How to set up an abandoned cart email

Abandoned cart emails are typically the highest-ROI automation an ecommerce store runs — industry recovery rates land between 10 and 30 percent of triggered emails. This guide walks through setting up a standard three-email sequence using Webanto Email Marketing with a connected Shopify or WooCommerce store.

1. 1

   Confirm cart events are being captured

   Open your store integration in Webanto and verify cart events appear in the activity feed. Add a test product to a cart on your store, wait 60 seconds, and confirm the event arrives. If it doesn't, re-check the integration credentials and webhook configuration.

2. 2

   Create the workflow

   In Webanto, go to Email > Automations > New workflow. Name it 'Abandoned cart recovery' and set the trigger to 'Cart abandoned' with a wait of 1 hour after the last cart activity.

3. 3

   Write email 1 — the reminder

   First email at 1-4 hours after abandonment. Keep it short and helpful, not pushy. Subject: 'You left something behind'. Body: image of the cart items, a one-line acknowledgement, and a single CTA to return to checkout. No discount in this message.

4. 4

   Add a 24-hour delay step

   Insert a wait step of 24 hours between email 1 and email 2. The workflow engine holds the enrollment durably, so a deploy or worker restart during the delay won't drop the contact.

5. 5

   Write email 2 — the soft follow-up

   Send 24-28 hours after abandonment. Subject: 'Still thinking it over?'. Body: same cart preview, a paragraph addressing common objections (shipping, returns), and the same checkout CTA.

6. 6

   Add a 48-hour delay and write email 3 — the incentive

   Send 2-3 days after abandonment. Subject: '10% off if you complete your order today'. Discount expires in 24 hours. This is the only message with a discount — earlier discounting trains repeat customers to abandon on purpose.

7. 7

   Exit condition: completed purchase

   Add an exit branch: 'If order placed, exit workflow'. This prevents sending the next email in the sequence to a customer who has already converted.

8. 8

   Send yourself through the workflow as a test

   Abandon a test cart on your own store using a personal email address. Confirm all three emails arrive in the right order at the right times, with the correct product images and links. Activate the workflow when the test passes.