Abandoned cart flow checklist

Use this when building a cart recovery sequence for the first time, or when an existing one sends but recovers very little. Most of the result comes from the trigger and the filters rather than the copy, so this list starts there, then covers timing, what each message needs to contain, the consent rules for adding SMS, and how to tell how much of the recovered revenue was genuinely incremental.

Trigger and entry rules

Trigger the sequence on the added to cart event rather than on session end.Why: Session based triggers fire late and miss shoppers who simply left the tab open on a phone.How: Use the platform cart event as the trigger, and confirm it carries the product, price and cart link in the payload before switching the flow live.
Filter out anyone who completed the order after the trigger fired.Why: Sending a cart reminder to someone who has already paid damages trust in every later message you send.How: Add a flow filter checking for a placed order since the trigger, and evaluate it before each message rather than only at entry.
Exclude carts below a value that cannot support an incentive.Why: A recovery discount on a small basket can cost more than the order will earn in gross profit.How: Set a minimum cart value on the entry condition, and route smaller baskets into a plain reminder with no incentive attached.
Prevent re entry within a set window.Why: Someone who adds to cart on three devices should not receive three parallel sequences in one day.How: Set the flow to allow one entry per profile per week, and check the setting again after any duplication or platform migration.

The sequence and its timing

Send the first reminder within a few hours of the cart being left.Why: Intent decays quickly, and the first message recovers most of the orders the whole sequence will produce.How: Set the first delay between one and four hours, then test two delays inside that range against revenue per recipient.
Space the second message about a day after the first.Why: A second message catches people who were interrupted rather than people who decided against buying.How: Set the delay to around twenty four hours, and change the angle of the message instead of resending the same email with a new subject line.
Close the sequence before the cart contents go stale.Why: Reminding someone about a product that has since sold out wastes the send and irritates the shopper.How: End the flow within a few days, and use a dynamic block that hides any product no longer available at the moment of sending.

What each message contains

Show the exact items left behind with image, variant and price.Why: People leave several baskets across several stores and need to recognise which one this message is about.How: Use the dynamic cart block from the trigger payload, include the variant text, and link each item back to the basket rather than the homepage.
Put a one click return to basket link above the fold.Why: Any friction between the email and the payment step is where the recovered order is lost again.How: Use the checkout URL from the trigger event, place it in a large button near the top, and test that it restores the basket on a phone.
Answer the reason people stopped, not just the fact they stopped.Why: Most abandonment comes from shipping cost, delivery time or an unanswered question about the product.How: Write one message around delivery and returns, another around a common product question, and link the policy pages from both.
Hold any incentive back to the final message.Why: An immediate code teaches shoppers to abandon a basket on purpose in order to receive a discount.How: Run the first two messages with no code, add a modest offer at the end, and check whether that last message earns more than it gives away.

Channels, delivery and measurement

Add an SMS step only for people who gave consent to texts.Why: Texting without consent creates legal exposure and complaints that email would never generate.How: Branch the flow on SMS consent, keep the message short with the basket link, and respect quiet hours in the recipient time zone.
Check the recovery link survives the platform session rules.Why: Some baskets expire on the server, and the link then lands the shopper on an empty page.How: Open a recovery link a day after triggering a test basket, confirm the items are still there, and shorten the sequence if they are not.
Compare recovered revenue against a holdout group that receives nothing.Why: Attribution credits the flow with orders that would have arrived without any reminder at all.How: Hold back a small random share of profiles from the flow for a month, then compare order rates between the two groups.
Review drop off at each checkout step alongside the flow results.Why: A sequence that has to recover most of the baskets is a symptom of a checkout problem, not a win.How: Read the funnel from add to cart through to payment in analytics, and fix the biggest fall before adding more messages.

Questions

Two or three. The first recovers most of the orders, the second catches people who were interrupted, and anything past the third mainly generates unsubscribes.

Usually not. Lead with the basket contents, the delivery detail and an easy way back. Keep any incentive for the final message so shoppers do not learn to abandon on purpose.

A basket with items where no order followed inside the window you set. Decide the window first, because a short one exaggerates the problem and a long one hides it.

Your plan is free.

A person reads it. You keep the plan. No logins, no call first.

Abandoned cart flow checklist

Trigger and entry rules

The sequence and its timing

What each message contains

Channels, delivery and measurement

Questions

How many cart recovery emails should I send?

Should the first email include a discount?

What counts as an abandoned cart?

Related

Your plan is free.