Abandoned Checkout vs Abandoned Cart vs Browse Abandonment

Abandoned checkout vs abandoned cart comes down to how far the shopper got. An abandoned checkout email goes to someone who reached checkout, entered their email and didn't pay. An abandoned cart email goes to someone who added a product to their cart but never started checkout. Browse abandonment comes earlier still: they looked at a product and left.

The three need different data. Checkout abandonment comes from Shopify's checkout records, so it works with nothing installed. Cart and browse abandonment come from your storefront, through a pixel that recognizes shoppers you already know. This guide explains each one and shows how to run all three in Audienceful, the email platform we make for Shopify stores, without a shopper getting three emails about the same pair of shoes. For the full set of store automations, see Shopify email flows.

The three types of cart abandonment at a glance

Abandoned checkout

A shopper fills their cart, clicks checkout, types their email and stops. Maybe the shipping cost surprised them, maybe the phone rang. Because they typed an email on Shopify's checkout, Shopify has a record of it, with the line items and the total.

That's all an abandoned checkout flow needs. In Audienceful, the trigger reads Shopify's checkout data directly: no pixel, no theme change. A checkout counts as abandoned once it has gone about four hours without an order.

The Abandoned checkout recovery template sends three emails over about two days: a reminder, then a 10% code, then a last chance. Its goal, "completed the purchase", ends the flow the moment they buy. Our guide to the Shopify abandoned cart email covers the timing and copy in detail.

Abandoned cart (added to cart, but no checkout)

Many shoppers never reach checkout. They add a product, keep browsing, and close the tab. Shopify's checkout data has nothing on them, because they never typed an email on the checkout page.

This is where an "added to cart but no checkout" email comes in. The signal comes from the storefront: when a shopper adds to cart, Audienceful's pixel records it. To start a flow, Audienceful needs to know who the shopper is, so the event counts for people it recognizes, such as someone who arrived by clicking one of your emails or who signed up through one of your forms.

The Added to cart, never checked out template waits two hours and sends a nudge with a button back to the cart. A day later it checks whether they've bought in the last two days. Only shoppers who still haven't get the second email, which offers free shipping today.

Browse abandonment

Browse abandonment starts even earlier: a known shopper views a product page and leaves without adding anything. The intent is lighter, so the email should be too: a reminder of what they looked at, answers to common questions, and maybe what other customers say. Save discounts for later stages.

It uses the same storefront pixel as the cart flow. The Browse abandonment template sends four hours after the view, then a second email a day later. Our Shopify browse abandonment email guide covers setup and examples.

Why storefront data catches shoppers Shopify's checkout email misses

Shopify's own abandoned checkout email, like any checkout-based flow, can only reach a shopper who typed an email at checkout. Everyone who stopped earlier (on a product page, or with a full cart) is out of reach.

Those shoppers are worth reaching. Your known shoppers come back through email links and forms all the time, look around, add things and leave. Storefront data turns those visits into a trigger. With the Audienceful app embed on, a subscriber who clicks your newsletter, adds a candle to the cart and wanders off can get a "your cart's waiting" email two hours later, even though they never saw a checkout page.

Shopify Messaging also has templates for abandoned carts and product browsing, which send to marketing subscribers by default. In Audienceful, all three flows sit in one place, with the same editor, the same Product List block and the same revenue reporting, so you can see which stage earns most.

How to run all three without double-emailing

A shopper can trip all three triggers in one visit: view, add to cart, start checkout, leave. Without some care, they get three sets of emails. Here's how to keep it to the one that matters:

1. Give every flow a purchase goal. The checkout template already ends on "completed the purchase". Add a "placed an order" goal to the browse and cart flows in their settings, so a purchase ends all three at once.
2. Keep the cart flow's purchase check. The added-to-cart template only sends its second email if there's been no purchase in the last two days. Leave that branch in place.
3. Let later stages take over. In the browse flow, add a condition before the second email: only continue if the shopper hasn't added to cart in the last day. Cart-adders then hear from the cart flow instead.
4. Accept a small overlap at the cart stage. A shopper who adds to cart and then leaves checkout can get the cart flow's first email at two hours and the checkout reminder a few hours later. Both point at the same cart, and the purchase goals end both flows as soon as they buy.
5. Save incentives for the deepest stage. Browse sends no code. The cart flow offers free shipping. Checkout offers 10%. A shopper never gets a better deal for doing less.

Conditions in Audienceful can check Shopify purchases, carts, product views and total spend, each with a time window, so you can tune these rules to your store.

Set it up in Audienceful

1. Install Audienceful from the Shopify App Store. Your account is created from your store and the plan is billed on your Shopify invoice. Existing users connect from the Integrations tab (how to connect).
2. Switch on abandoned checkout first. Apply the template from the Shopify automation templates, edit the copy and switch it on. It needs nothing in your theme.
3. Switch on the app embed. On the Shopify integration page, click Enable in theme, toggle on Audienceful JavaScript in your theme editor's App embeds, and save. The page shows Script installed once it's live.
4. Add the cart and browse flows. Apply both templates, add the purchase goals and conditions above, and add a Product List block set to Dynamic so each email shows the shopper's own product.
5. Switch them on. Templates arrive paused, so nothing sends until you do.

The free plan runs one automation (start with abandoned checkout). Essentials runs three, enough for all three stages, and Growth is unlimited.

Audienceful is free up to 1,000 contacts, then paid plans start at $32/month billed yearly ($37.50 monthly) for 3,000 contacts. Install it on your Shopify store and run all three abandonment flows from one place.

FAQs

What's the difference between abandoned cart and abandoned checkout?

An abandoned cart means a shopper added products but never started checkout. An abandoned checkout means they reached checkout, entered their email and didn't pay. The checkout stage shows stronger intent and comes with Shopify's own data.

How do I email shoppers who added to cart but didn't check out?

You need storefront tracking, because Shopify's checkout data doesn't include them. In Audienceful, switch on the app embed and apply the Added to cart, never checked out template. It reaches shoppers Audienceful recognizes, such as people who clicked one of your emails.

Do I need a pixel for abandoned checkout emails?

No. Abandoned checkout comes from Shopify's checkout data. Only browse and cart abandonment need the Audienceful app embed in your theme.

Will shoppers get emails from all three flows?

Not if you set them up as above. Purchase goals end every flow when they buy, and conditions hand shoppers from the browse flow to the cart flow as they move closer to checkout.

Sources

• Shopify Help Center: Recovering abandoned checkouts
• Shopify Help Center: Creating marketing automations in Shopify Messaging