Abandoned cart emails, the complete guide for Klaviyo and Shopify
How to set up abandoned cart and checkout emails that recover sales, when to send each one, when to add a discount and how to avoid double sends with Shopify.
Manuel Sierra
Founder, One Mail Studio
Published · 6 min read
FlowsIn this article · 8 sections
An abandoned cart email is the automatic reminder a store sends to someone who added products to the cart and left without buying. In the accounts we run it is the flow that converts best, and it is also the one we most often find set up wrong: one flow where there should be two, a discount in the first email, and buyers who keep getting reminders after paying.
This guide covers how we set it up in Klaviyo and Shopify: the two flows, the three emails, when the discount goes in and the checks that stop it from breaking.
Abandoned cart and abandoned checkout are two flows
They look the same, but they start at different moments and with different people.
| Abandoned cart | Abandoned checkout | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts when | Someone adds a product and does not start checkout | Someone reaches checkout and does not pay |
| Event in Klaviyo | Added to Cart | Started Checkout |
| Intent | Browsing with interest | About to buy |
| Tone | A useful reminder | Help, something may have gone wrong |
Klaviyo's help centre puts it the same way: a flow triggered by Added to Cart targets abandoned carts, and one triggered by Started Checkout targets abandoned checkouts. One detail catches many stores out. Klaviyo's standard abandoned cart flow is triggered by Started Checkout, so it is really a checkout flow; the Added to Cart version is a separate template. If you only have that one, everyone who adds to the cart and leaves before checkout gets nothing.
What has to be in place first
The cart flow only works if Klaviyo sees the Added to Cart event and knows who the visitor is.
- Behavioural tracking on. In Shopify you need the Klaviyo app embed active and the Track behavioral events setting checked. That is what records Added to Cart.
- An identified visitor. Klaviyo can only email someone it can name: people who submitted a form, entered their email at checkout or are logged in to their account. An anonymous visitor who adds to the cart cannot get the email, however well it is written.
That second point is why the pop-up and the welcome flow come first. The more visitors you identify, the more carts you can recover.
The three emails of the cart flow
Klaviyo's own recommendation is two or three messages, the first a few hours after the abandonment. This is the sequence we build, and how it changes from email to email.
| When | What it does | Discount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 hour after | Reminds them what they left, with the product, its photo and price | No |
| 2 | 24 hours after | Answers the likely doubt: shipping, sizes, returns, reviews | No |
| 3 | 48 hours after | A small incentive, or social proof if you prefer not to discount | Small, only here |
A few rules that hold in every account:
- The discount goes at the end, never at the start. If the first email carries a code, your customers learn to leave the cart to get it.
- One call to action per email, and it goes straight to the saved cart, not the home page.
- A useful tone, no fake urgency. "Your cart is still here" works better than "Don't miss out!", and it ages better.
The abandoned checkout flow
Same mechanics, different tone. Whoever reached checkout had already decided, so we assume something went wrong and offer help.
- 30 minutes after: a direct link back to checkout and a simple question, did something go wrong?
- 24 hours after: reviews and the practical details, delivery times and returns.
- 48 hours after: if you use an incentive, here. A higher one can make sense for larger orders, but check the thresholds: a rule that gives less to a bigger order is a common mistake.
The filter that stops reminders after a purchase
Both flows need a flow filter so anyone who buys leaves the flow before the next email. Klaviyo recommends this one: Placed Order zero times since starting this flow. Without it, a customer who bought an hour ago gets "your cart is waiting" the next day.
Test it with a real order: add to the cart, wait for the first email, buy, and check that the second one never arrives.
Shopify's own email, and why not to run both
Shopify has its own abandoned checkout email. It only covers checkouts where the customer already gave an email, it counts a checkout as abandoned after it has been incomplete for more than ten minutes, and you choose how long it waits before sending. Shopify Messaging also has automations for abandoned checkout, abandoned cart and abandoned browse.
If you run Klaviyo flows, turn the Shopify versions off. Otherwise the same person gets two reminders for the same cart, from two tools, with two different discounts.
How to tell if it is working
Look at revenue per recipient, not only total revenue. A flow with a lot of revenue may just have a lot of traffic, while revenue per recipient tells you whether each email earns its place. And if a flow is on but has not sent anything in weeks, it is not a bad flow, it is a broken one: check the trigger and the tracking before rewriting a word.
If you are getting ready for Black Friday, this flow is one of the five that should be checked in October. The full list is in our Black Friday email plan.
Sources
Checked on October 5, 2026.
- Abandoned cart
- Flows
- Klaviyo
- Shopify
Common questions
What is an abandoned cart email?
An automatic email sent to someone who added products to the cart and left without buying. In Klaviyo it is triggered by the Added to Cart event. It reminds them of what they left and links straight back to the saved cart.
Does Shopify send abandoned cart emails?
Shopify's built-in email covers abandoned checkouts, where the customer already entered an email, not carts. Shopify Messaging adds automations for abandoned carts as well. If you use Klaviyo, turn them off to avoid sending two reminders for the same cart.
How many abandoned cart emails should I send?
Two or three. Klaviyo recommends two to three messages, and we send three over 48 hours: a reminder, an answer to the likely doubt, and a small incentive at the end.
Should the first abandoned cart email include a discount?
No. A discount in the first email teaches customers to abandon the cart on purpose. Keep it for the last email, and keep it small.
Are abandoned cart emails legal?
They are marketing messages, so the usual consent rules for your market apply. Shopify's abandoned checkout automation goes by default to customers subscribed to email marketing, and in Klaviyo the flow follows the consent of each profile. If you sell in several countries, check the rules for each with your adviser.
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