Around 70% of shoppers who add products to a WooCommerce cart do not complete checkout. Abandoned cart emails contact those customers after they leave, reminding them of what they left behind. A basic abandoned cart setup recovers 5-15% of abandoned carts, generating significant revenue from customers who were already interested enough to add products. WooCommerce does not include abandoned cart emails by default – you need a plugin or service to handle this.
How Abandoned Cart Recovery Works
The plugin captures cart data when a logged-in user (or a guest who has entered their email at checkout) adds products. If the user leaves without completing checkout, the plugin waits a configured delay and sends a recovery email with the cart contents and a link back to the checkout with the cart pre-populated. The recovery link works by storing the cart in a database record and generating a URL that restores it when clicked.
Guest carts are recoverable only after the guest enters their email address on the checkout page. Carts abandoned before entering email cannot be emailed. Some plugins use exit intent popups to capture the email before abandonment.
Plugin Options
Cartflows Cart Abandonment Recovery (free) – simple and effective. Captures cart data, sends emails on a configurable schedule, and shows recovery statistics. Best starting point if you have not done abandoned cart recovery before.
Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce (free) – similar functionality, slightly more configuration options for the email templates.
FluentCRM (premium) – if you already use FluentCRM, it handles abandoned cart recovery through its WooCommerce integration and automation sequences. More flexible than dedicated plugins because the recovery email is part of a broader customer journey automation.
Need help setting up your WooCommerce store? Describe your project and get a free estimate.
Setting Up Cart Abandonment Recovery (Cartflows Plugin)
Install the Cartflows Cart Abandonment Recovery plugin. Go to Cart Abandonment Recovery -> Settings. Configure:
- Cart abandonment time – how long after the cart is created without checkout completion before it is considered abandoned. 15-30 minutes is standard. Shorter means some customers receive emails while still shopping. Longer means you miss impulse recoveries.
- Unsubscribe page – create a simple page and set it as the unsubscribe destination (required for CAN-SPAM and GDPR compliance)
Go to Cart Abandonment Recovery -> Email Templates. The plugin comes with default email templates. Create your sequence here.
The Three-Email Recovery Sequence
A three-email sequence outperforms a single email for most stores:
Email 1 – 1 hour after abandonment: Simple reminder. Subject: “You left something in your cart”. Content: show the cart items with images, a clear return-to-cart button, and no pressure tactics. Many abandonments are accidental (distraction, phone call) – this email catches those.
Email 2 – 24 hours after abandonment: Add social proof. Subject: “Others are looking at this”. Include a review or testimonial for one of the abandoned products, the cart contents, and the return link. Address the hesitation that caused abandonment.
Email 3 – 72 hours after abandonment: Offer an incentive. Subject: “Here’s 10% off your cart”. Include a one-time coupon code with the cart contents. This is the recovery offer – save it for the third email rather than leading with discounts, which trains customers to abandon to wait for the discount.
GDPR and Compliance
Abandoned cart emails require consent in GDPR-regulated regions. The email address was captured during checkout, which is a commercial transaction context. Include an easy unsubscribe mechanism in every recovery email. Your privacy policy should mention abandoned cart tracking. Some legal interpretations consider checkout email capture as implied consent for transactional follow-up; others require explicit opt-in. Consult a GDPR advisor for your specific jurisdiction.