Send automated abandoned cart emails to reach out to contacts who leave your website without completing their purchase and recover lost sales. These emails serve as a reminder and encourage customers to finalize their transactions.

Introduction to abandoned cart automations

An abandoned cart automation sends an email, or a series of emails, to contacts who add products to their cart but leave your website without completing their purchase.

Brevo uses its tracker to monitor when a contact abandons their cart. Once the contact is identified, they will enter the abandoned cart automation and receive a reminder email after a specific delay.

Expand the accordions below to view real examples of abandoned cart emails, what to include in them, and the best times to send these emails:

👀 Real examples of abandoned cart emails

Below are three examples of real abandoned cart emails and why they work:

🪥 Quip 👟 Vans 🛏️ Casper

Friendly copy: They don’t pressure shoppers to buy anything. Bonus item: They offer a free refill without compromising their prices. Clear CTA button: The button stands out because of the brand's color. Stylish design: Their visuals are on-brand. This Quip email example reminds customers of their unfinished virtual shopping trip and offers a bonus item. According to a study by Harris Interactive, free gifts can increase brand loyalty by up to 90%.

Vans' key strength is its product recommendations. The company shows popular items to reignite interest. Humorous email copy: Puns may not suit every brand's tone, but they are effective for Vans. Clean design: Their layout is striking, simple to navigate, and uses a consistent color scheme. Easily accessible CTA button: The CTA button is located at the top and is highly visible. However, a contrasting color could enhance its visibility.

This cart recovery email from Casper features a customer review as a secondary call-to-action. The email also includes: A product image and name to remind shoppers of what they were interested in. A CTA button that is easy to find and designed in brand colors to reinforce the brand image and create a cohesive design.

✍️ How to create an effective abandoned cart email?

👀 Write a catchy subject line

When it comes to email marketing, the subject line is crucial. It's the first thing your recipients see, so it's important to make it count. You could mention any discounts or free shipping in the subject line itself to entice them to click and complete their order.

🖱️ Include a clear call-to-action button

Make it easy for your customers to find their abandoned cart and follow through by including a clear call-to-action button in your email. For example, you could suggest that they:

Keep shopping Take another look Use your discount

Return to cart View my cart Finish checkout

😱 Instill a little fear of missing out (FOMO)

Subject lines that create a sense of scarcity and fear of missing out can effectively reduce cart abandonment. This could include a warning that a product may sell out quickly, a limited-time discount, or other similar tactics.

🙋 Personalize each cart abandonment email

Abandoned cart emails should be personalized to the customer you're sending them to by including the items left in their cart and addressing them by name, just as if you were assisting them in person. This can be done using Brevo's Template Language.

🚚 Offer free shipping

Offering free shipping for purchases above a certain amount can be an effective strategy to encourage customers to complete their transactions. Not only does this create an incentive for customers to add more items to their cart, but it also provides a sense of satisfaction and value to the customer, knowing that they are receiving something extra with their purchase. 

📬 What is the best time to send abandoned cart emails?

The abandoned cart email can be part of a series of emails triggered by specific rules and pre-selected events. Typically, an abandoned cart email series consists of the following:

1. The first abandoned cart email is sent 1 to 2 hours after cart abandonment is detected. It can be a friendly reminder that shows the abandoned items in the customer's cart and encourages them to return.
2. The second email is typically sent 24 hours after the cart is abandoned, reminding customers that items are going fast and creating a sense of urgency.
3. Finally, a third email can be sent three days after detecting an abandoned shopping cart. This is the perfect time to offer a coupon code or limited-time discount.

Before you start

Make sure you have installed the Brevo tracker on your website and set up our three purchase events (cart_updated, cart_deleted, order_completed).

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article What is the Brevo tracker and how to install it?.

Select the abandoned cart automation

Brevo offers a pre-configured abandoned cart automation. To select it:

1. Go to Automations.
2. Click Create an automation.
3. Select the Abandoned cart automation.
4. Click Create automation.

You will now be automatically guided through a series of three steps to create your abandoned cart automation.

