Cart vs checkout abandonment
People use "abandoned cart" for two different moments, and it helps to separate them.
- Cart abandonment: a shopper adds products to the cart but never clicks through to checkout. Often they were browsing, comparing or saving items for later.
- Checkout abandonment: a shopper starts checkout, usually entering an email or phone number, then leaves before paying. They were close to buying, and something stopped them.
The difference matters for recovery. Shopify can only email someone automatically if it has their contact details, which it normally gets at checkout. So Shopify's built-in recovery covers abandoned checkouts. To reach people who leave at the cart stage, you need a tool like Klaviyo that can identify known visitors (for example, existing subscribers) when they add to cart.
How big is the problem? Widely cited industry research that averages dozens of studies puts online cart abandonment at roughly 70%, with mobile higher than desktop. Many of those shoppers were never going to buy that day. The goal isn't zero; it's to stop losing the ones who wanted to.
Why shoppers abandon
The reasons come up again and again in large shopper surveys. Unexpected extra costs, especially shipping, consistently rank at the top. Others include:
- Just browsing. Adding to cart as a wishlist or to see the total.
- Surprise costs. Shipping, fees or a total that's higher than expected.
- Slow delivery. Delivery times that are unclear or too long, which matters a lot in a country as big as Australia.
- Trust. Not sure about the store, returns or what happens to their card details.
- Too much effort. Forced account creation, long forms, typing card numbers on a phone.
- Payment options. Their preferred way to pay isn't offered.
- Distraction. They got interrupted and simply forgot.
Notice that most of these are fixable on the page. Emails can bring someone back, but if the reason they left is still there, many will leave again. For a broader look at drop-off, see our guide on why Shopify visitors don't buy.
Fixes before they leave
Every shopper you keep in checkout is one you don't need to chase. Start here.
Make shipping costs clear early
Show your shipping rates or free shipping threshold on product pages and in the cart, not only at checkout. A cart line such as "Free standard shipping over $75. You're $12 away" removes the biggest surprise and can lift order value at the same time. Our free shipping threshold guide explains how to set the number. Show estimated delivery times too, by state if they vary.
Put trust where the decision happens
Place a short returns line, a review rating and recognisable payment logos near the add-to-cart and checkout buttons. Keep your contact details easy to find. Shoppers rarely go looking for your returns page; bring the key line to them.
Cut steps and typing
Allow guest checkout. Remove cart-page clutter that pulls attention from the checkout button. Turn on address autocomplete. Every field and every extra page is a chance to leave.
Offer express checkout and buy now, pay later
Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay let returning shoppers pay in a tap, which matters most on mobile. Afterpay is widely used in Australia, and showing it on product pages and in the cart (not only at the final step) helps shoppers who budget in instalments. Show express buttons in the cart or cart drawer so people can skip straight to payment.
Keep the cart honest and helpful
Show the real total, including discounts, before checkout. A single relevant add-on in the cart is fine, but a wall of upsells makes the path to checkout harder to see. Our guide to bundles and upsells covers how to do this without getting in the way.
Test the bigger changes rather than guessing. The Shopify A/B testing guide explains how to run a fair test, and our revenue leak calculator gives a quick estimate of what checkout drop-off might be costing you.
Shopify's built-in email vs a Klaviyo flow
You have two main ways to send recovery messages. Many stores start with the first and move to the second as they grow.
| Shopify abandoned checkout email | Klaviyo abandoned checkout and cart flows | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Included with Shopify | Paid plan once your list grows |
| Setup | A few minutes in Shopify settings | An hour or two to build and test |
| Triggers | Abandoned checkout | Abandoned checkout, added to cart, viewed product |
| Messages | Usually one, with limited options for more | As many as you like, with delays and branches |
| SMS | Limited | Email and SMS in one flow |
| Segmentation | Basic | Split by cart value, new vs returning, past purchases |
Shopify lets you choose when its abandoned checkout email sends, with options such as 1, 6, 10 or 24 hours. Its suggested default is 10 hours. If you have nothing set up today, turn it on now and edit the copy so it sounds like your brand.
If you move to Klaviyo, switch Shopify's automatic email off so customers don't get two reminders. Our Klaviyo flows for Shopify guide shows where abandoned cart and checkout flows sit among the other essentials, and how to exclude people in the checkout flow from the cart flow.
A 3-message recovery sequence
Three messages is a sensible starting point: remind, reassure, nudge. The timings below are common starting points, not rules. Test them against your own results.
Message 1: the reminder (1–4 hours after abandoning)
Keep it short. Show the product image, name, price and a big button that returns them to their checkout with the cart intact. No discount. Many people simply got distracted, and a friendly reminder is all they need.
Example subject line: "You left something behind"
Message 2: the reassurance (about 24 hours later)
Answer the questions that stop people buying. Delivery times to their state, shipping costs, your returns policy, Afterpay and other payment options, and one or two real reviews of the product in their cart. If you sell sizes, link your size guide.
Example subject line: "Quick answers before you decide"
Message 3: the final nudge (48–72 hours after abandoning)
Let them know the cart won't be held forever, and if stock is genuinely low, say so. This is the only message where an incentive might belong, and only if your numbers support it (see below). Otherwise, offer help: a reply-to-this-email line or a link to chat.
