How to Email Shoppers Who Leave a Cart on Shopify

Know which step the shopper left

A cart holds the items a shopper picked. At checkout, they enter their order details. A shopper can leave at either step.

You cannot email every person who adds an item. Your app needs an email address linked to that shopper. Whether they signed up for store emails also matters.

Example: Leo adds a blue lunch bag, then leaves. He signed up for store emails, so a reminder may help. An unknown visitor cannot get that same email.

If you still need signups, see our 10% off signup guide.

Put one app in charge

Start with myuser.ai cart follow-ups if you have little time. It uses products, visits, carts, and orders to plan messages. AI can choose designs, deals, timing, and email or text.

Connect Shopify, then check your email designs and app settings. Turn on the theme app embed to track store visits. Finish the email sender setup and choose which follow-ups can run.

Read how myuser.ai works before turning it on. Turn off matching reminders in any other email app. Two apps can otherwise send the same shopper similar notes.

Use Shopify’s template if you prefer

Shopify’s option lives in Shopify Messaging. Follow its setup guide:

1. Open Apps > Messaging in your Shopify admin.
2. Open Automations, then choose Create automation.
3. Choose Recover abandoned cart or Recover abandoned checkout.
4. Select Email, then open Edit email.
5. Check the note, who gets it, and the send time.

Choose cart for shoppers who left before checkout. Choose checkout for shoppers who started that step. Keep the default setting for people signed up for marketing emails.

Give the shopper one easy next step

Show the right item, photo, and a clear return button. Offer to help with questions about size. Skip false claims about low stock or saved items.

Here is a lunch bag email example:

Subject: Take another look at your blue lunch bag

Still thinking about the blue lunch bag you picked? Check the size and pockets, or finish your order.

Button: Back to my bag

Try a reminder first, with no discount. Try the myuser.ai email reviewer for help with your draft.

Check the email and return link

Email yourself a preview before turning it on. In Shopify Messaging, use Send test inside the editor. Read it on your phone and try each link.

A preview shows the email, but does not check each send rule. Also try a return link tied to your own cart. Does it show the right items and product choices? A homepage link does not take someone back to checkout.

Keep the sender name clear and include the unsubscribe link. Check that reminders stop when the shopper buys. Look in the app’s send records for skipped or failed sends.

Check what happens next

myuser.ai can send follow-ups without approval for each message. You can read and edit messages still waiting to go. See these controls in the myuser.ai demo.

If you pause automatic follow-ups, check the other send controls. Notes you send by hand and form follow-ups have separate controls.

Watch clicks, paid orders, and requests to stop emails. A linked order does not prove the email caused it. Fix bad links or repeat messages before sending more. Check your plan’s contact and message limits as you grow.

For more first steps, read our guide to your first sale.