Step 1/3: Let contacts enter the automation when they add a product to their cart

The trigger for the abandoned cart automation is called "Cart updated". This trigger allows contacts to enter the automation as soon as they add a product to their cart.

1. (Optional) Refine the "Cart updated" trigger by applying Event filters. For example, you could choose to start the automation only if the contact's cart total exceeds $10.

   1. Next to Event filters, check Add filter.
      

   2. Click Add filters and choose the conditions you want to apply to refine the trigger. For this example, we selected the condition Shopping cart total > is greater than > 10.

   3. Click Add filters.
      

2. (Optional) Restrict your automation to contacts who meet specific criteria by applying Contact filters. This gives you more control over which contacts can enter the automation. For example, since abandoned cart emails are considered marketing emails, you can ensure that only contacts who have subscribed to receive marketing emails can enter the automation.

   1. Next to Contact filters, check Add filter.
      

   2. Click Add filters and choose the conditions you want to apply to control which contacts can enter the automation. For this example, we selected the condition Email > Email campaigns subscriptions > Subscribed.

   3. Click Add filters.
      
3. Click Next.

Step 2/3: Add a delay before sending the abandoned cart email

After a contact enters the automation, they will go through a waiting period before receiving the abandoned cart email. Typically, the first abandoned cart email is sent 1 to 2 hours after the cart abandonment is detected.

1. Select the delay period you want contacts to wait between adding their last product to their cart and when the abandoned cart email is sent.
   
2. Click Next.

Step 3/3: Send the abandoned cart email

If the contact still hasn't completed their purchase after the delay, we'll send them an abandoned cart email. Typically, this email includes details about the products left in the cart and may offer discounts or incentives.

Edit the default email template

The default abandoned cart email template includes all the essential elements to help you recover lost sales. To view what the default email template looks like, expand the following accordion:

🛒 Default abandoned cart email template

Logo Personalized greeting with the contact's first name Text area Customizable space to add your own messaging or promotional content. Dynamic cart link A button that redirects to the abandoned cart for easy checkout. Dynamic content block A block that displays details about the products left in the cart, such as product names, images, and prices. ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated section Configure the Dynamic content block. Footer

To edit the default email template:

1. Under the email preview, click Edit.
   
2. Customize the email template to suit your needs. We recommend you update the text area with your own content and make sure the footer displays your company information. You can also add any additional content or blocks you want to include in your email layout.

(Optional) Personalize the Dynamic content block

The default abandoned cart email template includes a Dynamic content block that personalizes each email with a list of items left in the recipient’s cart. This block contains variables that are dynamically replaced when the email is sent to display the following details about each item:

➡️ To learn how to modify the data source or update the default variables in the Dynamic content block, check our dedicated article Display a personalized list of items in automated emails (Abandoned cart, Order confirmation).

Preview and test the abandoned cart email template

After customizing your email template, you can preview and test it using JSON data or information from a previous abandoned cart event. This ensures that the purchased products left in the cart are displayed correctly and allows you to review the overall email design."

1. 1. Click Preview & test.
   2. Select which option you want to use to preview your email:
      
      Preview as recipient [Advanced] Preview event

      1. Select Preview as recipient.
      2. Select a contact.
      3. Activate the Add transactional JSON data.
      4. Enter the JSON data to test the email template. This data will replace the variables, allowing you to preview the template with the products left in the cart.
      5. Once you're done testing the email template, close the window.

      1. Select Preview event.
      2. Select Ecommerce Events > cart_updated.
      3. Select the previous event you want to use to test the email template. The data from this event will replace the variables, allowing you to preview the template with the provided information.
         
      4. Once you're done testing the email template, close the window.

Configure the settings of your email template

Next, you'll configure the sender details, subject line, and other settings for your abandoned cart email template. These settings will be reused every time the email is sent.

1. In the top bar of the email editor, click Use this design in automation to save your email template and return to the automation editor.
2. Under the What event data to display? section, we've already selected the latest instance of the "Cart updated" event. This ensures that the most recent data from this event will be used to personalize the abandoned cart email, showing the products from the contact's cart.
   
