How abandoned cart emails work (and how to add a discount)

When a shopper puts something in their cart and leaves without paying, your store can email them a friendly reminder with a Return to your cart button. One click brings their cart back. The emails are on for new stores; here is how to check them and add a discount.

1Step 1 of 4Open the cart settings

Go to Settings → Store → General and find the Cart & Checkout card.

2Step 2 of 4Switch on recovery emails

Turn on Enable Recovery Emails. When it's off, no cart reminders are sent and carts are not marked as abandoned.

3Step 3 of 4Add a discount (optional)

Turn on Include Discount Code and enter a Discount Percentage between 1 and 50. The first reminder never has a code. The 24-hour and 72-hour reminders each carry a new code that works once. The 24-hour code is valid for 7 days, the 72-hour code for 3 days.

4Step 4 of 4Save

Click Save Changes. If you have more than one store, each store has its own settings and its own Save Changes button.

When the emails go out

A cart counts as abandoned when it has at least one item, nobody touched it for 1 hour, and we know the shopper's email: they were signed in, or they saved their cart with their email. From then on:

Reminder	When
First	About 1 hour after the cart was abandoned
Second	24 hours after
Last	72 hours after

By default the emails show your business name, the items with their prices, the total and a Return to your cart button. When Include Discount Code is on, the 24-hour and 72-hour reminders also show the code, its percentage and how long it is valid. A cart that is never paid expires 30 days after it was made.

Change the wording of the emails

Each reminder is an email template you can edit, like your other customer emails:

1. Go to Settings → Email → Email templates and find the Cart Recovery card.
2. Click Edit Template under Cart Reminder (1 hour), Cart Reminder (24 hours) or Cart Reminder (72 hours).
3. Change the subject and text. The list on the right shows every placeholder you can use and what it is filled with. Keep {{recovery_url}} in the button link: it is the link that brings the shopper's cart back. {{cart_items}} puts the table with the items and the total in the email.
4. In the 24-hour and 72-hour reminders, {{discount_offer}} shows the discount code box. It stays empty when Include Discount Code is off, so you can leave it in.
5. Click Preview to see it with sample data, then Save Template.

Until you save your own version, the default text is sent. Reset to Default goes back to it. The timing, the discount codes and the unsubscribe link at the bottom stay the same whatever you write.

The 24- and 72-hour reminders need your own email sender

Through the platform's email account, only the first reminder goes out for each cart. To also send the second and last reminders, connect your own email provider under Settings → Email → SMTP / Email delivery, card Use my own SMTP server.

See your carts

Go to Orders → Abandoned carts. The Active Carts, Abandoned (7 days) and All Carts boxes filter the list. Click a cart to see what was in it.