Abandoned cart recovery: email vs WhatsApp vs SMS, and how to sequence them

A cart reminder is one of the few marketing messages people genuinely find useful. They wanted the thing, something interrupted them, and a link back saves them starting over. Done badly (three channels at once, a discount in the first message, reminders after they’ve already bought), the same flow becomes spam.

First, know what counts as “abandoned”

On Shopify, a checkout is counted as abandoned when it stays incomplete for more than ten minutes after the customer has entered their email. Two consequences:

• You can only remind people who reached checkout and gave a contact detail. Browsing-only visitors aren’t in this flow.
• If your checkout lets people enter a phone number instead of an email, Shopify can’t send them an abandoned-checkout email.

Other platforms and email tools define it slightly differently. Some also track carts started by known subscribers before checkout. Check your tool’s definition so you know who’s included.

Pick one system to send reminders

Shopify has its own abandoned checkout emails, managed in the Shopify Messaging app’s automations, with settings for who to send to and how long to wait. Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend and other email tools have their own flows. If both are switched on, customers get both.

Choose one:

• Shopify’s built-in email if you want something simple and free with the platform.
• Your email platform’s flow if you want several messages, conditional logic, testing and reporting alongside your other emails. Then turn Shopify’s automation off.

The default sequence

Why this order:

• Message 1 is a reminder, not a discount. Many people come back anyway. Putting a discount first trains customers to abandon on purpose.
• Message 2 answers objections. Baymard’s research on why shoppers abandon points to cost, delivery speed, trust and returns. Answer those directly.
• Message 3 is optional. Only add an incentive if the numbers show messages 1 and 2 leave sales on the table and your margins can absorb it.

When WhatsApp makes sense

WhatsApp is fast and widely used in the UAE, which is exactly why it needs care:

• Opt-in first. Meta’s policy requires opt-in before you message people. The opt-in must name your business and make clear the person agrees to receive messages. A tick box at checkout that says so works. A phone number entered for the courier doesn’t count as marketing consent.
• Templates and the 24-hour window. Business-initiated WhatsApp messages need Meta-approved templates. Free-form replies are only allowed within 24 hours of the customer’s last message.
• Cost. Meta charges per message, so keep WhatsApp to one high-value message, usually the first reminder or a “need help with your order?” check-in.
• Tone. One message, a link and an offer of help. Never several WhatsApp nudges for the same cart.

SMS?

In the UAE, SMS marketing has its own telecom rules and less room for content. Most stores get better results from email plus WhatsApp for opted-in customers. If you do use SMS, keep it to one message, with consent and an opt-out.

Avoiding the common mistakes

• Double sends from the platform plus an email tool. Pick one.
• Reminders after purchase, because the flow doesn’t check whether an order was placed by another route (for example, by phone or after a cash on delivery confirmation call). Make “order placed” the exit condition.
• Reminding people about out-of-stock items. Exclude carts where nothing is available.
• No consent check on marketing email. Shopify’s settings let you choose who receives recovery emails. Email platforms usually only send to people who opted in to marketing. Know which you’re using and why.
• Measuring opens. Judge the flow on recovered orders and revenue per cart, not opens.

What to measure

• Recovery rate: recovered orders ÷ abandoned checkouts that entered the flow
• Revenue per abandoned checkout: lets you compare changes fairly
• Per-message results: if message 3 recovers almost nothing but drives unsubscribes, drop it
• Opt-outs and complaints per message

Shopify’s abandoned checkouts report shows sessions and orders from its recovery emails. Email platforms report flow revenue.

Fix the leak as well

Recovery messages win back some of what’s lost. Fixing the reasons people abandon in the first place usually matters more. See why shoppers abandon checkout, and how to fix each cause. If you’d like both set up and connected properly, that’s our growth funnel service.

Frequently asked questions

Should the first reminder include a discount?

Usually not. Start with a plain reminder and objection-handling. Test an incentive only in a later message, and only if your margins allow.

How many reminders is too many?

For most stores, two or three emails over about three days. Beyond that, extra messages tend to bring more unsubscribes than orders.

Can we remind people who only browsed products?

That’s a separate “browse abandonment” flow, and it only works for people you can identify (for example, subscribers who are signed in or clicked a recent email). It’s worth adding once your cart flow works well.