How to Set Up Shopify Abandoned Cart Emails That Convert

We’re going to make a bold claim: Your Shopify store is leaking money right now.

At 2HatsLogic, we’ve audited over 200 e-commerce stores, and nearly every single one was missing out on 10-15% of potential revenue by not properly addressing cart abandonment.

Let’s be clear, this isn’t about fancy marketing tricks. It’s about capturing sales that were this close to happening. Customers who abandoned their carts already showed high purchase intent. They found your store, browsed your products, and added items to their cart. The hardest part of the sale was already done.

In this guide, we’ll share exactly how we’ve helped our clients implement abandoned cart email systems that consistently recapture thousands in revenue each month.

Why Abandoned Cart Emails Matter

Ever filled your online shopping cart only to close the tab and never return? Yeah, we’ve all been there. As an e-commerce store owner, that scenario probably makes you cringe, for good reason.

Here’s the jaw-dropping truth: nearly 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned before checkout. That’s a lot of almost-revenue just slipping through your fingers.

But here’s the good news you can recover a significant chunk of those lost sales with well-crafted abandoned cart emails. In fact, the average abandoned cart email has an impressive 45% open rate and can recover between 10-15% of otherwise lost sales.

Reality Check: The Cost of Ignoring Abandoned Carts

Let’s do some quick math. If your store gets 1,000 visitors per month with a 3% conversion rate, that’s 30 sales. But with a 70% cart abandonment rate, you could be missing out on an additional 70 potential sales each month. If your average order value is $80, that’s $5,600 in monthly revenue just waiting to be rescued.

Setting Up Basic Shopify Abandoned Cart Emails

Enough theory, let’s get your abandoned cart emails up and running. The good news is that Shopify includes basic abandoned cart email functionality right out of the box.

Here’s how to set it up:

1. Log in to your Shopify admin dashboard
2. Go to “Settings” at the bottom left
3. Click on “Checkout.”
4. Scroll down to the “Abandoned checkouts” section
5. Enable “Automatically send abandoned checkout emails.”
6. Set your preferred timing (we recommend 1 hour after abandonment for the first email)
7. Customize your email content in the provided editor
8. Save your changes

That’s it for the basic setup! But don’t celebrate just yet, this is just the beginning.

Crafting High-Converting Email Content

Now that you’ve set up the technical foundation, let’s focus on creating emails that actually convert. Remember, your goal isn’t just to remind customers, it’s to motivate them to complete their purchase.

The 3-Part Email Sequence That Works

In my experience working with Shopify stores at 2HatsLogic, a 3-part abandoned cart email sequence typically outperforms a single email:

Email 1 (1 hour after abandonment): Gentle reminder. 

Email 2 (24 hours after abandonment): Social proof + urgency 

Email 3 (48 hours after abandonment): Discount offer

Let’s break down what should go into each email:

Email 1: The Friendly Reminder

Your first email should be simple and helpful, not pushy. Include:

• A clear subject line: “You left something in your cart”
• Product image(s) of what they abandoned
• A prominent, contrasting “Complete Your Purchase” button
• Helpful customer service information

Example copy: “Hey there! Looks like you left some great items in your cart. We’re holding them for you, but they might not be available forever. Need help with anything before you check out?”

Email 2: The Social Proof Push

Your second email should leverage social proof to build confidence:

• Subject line that creates urgency: “Your cart is popular – items selling fast!”
• Product images with star ratings or review counts
• A brief testimonial from a happy customer
• Limited stock warnings if applicable

Example copy: “Those items in your cart? They’re pretty popular! In fact, 27 other shoppers bought the exact same [product] this week and gave it 4.8/5 stars. ‘Best purchase I made this year,’ says customer Jamie T. Don’t miss out!”

Email 3: The Special Offer

Your final email is where you bring out your discount offer:

• Subject line with the offer: “15% off your cart – today only!”
• Clear discount details and expiration time
• Product images with original and discounted prices
• Ultra-clear call to action

Example copy: “We really don’t want you to miss out on the items in your cart, so we’re doing something special. Use code COMEBACK15 for 15% off your entire order, but only for the next 24 hours. That’s a savings of $XX on your current cart!”

