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 very common in e-commerce, and plenty of shoppers who start a checkout never finish it. The good news: you can recover some of those sales.

Quick summary

WooCommerce doesn't track abandoned carts or send a series of recovery emails on its own. Since WooCommerce 11.0 it does include an experimental recovery email, switched off by default, that sends one reminder about an unpaid order. For a proper sequence of follow-up emails you need a plugin or extension, such as AutomateWoo, Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce (from the makers of CartFlows), Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce, or Klaviyo. These capture the shopper's email address at checkout 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 typical 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 time you set (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.

WooCommerce's built-in option works differently. It only covers orders left unpaid at checkout, and it sends a single email. To try it, go to WooCommerce → Settings → Advanced → Features, select Abandoned cart recovery under Experimental features, and save. Then set up the email at WooCommerce → Settings → Emails → Abandoned cart recovery. You can send the reminder by hand from an eligible order, or turn on Send automatically so it goes out two hours after a checkout is left in Pending payment. Each email includes an unsubscribe link. Because the feature is experimental, test it before using it on a live store.

You can only email people who entered their email

A recovery plugin can only email shoppers whose email address it already has: usually logged-in customers, or guests who typed their email into the checkout form before leaving. Some plugins can also pick up a guest's email from other forms on your site. Guests who left before giving an email address cannot be emailed.

Recommended abandoned cart plugins

Plugin	Notes
AutomateWoo (by Woo)	Paid WooCommerce.com extension for marketing automation. Its abandoned cart workflow sends reminder emails at intervals you choose, and it can capture guest email addresses during checkout.
Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce (by Brainstorm Force, the makers of CartFlows)	Free plugin. Captures the email address as soon as it's entered at checkout and sends a timed series of recovery emails. It pairs with CartFlows, the same company's checkout and sales funnel builder.
Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce (by Tyche Softwares)	Free plugin, with a paid Pro version. Sends scheduled reminder emails from editable templates and reports on recovered carts.
Klaviyo	Email marketing platform. The Klaviyo for WooCommerce extension sends checkout activity to Klaviyo so you can run abandoned cart emails there. Best for stores that also do email newsletters and segmentation.

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.

One simple sequence to start with:

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.

WooCommerce's built-in recovery email can only send one message per order, so a sequence like this needs a plugin.

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

Recovery rates vary a lot from store to store, so compare your own numbers over time rather than against a general benchmark.

Common questions

Is sending abandoned cart emails legal?

It depends on where you and your customers are. Rules on marketing emails differ from country to country, so check the rules that apply where you sell. Give every email a working unsubscribe link (WooCommerce's built-in recovery email includes one), and check whether your recovery plugin has consent settings; some, such as Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce, include GDPR options. This is general information, not legal advice. Consult a legal professional if you're unsure about your jurisdiction.

How do I know if my abandoned cart plugin is working?

Recovery plugins usually include a report or list of the carts they've captured. Carts appear there once the waiting time set in the plugin has passed. If the list stays empty after shoppers have left checkout, the plugin may not be capturing sessions properly — contact us to check. If you use WooCommerce's built-in email, open the order: WooCommerce adds an order note when it sends a recovery email.

Can I see abandoned carts from guest shoppers?

Only if the guest entered their email before leaving. Without an email, there is no way to contact them — but the plugin may still record the anonymous cart for your statistics.

Need a hand?

If you're stuck, email support@chykalophia.com and we'll help. Include your website address and a screenshot if you can.