Cart abandonment email examples for each reason shoppers leave
Copy-ready cart abandonment email examples for small online stores: a 3-email series with timing and a stop rule, one email for each reason shoppers leave, and chat replies for the questions that block a purchase. Word file and Excel recovery log included.
Made by Anatolii Ulitovskyi 
Fact-checked by RH Fardin Updated 1. Abandoned cart email template: 3 emails, 1 stop rule
Start hereThis abandoned cart email template is three emails, sent by your store platform or email tool to shoppers who typed their email at checkout and may be emailed. Email 2 answers the likely reason the shopper left: pick it in the table and copy it from tabs 2 to 7. One email 2 for everyone? Use tab 2: extra costs is the most common reason1.
Email 1, 1 hour after, subjectYour cart at store is saved
Email 1, bodyHi first name,
You left product in your cart. We keep it for 7 days: cart link
A question before you order? Reply to this email or ask in the chat on our site. Your most asked answer, for example: Standard shipping is free from $50.
Your name, store
Postal address
Unsubscribe link
Email 3, 72 hours after, subjectShould we keep your cart, first name?
Email 3, bodyHi first name,
This is our last email about your cart: product. We keep it until date and will not write about it again.
Free-shipping line, only if the discount rule on this page allows it
A question? Reply and a person answers.
Your name, store
Postal address
Unsubscribe link
Pick email 2 by where the shopper left
| Left at | Likely reason | Email 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Cart, after a short visit | Just browsing | Tab 7 |
| Contact or account step | Account creation | Tab 6 |
| Shipping step | Extra costs or delivery time | Tab 2 or 3 |
| Payment step | Trust and payment, or returns | Tab 5 or 4 |
| Asked in chat first | The question they asked | The tab that answers it |
Stop rule: send nothing more when
- The shopper orders, on any channel.
- The shopper replies: a person answers instead.
- The shopper unsubscribes or writes 'stop'.
- The cart is emptied or the items sell out.
- Email 3 is sent, or email 2 is sent to someone who was just browsing.
- The same shopper already had a cart series in the last 30 days.
TimingShopify counts a checkout as abandoned when it stays incomplete for more than ten minutes after the shopper gave an email, and you set the delay under 'Send after'2. Set 1, 24 and 72 hours, and test with your own email first.
FooterKeep the address and unsubscribe link in all 3 emails: the FTC's CAN-SPAM guide requires both in commercial email3.
2. Email 2 for extra costs: show the full price
Leaving browsers aside, 40% of shoppers who abandoned a cart named extra costs too high (shipping, tax, fees), and 12% could not see the total cost up front1. Answer with the full price, not with a code.
SubjectYour total for product, shipping included
EmailHi first name,
Here is the full price of your cart, so there are no surprises:
Product: price
Shipping to state or country: shipping cost
Tax: tax, or 'added at checkout for your address'
Total: total
Standard shipping is free from $50. Your cart is $46.00.
Cart link
Your name, store
Postal address
Unsubscribe link
Chat versionShipping to state is $7.95, and free from $50. Tax is added at checkout for your address. With $46.00 in your cart, the total before tax is $53.95.
NeverAdd a fee at the last step. The FTC lists drip pricing, showing part of the price first and adding mandatory charges later, as a dark pattern4.
3. Email 2 for delivery time: give dates, not days
20% of shoppers who abandoned a cart said delivery was too slow1. Often they could not tell when the order would arrive. Give the cut-off time and a date range.
SubjectWhen your product would arrive
EmailHi first name,
Orders placed by 14:00 on a business day ship the same day. Then:
Standard, free from $50: 3 to 5 business days, about date to date.
Express, $14.95: 1 to 2 business days, about date to date.
Need it by a certain day? Reply with the date and we tell you which option makes it.
Cart link
Your name, store
Postal address
Unsubscribe link
Chat versionIf you order now, it ships Thursday 1 October. Standard shipping takes 3 to 5 business days, so it should arrive between 6 and 8 October. Express, $14.95, takes 1 to 2 business days.
NeverPromise a day the carrier does not guarantee. Say 'should arrive between' and give the range.
4. Email 2 for returns: the policy in three lines
13% of shoppers who abandoned a cart said the returns policy was not good enough1. Give them the three lines they look for: the window, who pays return shipping, and when the money comes back.
SubjectNot sure about product? How returns work
EmailHi first name,
If product is not right, you can send it back:
- Within 30 days of delivery, unused.
- Return shipping: free, or $5.95 taken off the refund.
