Cart & Browse Abandonment

Cart and browse abandonment flows are automated messages sent to shoppers who left without buying. Cart flows target people who added items to a cart. Browse flows target people who viewed products but never added anything.

How it works

Most carts are abandoned, and most product page visitors leave without adding to cart. These shoppers have already shown intent. A recovery flow shows them the exact products they looked at, answers common objections, and adds urgency or an incentive at the right time. Timing matters: too early feels pushy, too late and they have moved on.

How to do it

1. Send cart email 1 about one hour after abandonment. Show the product image, name, price, and a direct link back to the cart. Name the product in the subject line. Do not offer a discount.
2. Send cart email 2 at 24 hours. Add reviews or ratings. Answer common objections such as shipping cost and returns.
3. Send cart email 3 at 48 to 72 hours. If margin allows, offer an incentive such as free shipping, with a clear deadline. End the sequence here.
4. Send browse email 1 two to four hours after the visit. Show the viewed products next to bestsellers in the same category. Use a soft tone (“Still looking?”). Do not offer a discount.
5. Send browse email 2 at 24 hours. Link to a buying guide or comparison for the category, and point the CTA at the category page.
6. Stop the flow as soon as the shopper buys through any channel.

What to measure

• Cart recovery rate: abandoned carts that become orders through the flow, divided by carts that entered the flow.
• Revenue per recipient: total flow revenue divided by the number of people who received it.
• Discount dependency rate: share of recovered orders that used the flow’s incentive.

Best practices

• Pull the exact cart contents into the email from your product feed. Generic “you left something behind” emails perform worse.
• Add an SMS reminder for high-value carts, but only to subscribers who gave SMS consent.
• Treat first-time visitors and returning customers differently. New visitors need trust signals. Returning customers need a simple reminder.
• Test a version of email 3 with urgency and no discount. You may recover nearly as much without giving up margin.

Common pitfalls

• Offering a discount in the first email. Repeat shoppers learn to abandon on purpose and wait for the code.
• Failing to suppress people who already bought. “Come back to your cart” after a purchase damages trust.
• Running one flow for every audience instead of separating new and returning shoppers.