Email automation
Abandoned Cart Emails for Shopify: What to Send and When
Most shoppers leave without buying. A short, well-timed email sequence can bring some of them back. Here is what to send, when to send it and what to avoid.
On this page
- What is an abandoned cart email?
- Why do these emails work?
- The three-email sequence
- What to put in every email
- Mistakes that make abandoned cart emails backfire
- What do the UK email rules say?
- How to tell if they are working
- Setting them up on Shopify
- Want abandoned cart emails set up properly?
- Frequently asked questions
Someone adds a product to their basket, starts to check out and then disappears. It happens on every online shop, including Shopify stores. They get distracted, wonder about delivery costs, want to compare prices or simply put the phone down.
An abandoned cart email is a gentle follow-up that brings some of those shoppers back. It is one of the most useful automated emails an online shop can have, because it goes to people who have already shown real interest. This guide covers what to send, when to send it and the mistakes that make these emails backfire.
What is an abandoned cart email?
It is an automated email sent to a shopper who started to buy but did not finish. It reminds them what they left behind, makes it easy to return to their basket and, ideally, answers whatever stopped them.
Shopify’s own term is an abandoned checkout. Shopify’s help page describes it as a checkout that stays incomplete after the customer has given their email address, and counts it as abandoned once more than ten minutes have passed. That email address is the key detail: without one, there is nobody to send the reminder to.
Why do these emails work?
Because the shopper has already done most of the work. They found the product, liked it enough to add it and began paying. A reminder removes the effort of finding their way back, and gives you a chance to tackle common worries such as delivery, returns and trust.
They are also an easy place to start with email automation. You set them up once and they run in the background. For the wider picture, see our guide to the five emails to automate first.
The three-email sequence
A short sequence usually works better than a single email. The timings below are starting points to test, not rules, and your own results should decide what stays.
Email 1: the friendly reminder (a few hours later)
Keep it simple and helpful. Show the product they left, with its image and price, and one clear button back to their basket. A subject line such as “You left something behind” works because it is honest and plain. There is no need for pressure at this stage: most people just got interrupted.
Email 2: answer the worries (the next day)
Now address what might have held them back. Spell out your delivery times and costs, your returns policy and any guarantee. If you have good reviews, show one or two. This email turns a reminder into reassurance.
Email 3: the last nudge (a couple of days after that)
A final, low-key message. You can mention that stock is limited, but only if it is true. Some shops include a small incentive here. Be careful with that: if every abandoned basket gets a discount, shoppers learn to abandon on purpose. If margins are tight, it is often better to leave discounts out.
What to put in every email
- A clear subject line that says what the email is about, with no tricks
- The product they were buying, with an image, name and price
- One button that takes them straight back to their basket
- Delivery and returns information, or a link to it
- A way to reply or get help, such as a contact email
- Your business name and contact details, and an unsubscribe link
Check how the emails look on a phone, because many are opened there.
Mistakes that make abandoned cart emails backfire
- Sending too many. Three emails is plenty for most shops. After that you are nagging.
- A broken basket link. Test the link yourself, on a phone, before the sequence goes live.
- Pressure and false urgency. Countdown timers and “only one left” claims that are not true damage trust.
- Discounting every time. It teaches shoppers to wait for a code.
- Ignoring consent and the rules. In the UK, rules on electronic marketing apply. The ICO’s guidance does not mention abandoned baskets specifically, so see the section below, and if you are unsure, take advice.
- Never checking the results. If you never look at what the emails produce, you cannot improve them.
What do the UK email rules say?
The ICO says you can send marketing emails to individuals if they have specifically consented, or if the “soft opt-in” applies. The soft opt-in covers people who bought, or negotiated to buy, something similar from you, and who were given a simple way to opt out when you collected their details and in every message you send. It does not cover people you have no relationship with. You can read the detail in the ICO’s guidance on electronic mail marketing.
The ICO page does not say whether a basket reminder counts as marketing. A plain reminder about the shopper’s own basket is one thing. Once an email adds offers, discounts or suggestions for other products, it looks much more like marketing, and the rules above apply. A safe approach is to include an unsubscribe link in every email, keep the first reminder plain, and ask for advice if your set-up is unusual.
How to tell if they are working
Look at how many of the shoppers who received your emails went on to complete an order, and how much revenue that brought in. Compare it with your overall conversion rate over time. If you can, hold back a small group from the sequence for a while, so you can see how many would have returned anyway. Test one change at a time, such as the subject line or the timing of the second email.
Setting them up on Shopify
Shopify includes a built-in abandoned checkout email. In your Shopify admin, go to Apps, then Messaging, then Automations, open the settings for the abandoned checkout email, choose to send it automatically, and pick how long after abandonment it goes out. You can also edit the template, for example to add your logo and colours. Shopify’s help page describes this single automated email rather than a multi-step sequence, and it lists cases where no email is sent at all, such as when a shopper chooses to give a phone number instead of an email address.
Many shops later move to a dedicated email tool, which allows a proper multi-email sequence, better design and more detailed reporting. The right choice depends on your shop’s size, your products and how much you want to automate.
If your shop’s checkout is slow or confusing, fixing that will usually bring back more customers than any email. Our Shopify launch checklist covers the basics that make shoppers more likely to finish buying.
Want abandoned cart emails set up properly?
We write and set up email automation for online shops, including abandoned cart sequences, review requests and win-back emails, with clear reports on what they bring in. Take a look at our email automation service, or find out how we build Shopify stores designed to turn browsers into buyers. Try our free website check and we will tell you what we would do first.
Shopify and ICO details checked against their official pages on 8 October 2026. Both change their guidance and tools over time, so check them if something looks different.
Frequently asked questions
How soon should I send an abandoned cart email?
Within a few hours is a common starting point, because the shopper still remembers what they were doing. Test different timings to see what suits your shop and customers.
How many abandoned cart emails should I send?
Most shops do well with two or three. More than that risks annoying people and can lead to unsubscribes and complaints.
Should I offer a discount in abandoned cart emails?
Not necessarily. A discount can help, but if you offer it to everyone it trains shoppers to abandon baskets to get one. Consider leaving it for the last email, or using it only on higher-value baskets.
Can I email people who did not give me their email address?
No. Without an email address there is nobody to send a reminder to, and Shopify’s abandoned checkout emails only go to shoppers who have entered one. Make sure your checkout asks for the email address early, and follow the UK rules on consent described above.
