How to Build an Abandoned Cart Email Flow for Shopify

Roughly 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned before checkout. An abandoned cart email flow (also called an abandoned checkout flow) automatically follows up with those shoppers and reminds them to finish buying. It's consistently the single highest-revenue automation an ecommerce store can run.

This guide shows you how to build one for your Shopify store in Audienceful, using our native Shopify trigger. No code, no third-party middleware, and no pixel required.

What you'll need

• A Shopify integration connected to your Audienceful workspace.
• One to three short emails (we'll cover what to say in each).

How the abandoned cart flow works

Audienceful marks a checkout as abandoned when a shopper reaches checkout and enters their email, but doesn't complete payment. That shopper enters your automation and moves through a short, escalating sequence:

1. A friendly reminder that their cart is still saved.
2. A gentle incentive (like 10% off) if they still haven't returned.
3. A final urgency nudge before the cart "expires."

Because the flow is repeatable, it re-arms every time a shopper abandons, so a returning customer who bails again later still gets recovered. And because it has a built-in conversion goal ("completed the purchase"), anyone who buys is automatically removed from the sequence and their revenue is attributed back to the flow, so you can see exactly how much it earns.

Step 1: Connect Shopify

If you haven't already, connect your store from the Integrations tab. Once Shopify is connected, the abandoned checkout trigger becomes available in the automation builder.

Step 2: Write your recovery emails

Head to the content tab and create up to three drafts. Here's the job of each email in the sequence:

• Email 1: the reminder. Keep it warm and low-friction. Remind them their cart is saved and make returning a one-click action. Example subject: "You left something behind 🛒"
• Email 2: the incentive. If they still haven't bought, add a reason to act now. A small discount code works well. Example subject: "Still thinking it over? Here's 10% off"
• Email 3: the urgency nudge. Last call. Lean on scarcity ("your cart's about to expire," "popular items sell out"). Example subject: "Last chance: your cart's about to expire"

Use the {{first_name}} merge tag to personalize each one.

Step 3: Build the automation

Go to the Automations tab and click New Automation, then set it up like this:

1. Trigger: choose Shopify event → Abandoned checkout.
2. Wait 1 hour, then send Email 1. (A short delay feels helpful rather than pushy.)
3. Wait ~23 hours, then send Email 2 with your discount code.
4. Wait 1 day, then send Email 3, the final nudge.
5. Optionally, add a tag like abandoned-checkout at the end so you can segment shoppers who went through the flow.

Add each step by clicking the + icon between actions. When you're happy with it, pick your email theme and click Run.

Step 4: Set a conversion goal (recommended)

Open the automation's settings (the gear icon) and add a goal for a completed purchase within 7 days. Two things happen:

• Anyone who buys exits the flow immediately, so you never nag a customer who already converted.
• The purchase is attributed to the automation, so your analytics show the real revenue this flow is generating.

Best practices

• Send the first email fast. Intent decays quickly, so within the first hour is ideal.
• Don't lead with a discount. Give shoppers a reason to come back before you train them to wait for a coupon. Reserve the discount for email 2 or 3.
• Keep it to 2–3 emails. Enough to recover the sale, not so many that you generate spam complaints.
• Answer objections. Shipping costs, returns policy, and sizing questions are common reasons people stall, so address them in the copy.

Start from a template

The fastest way to launch is to duplicate our ready-made template. It arrives with all three emails written, the timing set, and the conversion goal configured:

→ Abandoned cart recovery template

You can also browse the full automation template gallery for more ecommerce and Stripe flows.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between an abandoned cart and abandoned checkout flow? They're used interchangeably. In Shopify terms, this flow triggers on an abandoned checkout: a shopper who reached the checkout page and entered their email but didn't pay. If you also want to reach shoppers who added an item but never started checkout, build an add-to-cart abandonment flow.

Do I need a Shopify plan or app to use this? You just need to connect your Shopify store to Audienceful. There's no separate app to install and no storefront pixel required for abandoned checkout.

How many emails should an abandoned cart flow have? Two to three is the sweet spot for most stores: a reminder, an incentive, and a final urgency nudge.