Understanding abandoned carts
What abandoned carts are in WooCommerce, why they happen, and how to recover lost sales with abandoned cart emails.
An abandoned cart is when a customer adds items to their cart but leaves before completing their purchase. This is extremely common in e-commerce — industry data consistently shows that more than 70% of carts are abandoned on average. The good news: you can recover some of those sales.
Quick summary
WooCommerce does not track abandoned carts or send recovery emails by default — you need a plugin. Popular options include CartFlows, Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce, or Klaviyo. These plugins capture incomplete checkout sessions and send timed follow-up emails to bring customers back.
Why customers abandon carts
Understanding why customers leave helps you reduce abandonment at the source.
| Reason | How to address it |
|---|---|
| Unexpected shipping costs | Show shipping costs earlier; offer free shipping over a threshold |
| Forced account creation | Enable guest checkout |
| Complicated checkout | Simplify the checkout form |
| Slow page load | Improve site performance |
| Just browsing / not ready to buy | This is recoverable with a follow-up email |
| Payment method not available | Offer more options (cards, PayPal) |
| Security concerns | Add trust badges and SSL indicators |
How abandoned cart recovery works
A recovery plugin:
- Captures the customer's email address and cart contents as they fill in the checkout form.
- If the purchase isn't completed within a set time (e.g., 1 hour), it records this as an abandoned cart.
- It sends one or more automated emails reminding the customer of what they left behind.
- If the customer clicks through and completes the purchase, it's counted as a recovery.
You can only email people who entered their email
The plugin can only send recovery emails to customers who entered their email address on the checkout page before leaving. Guests who didn't get that far cannot be emailed.
Recommended abandoned cart plugins
| Plugin | Notes |
|---|---|
| Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce (by Tyche Softwares) | Free version available. Sends recovery emails with a customizable sequence. |
| CartFlows | Full funnel builder with abandoned cart recovery. Good for advanced stores. |
| Klaviyo | Email marketing platform with powerful WooCommerce integration. Best for stores that also do email newsletters and segmentation. |
| WooCommerce Follow-Ups | Official WooCommerce extension for email automation. |
Ask us which is the best fit for your store and we'll set it up.
What makes a good recovery email
A recovery email should:
- Remind the customer what they left behind (include product names and images).
- Create gentle urgency without being pushy.
- Offer a clear, easy link to return and complete the purchase.
- Optionally include a small discount (e.g., 10% off) to push hesitant buyers over the line.
A typical sequence:
- Email 1 (1 hour after abandonment): Friendly reminder — "You left something behind."
- Email 2 (24 hours later): Slightly stronger — "Your cart is expiring."
- Email 3 (72 hours later): Final nudge — optional small discount.
Measuring recovery success
Your abandoned cart plugin should show you:
- Number of abandoned carts tracked
- Number recovered (customer returned and purchased)
- Recovery rate (% of abandoned carts that became orders)
- Revenue recovered
A 5–15% recovery rate is considered good for most stores.
Common questions
Related guides
- Understanding the checkout experience
- Creating coupons & discounts
- Reports and analytics
- Store emails to customers explained
Need a hand?