Example subject line: "Still keen? Your cart is waiting"
Flow rules that matter. Stop the sequence the moment someone places an order. Exclude anyone who has bought in the last few days. Skip people who've already received the sequence recently so repeat abandoners don't get the same emails every week. And send from a real name with replies going to a monitored inbox.
During big sales like Black Friday, shorten the delays so reminders land before the sale ends, and update the copy to mention the deadline. Our Black Friday sale page guide covers the rest of that plan.
Where SMS fits
SMS is direct and usually read quickly, which makes it a good fit for the first reminder. It's also more personal, so use it lightly.
- Consent first. Only text people who have opted in to marketing SMS, and include an easy way to opt out. Australia's spam rules apply to marketing texts as well as emails.
- One text is often enough. A short message with a link back to the checkout, sent within the first hour or so, then let email do the rest.
- Mind the time zone. A 9pm reminder in Sydney is 6pm in Perth, but a 7am send from Perth is 10am in Sydney. Use quiet hours based on the customer's location if your tool allows it.
When (not) to use discounts
A discount is the easiest lever and often the most expensive one. Many shoppers who abandon would have come back anyway, and a code in the first email gives margin away to all of them. Worse, regular shoppers learn that leaving the cart earns a discount.
Use a discount when:
- It's in the last message only, after reminding and reassuring have had their chance.
- It's modest, or framed as free shipping rather than a percentage off.
- It's targeted, for example first-time customers or carts above a certain value.
- It has a real expiry and works once per customer.
Skip it when your margins are thin, when a sale is already running, or when the customer is a returning buyer who doesn't need persuading. If you're unsure, A/B test the final message with and without the incentive and compare revenue per recipient after the cost of the discount. Raising order value in the first place, as covered in our average order value guide, often gives you more room for incentives later.
How to measure recovery
Look at these numbers monthly.
- Checkout completion rate. Orders divided by checkouts started. On-page fixes should push this up, which means fewer abandoned checkouts to recover.
- Recovery rate. Recovered checkouts divided by abandoned checkouts in the same period. Shopify's abandoned checkouts page shows which were recovered.
- Revenue per recipient. Revenue attributed to each message divided by the number of people who received it. This is the fairest way to compare timings and copy.
- Discount cost. If you use incentives, subtract them. Recovery that costs more than it earns isn't recovery.
- Unsubscribes and spam complaints. A sign the sequence is too long or too pushy.
Treat attributed revenue with care. Email tools count an order as "recovered" if it follows a message, even when the customer would have returned anyway. Compare against your overall conversion trend and the context in our Shopify conversion rate benchmarks guide rather than trusting a single dashboard figure.
Mistakes to avoid
Only fixing the emails
Recovery emails work on people who already left. Fixing shipping clarity and checkout friction keeps more of them from leaving at all.
Double-sending
Running Shopify's email and a Klaviyo flow at the same time, or sending cart and checkout flows to the same person, feels spammy. Choose one system and set exclusions.
Broken links
Test that the button restores the cart on mobile, with the right variants and any discount applied. A link to an empty cart wastes the whole sequence.
Generic copy
"Complete your purchase" with no product image gives no reason to come back. Show what they chose and answer what stopped them.
Tap Vortex focuses on the first half of this problem: Shopify sale pages with clear shipping messaging, trust near the buy button and fast mobile checkout paths, A/B tested against your current page. Read more about our Shopify CRO agency work, or compare a dedicated page with your product pages in our landing page vs product page guide.
FAQ
What is a normal cart abandonment rate for a Shopify store?
Widely cited industry research that averages dozens of studies puts online cart abandonment at roughly 70%, and it tends to be higher on mobile. Your own rate depends on your products, prices and traffic. Track it over time rather than chasing an average.
What is the difference between an abandoned cart and an abandoned checkout?
An abandoned cart means someone added products but never started checkout. An abandoned checkout means they started checkout, usually entering an email or phone number, but didn't pay. Abandoned checkouts are higher intent, and Shopify can only email them automatically because it has their contact details.
Is Shopify's built-in abandoned checkout email enough?
It's a good start and it costs nothing, so switch it on today. Shopify lets you choose when it sends, with 10 hours as its suggested default. For a multi-message sequence, SMS, cart-level triggers and better segmentation, most growing stores move to a tool like Klaviyo.
How many abandoned cart emails should I send?
Three is a sensible starting point: a reminder within a few hours, a reassurance message about a day later, and a final nudge two or three days after that. Stop the sequence the moment the customer buys, and test the timing against your own results.
Should I offer a discount in abandoned cart emails?
Not in the first message. Leading with a discount teaches customers to abandon on purpose and gives away margin to people who would have come back anyway. If you use one, save it for the last message, keep it modest, and consider limiting it to first-time customers or higher-value carts.
How do I measure abandoned cart recovery on Shopify?
Track the recovery rate (recovered checkouts divided by abandoned checkouts), revenue recovered, and revenue per recipient for each message. Shopify's abandoned checkouts page shows recovered orders, and Klaviyo reports flow revenue. Watch your overall checkout completion rate too, because on-page fixes should shrink the number of abandoned checkouts in the first place.