- Refund to your original payment method within 5 business days of receiving it.
Full policy: policy link
Your cart: cart link
Your name, store
Postal address
Unsubscribe link
Chat versionYou can return unused items within 30 days of delivery. We refund to your original payment method within 5 business days of receiving them. Full policy: link
Same textQuote the policy exactly as it is on your site, with no new promise. The return policy template keeps one dated version for the site, the emails and the AI agent.
5. Email 2 for trust and payment: show who you are
19% of shoppers who abandoned a cart did not trust the site with their card details, 10% had a card declined and 9% did not find enough payment methods1. Show a real business and every way to pay.
SubjectWho we are, and how you can pay
EmailHi first name,
We are store: who you are in one line, for example two people pouring candles in Portland, Maine, since 2019. Our address is postal address; call us on phone.
You can pay with card, PayPal or Apple Pay. Card payments run through our payment provider, so we never see your full card number.
If a payment did not go through, reply and we help you finish the order.
Customer reviews: reviews link
Your cart: cart link
Your name, store
Unsubscribe link
Chat versionYou can pay with card, PayPal or Apple Pay. Please never type card numbers in this chat. If your payment failed, I can pass you to a person who will help.
NeverAsk for card details by email or chat, or send a payment link the shopper did not ask for.
6. Email 2 for account creation: no account needed
18% of shoppers who abandoned a cart left because the site wanted them to create an account1. If you offer guest checkout, say so in the first line. If you do not, turn it on before you send this.
SubjectNo account needed to order
EmailHi first name,
You do not need an account to order from store. At checkout, choose Continue as guest: your email and address are all we need.
Your cart is saved: cart link
Want order history? You can create an account after you order.
Your name, store
Postal address
Unsubscribe link
Chat versionNo account is needed. At checkout, choose Continue as guest, then enter your email and address.
Fix the causePut guest checkout first, and offer an account only after the order is placed.
7. Email 2 for browsers: saved for later, no pressure
No discount42% of US online shoppers have abandoned a cart because they were 'just browsing / not ready to buy'1. They need a way back, not a code. Send this as email 2 and skip email 3.
SubjectSaved for later: product
EmailHi first name,
No rush. We saved product for you, so you can find it when you are ready: cart link
If it helps you decide: one useful fact, for example burn time, size or the most asked question.
This is our last email about this cart.
Your name, store
Postal address
Unsubscribe link
Chat versionTake your time. If you have a question about product, ask me here, day or night.
NeverGive a discount to someone who was only looking, or add them to a newsletter they did not ask for.
8. Chat replies for questions that block a purchase
Before they leaveMost of these reasons are questions a shopper could ask on the page. Put the AI agent on product and cart pages, and on checkout where your platform allows it, with these rules.
Instructions for the AI agentPre-purchase questions:
1. Answer only from the Knowledge Base and the product feed: prices, shipping, delivery, returns, payment methods, sizes and materials.
2. Shipping: give the cost and the free-shipping threshold, and the total before tax if the shopper tells you the cart value.
3. Delivery: give the ship date from the cut-off time and a date range. Never promise an exact day.
4. Returns: quote the window, return shipping and refund timing word for word.
5. Never invent a discount code or a sale.
6. Never ask for card numbers.
7. Hand over to a person for custom or bulk orders, damaged items, failed payments, anything not in the Knowledge Base, or when asked. Say a person replies within 30 minutes in opening hours.
Test before go-live: 6 questions
| Shopper asks | A correct answer |
|---|---|
| How much is shipping to Ohio? | The cost, free from $50, tax at checkout |
| Will it arrive by Friday? | Ship date and a date range, no promise |
| Can I return it if I don't like the scent? | The policy lines, word for word |
| Do you have a discount code? | No invented code |
| My card was declined. | No card details in chat; hands over |
| Can I order 40 candles for a wedding? | Hands over to a person |
Saved reply /shippingHi first name, shipping to state is $7.95, and standard shipping is free from $50. Orders placed by 14:00 on a business day ship the same day and arrive in 3 to 5 business days. Express is $14.95 for 1 to 2 business days.
Saved reply /discountHi first name, we do not have a code running right now. Standard shipping is free from $50, and you can return unused items within 30 days of delivery. Can I help with anything else about your order?
For small sales and support teams
Answer the question before the cart is abandoned.
CRMsoftware.pro does not send cart emails: your store platform does. On product and cart pages, its AI agent answers shipping, delivery, returns and product questions around the clock from your Knowledge Base, and hands the rest to a person in Live Support.
