Stop 10 · E-commerce & Performance MarketingTopics · 5/8

Abandoned Cart Recovery

In short

Most carts are abandoned. Many of those shoppers still want the item; they just got distracted. A few well-timed reminders can bring a good share of them back.

Automated emails (or ads) targeting users who added items to cart but didn't complete checkout — one of the highest-ROI automated flows in e-commerce, since intent is already clearly established.

The blob shopkeeper places a neatly folded kurta on a shelf with a little ribbon tied around it.

Think of it like this

'I've kept it aside for you'

You pick a kurta at a shop, then rush off for a call. Next day the shopkeeper messages: 'Your kurta is kept aside till Sunday.' You go back and buy it. He didn't nag. He just made returning easy.

Watch it happen

A three-step cart recovery flow

Shopper

Store

Email/WA

cart: 2 items, ₹1,798

1/6A logged-in shopper adds two items and leaves without paying.

The big ideas

What you need to know

Timing matters

A first reminder within hours catches people while they still remember why they wanted it.

Show the exact items

Photos and names of what's in their cart work better than a generic 'come back'.

Save discounts for last

Offering a discount immediately teaches shoppers to abandon carts on purpose.

Consent and opt-in

Only message people who agreed to it. WhatsApp business messages need opt-in and approved templates.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Sending a 20% off code one minute after someone leaves.

Do this instead

Start with a plain reminder. Add a small incentive only in the last message.

Oops

Faking urgency with 'only 1 left!' when you have 500.

Do this instead

Use scarcity only when it's true. Fake urgency damages trust and can break consumer rules.

Your mission

Write a cart recovery series

~25 min

Quick check

Why do many stores avoid putting a discount in the first cart reminder?

Go deeper

1Design a 2-3 email abandoned cart sequence with escalating urgency or incentive.
2Learn typical benchmark recovery rates for cart abandonment emails.
3Understand why the first recovery email usually performs best sent within a few hours.