Advanced Automation Strategies

Ready to take your abandoned cart recovery to the next level? Let’s explore some advanced strategies that the top-performing Shopify stores are using.

Beyond Basic Shopify: Third-Party Email Apps

While Shopify’s built-in abandoned cart emails are a good starting point, third-party apps offer more advanced features and customization options. Here are my top recommendations:

Setting up Klaviyo for abandoned cart recovery is surprisingly simple:

1. Install the Klaviyo app from the Shopify App Store
2. Connect your store and allow data synchronization
3. Go to “Flows” and select the pre-built “Abandoned Cart” flow
4. Customize the timing, design, and content to match your brand
5. Activate the flow

Combining Email with SMS and Ads

For truly impressive recovery rates, don’t just rely on email. A multi-channel approach works best:

1. Email sequence: Your foundation (as detailed above)
2. SMS reminder: Send 30 minutes after the first email for time-sensitive offers
3. Retargeting ads: Run Facebook/Instagram ads to cart abandoners

Optimizing Your Subject Lines

Never underestimate the power of a good subject line. It’s the difference between your abandoned cart email being opened or ignored.

Through our testing at 2HatsLogic, we’ve found these subject line formulas consistently outperform others:

1. The Direct Approach: “You left something in your cart.”
2. The Question: “Did you forget something?”
3. The FOMO Trigger: “Your cart is about to expire.”
4. The Personalized Reminder: “[Product Name] is waiting for you”
5. The Offer: “Here’s 10% off to complete your purchase.”

A few rules of thumb:

• Keep subject lines under 50 characters
• Include the customer’s name when possible
• Test emoji vs. no emoji (results vary by industry)
• Create a sense of urgency without being pushy

Creating an Irresistible Discount Strategy

Discounts can be powerful for cart recovery, but they need to be used strategically. Here’s how to create a discount strategy that converts without eating your margins:

Tiered Discounts Based on Cart Value

One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to recovery discounts. Try this approach:

• Carts under $50: Free shipping offer
• Carts $50-$100: 10% off with code
• Carts $100+: 15% off with code or free gift

This ensures your discount makes mathematical sense relative to the potential sale.

Time-Limited Offers That Actually Work

Create genuine urgency with:

• Countdown timers in your email
• Limited inventory warnings (if true)
• One-time-use codes that expire in 24 hours

We’ve seen a 37% conversion rate on final cart abandonment emails that include both a discount and a genuine time limitation.

Measuring and Improving Results

What gets measured gets improved. Here are the key metrics you should track for your abandoned cart emails:

1. Recovery rate: Percentage of abandoned carts that convert after receiving emails
2. Revenue recovered: Total dollar amount recovered through your emails
3. Email open rate: Percentage of recipients who open your emails
4. Click-through rate: Percentage who click your call-to-action
5. Average order value of recovered carts: Sometimes higher than regular purchases due to urgency

Most email platforms like Klaviyo or Omnisend will track these automatically, but you should review them at least monthly and test new approaches.

Split Testing Your Way to Higher Conversions

Always be testing one element at a time:

• Week 1-2: Test different subject lines
• Week 3-4: Test different email timing (1 hr vs 2 hrs for first email)
• Week 5-6: Test different discount amounts
• Week 7-8: Test different email designs

One of our clients increased their recovery rate from 8% to 21% over three months just through consistent testing and optimization.

Ready to Rescue Your Revenue?

Implementing an effective abandoned cart email strategy is one of the highest-ROI activities you can do for your Shopify store. Every day you don’t have this set up is literally money left on the table.

If setting all this up sounds overwhelming, you’re not alone. At 2HatsLogic, we’ve helped dozens of Shopify merchants implement abandoned cart strategies that recover thousands in otherwise lost revenue.

Our team specializes in headless commerce solutions that integrate advanced cart recovery with high-converting checkout experiences. Want to see what’s possible for your store?

Contact us today for a free cart abandonment audit and recovery plan tailored specifically to your Shopify store. We’ll analyze your current setup and show you exactly how much revenue you could be recovering.