- AI agent answers 24/7 from your Knowledge Base and website import, on the Free plan
- Human handover to Live Support on Launch; product feed import on Scale
- Launch, $19 a month billed yearly for 8 users; saved replies on Growth, $49
Free plan: 3 users, AI chat and a basic knowledge base, no credit card.
Filled example
One abandoned cart, from email 2 to a recovered order
Driftwood Candle Co., a fictional candle shop in Portland, Maine, sells soy candles online. In these cart abandonment email examples, a shopper leaves at the shipping step, email 2 shows her the full price, and the AI agent answers her delivery question before she orders.
Cart C-5207: the series and the stop rule
| When | What happened | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 29 Sep, 19:12 | Left at the shipping step, $46.00 cart; ticked 'Email me news and offers' | May email: Yes |
| Tue, 20:12 | Email 1: cart saved, free shipping from $50 | No order |
| Wed 30 Sep, 19:12 | Email 2, extra costs: the full total with shipping | Clicked, opened chat |
| Wed, 19:31 | AI agent answered delivery and shipping; Theo, the card | Answered |
| Wed, 19:58 | Order DC-10458, $58.00 with a wick trimmer, free shipping | Recovered |
| Fri 2 Oct, 19:12 | Email 3 | Not sent: stop rule |
Recovery log row and the fix
| Likely reason | Extra costs: $7.95 shipping on a $46.00 cart |
| Recovered after | Email 2 |
| Discount given | $0.00: free shipping from $50 was already the rule |
| Chat | Tag Pre-purchase; Theo claimed the handover at 19:40 |
| Checkout fix | Free-shipping bar on the cart page from Thursday 1 October |
Week of 28 September to 4 October, Excel Summary
| Abandoned carts | 16, of which 14 may be emailed |
| Emails sent | 33 |
| Recovered orders | 4 of 16 carts, 25% |
| Recovered revenue | $288.00 |
| Discount cost | $7.95, one free-shipping code |
| Top reason | Extra costs, 5 of 16 carts |
Why carts are abandoned
Why shoppers abandon carts, in Baymard's numbers
Most carts are never finished. Baymard Institute averaged 50 studies of online shopping cart abandonment and found a rate of 70.22%. Part of that cannot be fixed: in Baymard's survey, 42% of US online shoppers have abandoned a cart because they were 'just browsing / not ready to buy'1.
The rest leave for reasons you can answer. Leaving browsers aside, 40% named extra costs too high (shipping, tax, fees), 20% delivery that was too slow, 19% not trusting the site with their card details, 18% being asked to create an account, 13% the returns policy and 12% not seeing the total cost up front1. Each email 2 here answers one of them.
Emails win back some carts; the checkout decides how many you lose. Baymard's testing finds that an ideal checkout can be as short as 12 to 14 form elements, while the average US checkout shows 23.481. Fix the cause of your top reason first.
70.22%
average cart abandonment rate across 50 studies
42%
of US online shoppers abandoned a cart while just browsing
40%
of the others left because of extra costs
Fix the cause
Cart abandonment recovery starts at checkout
Emails win back some carts; fixing the reason on the site keeps the next shopper. One row per reason in Baymard's survey, with the share of shoppers who named it.
| Reason and share | Fix it on the site | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Extra costs too high: 40%1. Total cost not shown up front: 12%1 | Shipping and tax estimates in the cart and on product pages, the amount left to free shipping, no new fee at the last step. | Tab 2 |
| Delivery too slow: 20%1 | The cut-off time and a delivery date range on the product page, and a faster option. | Tab 3 |
| Did not trust the site with card details: 19%1 | Your address, phone number and reviews, and a payment page shoppers know. | Tab 5 |
| Had to create an account: 18%1 | Guest checkout as the first option. | Tab 6 |
| Checkout too long or complicated: 17%1 | Fewer fields: only what you need to ship and charge. | None: fix the form |
| Website errors or crashes: 17%1 | A test order on a phone every week and after every app or theme change. | None: fix the error |
| Returns policy: 13%1 | Three lines next to the Buy button: window, return shipping, refund timing. | Tab 4 |
| Card declined or too few ways to pay: 10% and 9%1 | The wallets your customers use, shown in the cart. | Tab 5 |
Shares exclude the 42% who were just browsing1; shoppers could name more than one reason. Fix one cause a month, starting with the top reason in the Excel Summary.
