Abandoned Cart Email Examples for Shopify

About 70% of online carts are abandoned, and a well-built email flow brings a share of those shoppers back. This guide gives five example emails for a Shopify store, the timing to send them, and the 2026 benchmarks to measure them against.

How well do abandoned cart emails perform?

Abandoned cart emails are among the highest-earning automated emails a store can send. Klaviyo's 2026 benchmarks, across more than 110,000 customers, put abandoned cart emails at $6.77 revenue per recipient. The top 10% of brands earn $13.70. SMS abandoned cart flows average $4.48.

Two sets of Klaviyo figures circulate. The 2026 benchmarks report revenue per recipient; the open and placed order rates come from an earlier Klaviyo benchmark. Compare your flow against the same set each time.

When should you send abandoned cart emails?

Send the first email about an hour after the shopper leaves, and the second around 24 hours later. Send the third 48 to 72 hours after abandonment. Three emails recover far more than one: Klaviyo found three-email sequences produced $24.9 million in revenue, against $3.8 million from single emails.

• Email 1, about 1 hour: a simple reminder.
• Email 2, about 24 hours: answer doubts with reviews, shipping and returns.
• Email 3, 48 to 72 hours: last chance, with an offer only if your margins allow.

Stop the flow as soon as the shopper buys, so nobody gets a reminder after ordering.

What are some good examples of abandoned cart emails?

These five examples follow the three-email flow, plus two optional variations. Use the structure, then write in your own brand voice.

 

Example 1: The simple reminder (about 1 hour)

Why it works: one product, one button, no discount. Many shoppers simply got distracted.

Example 2: The doubt-answering email (about 24 hours)

Why it works: it answers the questions that stop people buying: is it good, what does it cost, and what if it's wrong.

Example 3: The last chance (48 to 72 hours)

Why it works: a real deadline and a modest offer, saved for shoppers the first two emails didn't convert.

Example 4: The high-value cart (variation)

Why it works: for expensive items, a human offer of help often beats a discount.

Example 5: The SMS reminder (optional)

Why it works: short, personal and sent only to shoppers who've agreed to receive texts.

What makes a good abandoned cart email?

The best abandoned cart emails show the exact product left behind and link straight back to the cart. They also answer the doubt that caused the shopper to leave. They're short, mobile-friendly and personal. Discounts help in the last email, but leading with one trains shoppers to abandon carts on purpose.

• Show the product, with its image, name and variant.
• One clear button back to the saved cart.
• Answer doubts: reviews, shipping costs and returns.
• Write subject lines like a person, not a promotion.
• Design for phones first, since many shoppers read email on their phones.

Should abandoned cart emails include a discount?

Usually not in the first email. Many shoppers just got distracted, so a reminder recovers them at full price. Save any discount for the last email and keep it modest. If repeat shoppers start abandoning carts to wait for codes, limit offers to first-time customers.

How do you set up abandoned cart emails on Shopify?

Shopify's marketing automations include abandoned cart, abandoned checkout and abandoned product browse emails you can turn on. For more control, most growing stores connect Klaviyo or a similar platform. That adds several emails, splits by cart value, and SMS.

1. Turn on Shopify's abandoned cart and checkout automations, or connect your email platform.
2. Build three emails with the timing above.
3. Add a split for high-value carts or first-time shoppers.
4. Exclude anyone who has ordered, so the flow stops at purchase.
5. Track placed order rate and revenue per recipient every month.

Why do shoppers abandon carts in the first place?

Unexpected extra costs are the top reason, followed by slow delivery and forced account creation, according to Baymard Institute's research. Baymard puts the average cart abandonment rate at 70.22%. Emails recover some of those sales, but fixing the cause recovers more.

See our guide to ecommerce trust signals for checkout fixes, backed by Baymard's data.

How we build retention flows

Solo Media Group builds Shopify stores and the email flows that support them, with a Klaviyo specialist on the team. For WOODS by Jordyn, we built a custom Shopify theme with Klaviyo sign-up flows and product feeds, and traffic rose 85% month over month after launch. WOODS case study

Abandoned cart email FAQs