow and wait for 1 hour.
If he completes the purchase within that 1 hour, he will exit from the workflow right away.
If he fails to complete the purchase within that 1 hour, the cart will be considered as abandoned and the first abandoned cart recovery will go out to the customer at 11:00 AM.
Now, we are at the 1st ‘Email’ block of the workflow. You can click on the ‘Email’ block to customize the email subject line, preview text, and email content.
Learn about email drag-and-drop options more
Retainful generates a unique cart recovery URL for each abandoned cart. When the email is sent, customers can click on the "Finish checking out" button to recover their cart and complete the purchase.
The Call-to-Action (CTA) button in the default templates is already linked to the cart recovery URL using the shortcode: {{abandoned_checkout_url}}
WARNING Please do not change the shortcode, as it only redirects the customer to complete their abandoned cart purchase.
Once you have completed editing the email template, you can test the email.
With an email customized, return to the top of the email editor and click the ‘Send Test Email’ button to make sure all of the content displays as expected in your inbox.
Click the "Save" button once you have added the desired content and changed the logo in the email template.
After the first email block, we have a wait block for '1' day. It's ideal to send the second email 1 day after sending the first email.
We have a coupon block in the workflow, the coupon block will generate a dynamic coupon, you can send this dynamic coupon in the following abandoned cart recovery emails in the workflow.
Offering coupons in abandoned cart recovery emails motivates customers to recover their abandoned carts.
It's ideal to send the coupon in the second abandoned cart recovery email.
Here is how you can configure the coupon block in the workflow,
Click on the ‘Coupon’ block
Select the Coupon type
Enter the coupon value and set up expiry (Optional: You can enter a minimum order value if you would like to set up a minimum order value required for using the coupon)
Save
Now, you have successfully configured the coupon block.
In the email template, click on the coupon block {{retainful_dynamic_coupon}}, and you'll find the coupon settings on the right side. In the coupon settings, click on the first option that says 'Use the coupon code generated by the coupon step.
By doing this, you ensure that the coupon code generated in the coupon block will be sent to customers through the second abandoned cart recovery email.
Additionally, you need to change the logo, edit the email content as per your preference, and click 'Save'.
Before proceeding to the third email block, note that the 'Wait' block is set for 2 days. Make sure to configure the coupon block, change the logo, and edit the email content in the third email template, then save it.
When you’re done with configuring the Abandoned Cart Recovery workflow, you can click on the ‘Start Workflow’ on the right top to ‘Set Live’ the workflow.
That’s it. You’ve successfully configured your Abandoned Cart Recovery workflow and set it live.
You can follow the below steps to test your abandoned cart recovery workflow.
Make sure you have set live the abandoned cart recovery workflow at your Retainful dashboard -> Automation (The status of the workflow should be ‘Live’)
WooCommerce Merchants: Please go to your WordPress dashboard and log out before testing the abandoned cart recovery process. Also, ensure that you use an email address that is not associated with an admin user in your WordPress.
Open your storefront in a private/incognito window (to browse like a customer).
Add an item to the cart, proceed to checkout, and fill in a valid email address and first name. (TIP: Use an alternative email address instead of the store admin email.)
Then, close the browser window.
You should receive the first cart recovery email based on the interval you’ve set.
Example:
By default, a customer will enter into an abandoned cart recovery email workflow as soon as the checkout process is initiated (Submitted email address on the checkout page)
If you've set the 'Wait' condition as 1 hour before sending the first email, then you should receive the first email 1 hour after initiating the checkout process
Here’s the revised version with corrected grammar and improved clarity:
1. When will customers exit the abandoned cart recovery workflow?
Customers will automatically exit the abandoned cart recovery workflow if they meet any of the following criteria:
Completed the checkout
Unsubscribed from receiving emails
Recovered the cart
Completed their path in the workflow
2. When is a cart considered recovered?
For example, if the customer clicks a recovery link from a Retainful email and completes the order, Retainful will mark the order as recovered and display a record in the Retainful dashboard under Metrics. A cart will also be considered recovered if the customer places an order using the coupon code sent in the abandoned cart recovery emails.
3. When will abandoned cart recovery emails not be sent?
Abandoned cart recovery emails will not be sent if ANY of the following conditions are met:
The visitor did not provide an email address while abandoning the cart.
You do not have at least one active abandoned cart recovery workflow at the time of cart creation.
The cart is empty or has no line items.
The customer has unsubscribed from earlier email reminders.
You have reached your free plan limit (e.g., 300 contacts in the free plan).
The customer placed a successful order on their own in a different session/device after abandoning the cart.
4. Is it possible to recover guest carts?
If a customer didn't submit their email address on the checkout page while abandoning the cart, the cart will be considered a ‘Guest’ cart in Retainful and cannot be recovered. For WooCommerce stores, you may consider using Retainful’s Add-to-cart email collection popup or Exit intent popup to capture customer email addresses before they leave the store.
5. Where can I find the sent abandoned cart recovery emails?
You can find the sent abandoned cart recovery emails in your Retainful dashboard under Metrics → Outbox. Use the workflow filter on the right to filter the sent emails by workflow name.
6. Where can I check the performance of the abandoned cart recovery workflow?
Go to your Retainful dashboard → Automations → Find the abandoned cart recovery workflow and click on the Analytics icon next to the Edit Flow button to view the workflow's performance.
7. Where can I find the list of recovered carts?
To find the list of recovered carts, go to your Retainful dashboard → Metrics → Cart Activity, and select ‘Recovered Carts’ from the filter. You can also view recovered carts in your Retainful dashboard → Metrics → Conversions.
8. How many abandoned cart recovery emails should I send?
To recover up to 10–20% of abandoned carts, you should send at least 3 to 4 emails in the workflow. For more details, you can check out our blog post on how many abandoned cart recovery emails you should send.
9. Can I send abandoned cart recovery emails for carts tracked before installing Retainful?
Retainful records abandoned, live, and recovered carts only after installation on your store. Therefore, it is not possible to send abandoned cart recovery emails for carts tracked before installing Retainful.
10. How can I send abandoned cart recovery emails only if specific products are abandoned?
Click on the Trigger block and then click on the Trigger rule on the right to add product name or product ID trigger rules for the abandoned cart recovery workflow. For example, if you want to send recovery emails only if a customer abandons a product named ‘Laptop,’ set up trigger rules like:
Product Name is ‘Laptop’
11. Can I import and use abandoned cart recovery email templates from other tools?
It’s not possible to import email templates from other tools. You can only create and use email templates within Retainful’s drag-and-drop email editor.
12. Is it possible to send abandoned cart recovery emails in different languages?
Yes, it is possible. If you have a multilingual store, you can use the trigger rule or conditional split rule in the workflow editor to trigger the workflow based on customers' language preferences.
13. Can I send abandoned cart recovery emails for failed, on-hold, and cancelled orders?
For WooCommerce, you have the option to consider failed, on-hold, and cancelled order statuses as abandoned carts. You can enable this option in your WordPress dashboard → Retainful → Settings. When enabled, abandoned cart recovery emails will be sent for these order statuses.
14. Can I manually add a customer to a live abandoned cart recovery workflow?
It’s not possible to manually add customers to a live automation workflow