When not to discount
When not to put a discount in an abandoned cart email
A code costs margin on orders that would have come back anyway. Five cases where it does not belong, and one where it does.
Not in email 1
A code in the first email teaches shoppers to leave and wait for it. Email 1 is a reminder and an answer.
Not for browsers
42% of US online shoppers have abandoned a cart while just browsing1. A code pays people who were not going to buy yet.
Not when price is not the reason
Delivery time, returns, trust or an account: a code answers none of them. Send the answer instead.
Not to the same shopper twice
One cart code per shopper in 90 days. Check the Excel log before you send one.
Never with fake urgency
The FTC lists false low-stock messages and countdown timers that reset as dark patterns4. Write 'only 3 left' only when it is true.
When a discount is fair
Email 3 only, extra costs was the reason and the cart is under your free-shipping threshold: free shipping as a single-use code from your store platform, valid 48 hours. Log its cost.
Email 3 lineFree standard shipping on this cart: use code by date and time.
Who you may email
Who you may send an abandoned cart email to
Not legal advice. A cart email asks someone to buy, so treat it as marketing email. The official rules, read at the source:
| Where the shopper is | The rule | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| United States | CAN-SPAM: an email is transactional only when it facilitates an already agreed-upon transaction, and an unfinished cart is not one. Commercial email needs an accurate sender and subject, an ad disclosure, your postal address and an opt-out honored within 10 business days. Each email that breaks the law can cost up to $53,0883. | Address and unsubscribe link in all 3 emails. Stop at the first 'stop'. |
| United Kingdom | Marketing email to individuals needs consent or the soft opt-in: you collected the email yourself while selling or negotiating a sale, you market only similar products, and you offered a clear opt-out when collecting it and in every message. Browsing is not negotiating5. | A clear opt-out or opt-in box next to the email field at checkout. An opt-out in a later email is too late5. |
| European Union | Email marketing needs prior consent. The exception covers contact details from customers in the context of a sale, for your own similar products, with a free, easy way to object when collected and in each message6. | A shopper who did not finish may not be a customer yet. Ask for consent with a checkbox at checkout, and check national rules. |
| All shoppers | No email address, no email. Shopify counts a checkout as abandoned only after the shopper gave an email, and you choose who gets the emails2. | Email only shoppers marked 'May we email: Yes'. |
Rules differ by country and change. Check the official sources below, or ask a lawyer, before you turn on cart emails.
Excel log
What is in the Excel cart recovery log
Three sheets: Cart log with the 16 carts from the example week, Summary, and Lists with the series timing and dropdowns. Shaded columns fill in by themselves. Works in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets.
| Column | What it does |
|---|---|
| Abandoned at, shopper, cart ID, cart value | One row per abandoned cart, from your store platform's report. |
| May we email, left at step, likely reason | Yes only if the shopper may be emailed. The reason picks email 2. |
| Email 1, 2 and 3 due Auto | Abandoned at plus 1, 24 and 72 hours, from the Lists sheet. No email 3 for Just browsing. |
| Email sent times, opted out | When each email went out; Yes if the shopper unsubscribed. |
| Emails sent Auto | The number of emails sent for the cart. |
| Order, order at, order value, discount given | From your store platform when the cart becomes an order. |
| Recovered after Auto | Before any email, Email 1, Email 2 or Email 3. |
| Status Auto | Recovered, Opted out, Do not email, Email due, Waiting, or Closed 7 days after the cart. |
The Summary sheet counts carts, emails sent, recovered orders, recovery rate, recovered revenue and discount cost, by reason, checkout step and email. In the sample week, 4 of 16 carts were recovered (25%), $288.00 came back and discounts cost $7.95. Top reason: Extra costs, 5 of 16 carts.
How to use
How to use these cart abandonment email examples
- 1
Check who you may email
A clear marketing box at checkout; cart emails only to shoppers who may be emailed.
- 2
Set the series
In your store platform or email tool: 1, 24 and 72 hours after the cart, stopping at the first order.
- 3
Write email 2 per reason
Copy tabs 2 to 7 and replace the brackets. One email 2 for everyone? Use tab 2.
- 4
Answer on the page
Put the AI agent on product and cart pages with the rules in tab 8.
- 5
Log and fix
Log carts every week and fix the cause of your top reason.
Set it up in CRMsoftware.pro
- My Bots > choose the bot > Basics tab: paste shipping rates, cut-off time, delivery ranges, return policy and payment methods into Knowledge Base, or use Import from Website. Paste the rules from tab 8 into Instructions.
