Abandoned checkout emails are sent to customers who added items to their cart and started checkout but left without completing their purchase. This is typically the highest-ROI email automation for Shopify stores.
When it triggers
This campaign fires when a customer reaches the checkout page, enters their email address, and then leaves without completing their order. Shopify captures the checkout details, and Follow Up Email sends your configured email after the delay you set.
The email is automatically cancelled if the customer comes back and completes their purchase before your email sends.
Pre-loaded campaigns
The Abandoned Checkout section comes with three campaigns already set up as a starting point:
- Reminder 1 — sends 1 hour after abandonment
- Reminder 2 — sends 1 day after abandonment
- Reminder 3 — sends 3 days after abandonment
You can edit, delete, or add to these as needed. Many stores use a 3-email sequence for maximum recovery.
Setting up a campaign
Click any campaign to open the editor. Key settings:
- When — set the delay after checkout abandonment (hours, days, or minutes)
- Subject line — write a compelling subject; personalization tags like the customer's first name work well here
- Template — click Edit to customize the email body, colors, and content
- Unique emails — when enabled, a customer who triggers multiple abandoned checkouts in a period will only receive one email, preventing duplicates
- Only send to marketing subscribers — enable this to restrict sends to customers who have opted in to marketing emails
Tracking performance
The Abandoned Checkout page shows a "Sales Recovered" panel with totals over the last 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days, and all time. You can also view individual sent emails and their status in Email History.
Targeting specific products or cart values
You can limit campaigns to fire only when certain conditions are met — for example, only for carts over $50, or only for carts containing a specific product. See Filters and Targeting for details.