3. Under the Subject section, configure your subject line and preview text:
   1. In the Subject line field, update the default subject line of your email. 
      
      ❗️ Important

      To include fallback text when a contact's first name is unknown, update the variable {{contact.FIRSTNAME | default: ''}} with a default value, such as {{contact.FIRSTNAME | default: 'there'}}. This ensures the subject line displays "there" instead of leaving an empty space.
   2. In the Preview text field, enter the preview text of your email.
      
4. Under the Sender section, configure your sender details. Make sure your recipients can easily recognize your business by using a sender email address and name associated with your business.
   1. From the Email address dropdown, select a sender from your existing ones or create a new one.
   2. By default, the sender name in the Sender's name field is the one linked to the sender email address you selected above. You can override it by entering another name in the Sender's name field.
      
5. Under the Additional settings section, click Edit settings to configure additional settings for your email template. Expand the following accordions to view the available settings:
   🛑 Frequency cap

   ❗️ Important

   The frequency cap feature is only available on an Enterprise plan. For more information, check our website or get in touch with our Sales team.

   You can include your abandoned cart email in your frequency cap if you want to avoid overwhelming your contacts with too many emails. ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Limit your marketing pressure with sending cadence (Frequency cap and Email overload prevention).

   ⏲️ Email sending time

   Activate this option to choose when to send your automated abandoned cart email. You can choose to send it based on:

   

   • A custom timeframe (only during certain days and hours of the week), or
   • At the best time calculated by Brevo to maximize the open rate by delivering your emails at the optimal time for each recipient over a 24-hour period.

   💡 Good to know

   If you choose to schedule the sending of your abandoned cart email, the delay you added at Step 2/3: Add a delay before sending the abandoned cart email might not be observed.

   📫 Email copy

   Activate this option to send a copy of your email to a designated recipient each time a contact receives it.

   Both CC (Carbon Copy) and BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) options allow you to send a copy of your abandoned cart email. The main difference is that CC recipients are visible to others, while BCC recipients are not.

   📨 Sending and tracking

   Use a different Reply-to address

   By default, the Reply-to address is the same as the sender’s. Activate this option to override it by entering another email address in the field.

   Activate Google Analytics tracking

   Activate this option to track your email in Google Analytics.

   You can specify a custom UTM name, such as the name of your automation, or use the name of your email template by default. You can also track the ID of your email. ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Integrate Google Analytics with your Brevo account.

   Add a tag

   You can use descriptive tags to find your email more easily. For example, you could tag your email with the "ecommerce_automation" tag.

   Add an attachment

   Activate this option to add an attachment to your email. You can add one file with a limit of 5MB.

   💡 Good to know

   Your file name should only contain alphanumeric characters.

   📄 Subscription

   Use an update profile form

   Activate this option to select an existing update profile form to add to the footer of your email or create a new one. ➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Update your contacts details and preferences (Update Profile form).

Activate the automation

Once everything is set up, you can activate the abandoned cart automation:

1. In the top bar of the automation editor, click Activate automation.

2. The following audience settings are already configured for the abandoned cart automation:
   

   1. Re-entry after exit: Contacts will re-enter the automation if they exit it once and abandon their cart again.

   2. Exit conditions: Contacts will exit the automation if:
      • They complete their purchase.
      • They delete an item from their cart.
   3. Restart conditions: Contacts will restart the automation if they add an item to their cart again.
3. Click Activate automation.

Test the abandoned cart automation

To ensure that your automation works well and that the email sent includes the personalized list of abandoned items, it is recommended that you test it yourself. For the abandoned cart automation, here is a real test scenario you can perform:

1. Create or log into an account on your website.
2. Add a product to your cart.
3. Abandon your cart and wait for the delay you set at Step 3: Add a delay before sending the abandoned cart email.
4. Test the remaining steps by updating, removing, and purchasing products from your cart.

This should trigger the automation and give you an accurate sense of its functionality.

🤔 Have a question?

If you have a question, feel free to contact our support team by creating a ticket from your account. If you don't have an account yet, you can contact us here.

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