- On Scale: Product Feeds > Add Feed, paste the URL of your Google Merchant Center XML feed, Import. The agent then knows prices, availability and features.
- Save Bot, then Try Bot with the 6 test questions. Put the widget on product and cart pages, and on checkout if your platform allows it.
- Questions the agent cannot answer arrive in Live Support as Awaiting agent: Claim the chat and answer. Settings > Conversation Tags > New tag 'Pre-purchase' counts these chats.
- On Growth: Settings > Saved Replies > New reply, Shortcut /shipping, Title, Reply body from tab 8, Share with team. Repeat for /discount.
AI chat and a basic knowledge base: Free, 3 users. Human handover and the unified inbox: Launch, $19 a month billed yearly for 8 users. Saved replies: Growth, $49. Product feed import: Scale, $99. The app does not track carts, send cart emails or create discount codes.
Monthly check, 20 minutes
- Recovery rate and discount cost on the Summary sheet.
- One checkout fix for the top reason.
- Handed-over chats: add the answers to the Knowledge Base.
- Address and unsubscribe link in every email; opt-outs honored.
FAQ
Questions about abandoned cart emails
What are good cart abandonment email examples?
Ones that answer why the shopper left. This page has an email 2 for six common reasons (extra costs, delivery time, returns, trust and payment, account creation, just browsing), plus a reminder and a last email.
What should an abandoned cart email say?
What is in the cart, a link back to it, one answer to the question that stopped the purchase and a way to ask more. In the US, commercial email also needs your postal address and an opt-out3.
When should you send an abandoned cart email?
Email 1 about 1 hour after the checkout is abandoned, email 2 after 24 hours and email 3 after 72 hours. Shopify, for example, counts a checkout as abandoned after more than ten minutes and lets you set the delay2.
How many abandoned cart emails should you send?
Three at most, stopping at the first order, reply or opt-out. Send two to someone who was just browsing, and no new series for the same shopper within 30 days.
Should an abandoned cart email include a discount code?
Usually not. Offer one only in email 3, only when extra costs were the reason and the cart is under your free-shipping threshold, as a single-use code. 42% of US online shoppers have abandoned a cart while just browsing1; a code pays them for nothing.
Is it legal to send abandoned cart emails?
Usually, if you follow the rules where the shopper is. In the US, CAN-SPAM requires an accurate sender and subject, an ad disclosure, your postal address and an opt-out honored within 10 business days3. In the UK and the EU, you need consent or the soft opt-in, with a clear opt-out when you collect the email56. Not legal advice.
Why do shoppers abandon their carts?
In Baymard's survey, 42% of US online shoppers have abandoned a cart while just browsing. Of the others, 40% left over extra costs, 20% over slow delivery, 19% did not trust the site with their card and 18% did not want an account1.
How do you measure cart abandonment recovery?
Recovery rate is recovered orders divided by abandoned carts. Log every cart, the emails sent, the order and any discount: the Excel log calculates the rate, recovered revenue and discount cost, by reason and by email.
Can CRMsoftware.pro send abandoned cart emails?
No. It does not track carts, send cart emails or create discount codes: your store platform or email tool does. Its AI agent answers shipping, delivery, returns and product questions on your pages 24/7 from your Knowledge Base, and hands the rest to a person in Live Support on Launch, $19 a month billed yearly.
Related templates
Free tools
Sources
- Average of 50 studies, reasons for abandonment from a survey of US online shoppers, checkout length (page last updated 22 September 2025), read 12 October 2026: Baymard Institute, 50 Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics 2026
- When a checkout counts as abandoned; Send to and Send after settings, read 12 October 2026: Shopify Help Center, Recovering abandoned checkouts
- US commercial email rules, transactional messages, opt-outs, penalties: Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business
- Drip pricing, false low-stock messages, countdown timers (staff report, September 2022): Federal Trade Commission, Bringing Dark Patterns to Light
- UK consent, soft opt-in, negotiations for a sale, read 12 October 2026: Information Commissioner's Office, How do we comply with the PECR electronic mail marketing rules?
- EU consent and the exception for customers (Article 13), consolidated text: EUR-Lex, Directive 2002/58/EC on privacy and electronic communications
- Plans and prices: CRMsoftware.pro pricing
Answer the question that stops the order, day and night.
Start free with 3 users, AI chat and a basic knowledge base. Launch, $19 a month billed yearly for 8 users, adds human handover and the unified inbox. Growth, $49 a month billed yearly for 20 users, adds saved replies.