What is cart recovery in Shopify?

The strategies and tools that convert abandoned checkouts back into completed orders.

How many recovery emails should I send?

A typical sequence is three: within an hour, at 24 hours, and a final incentive at 48 hours.

Does SMS help with cart recovery?

Yes — SMS via Klaviyo or Privy reaches high-intent shoppers on mobile where email is often missed.

What's a good cart recovery rate?

A well-timed, personalized recovery flow typically recovers 10–15% of abandoned carts.

Glossary Term

C

Cart Recovery

Q: How does Shopify track abandoned carts?

A checkout is logged as abandoned when a customer enters their email or phone but doesn't complete the purchase.

The strategies and tools that turn abandoned checkouts back into completed orders.

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Key Takeaways
Cart Recovery converts abandoned checkouts back into completed orders.
Shopify logs abandoned checkouts when an email or phone is entered but the order isn't placed.
Tools: built-in recovery emails, SMS via apps, manual draft-order invoices, and retargeting ads.
A timed, incentivized recovery flow typically recovers 10–15% of lost sales.
It's the highest-ROI work in email marketing and a core CRO lever.

Overview

Cart Recovery is the set of strategies and tools used to convert abandoned checkouts back into completed orders. In Shopify it spans the built-in abandoned checkout emails, SMS via apps, manual draft orders sent as invoices, and retargeting ads.

Shopify logs a checkout as abandoned when a customer enters their email or phone but doesn't complete the purchase. Those records power automated recovery emails (under Settings > Notifications) and are the seed for SMS, win-back, and retargeting flows in apps like Klaviyo and Privy.

Recovery is a channel, not a one-off fix. Brands that treat it systematically — timed emails, a small incentive, SMS for high-intent shoppers, and retargeting for the rest — typically recover 10–15% of lost sales. It's the highest-ROI work in email marketing and a core lever in conversion rate optimization.

1

Why Cart Recovery Matters for Shopify Merchants

1
Recover Lost Revenue
Turn the ~70% of abandoned carts into a recoverable revenue channel.
2
Low Cost, High ROI
Recovery emails and SMS cost little and return far more than most acquisition channels.
3
Behavior-Based
Messages trigger on what the shopper did, so they feel personal, not spammy.
4
Multi-Channel
Email, SMS, and retargeting each reach shoppers at a different intent level.
5
Compounds With CRO
Every checkout friction you remove means fewer carts to recover later.

2

Building a Cart Recovery Flow That Works

1
Enable Shopify's emails
Turn on abandoned checkout emails under Settings > Notifications as your baseline.
2
Time the sequence
Send a first reminder within an hour, a follow-up at 24 hours, and a final incentive at 48.
3
Add SMS
Use Klaviyo or Privy to reach high-intent shoppers on mobile where email is missed.
4
Offer a small incentive
A modest discount or free shipping in the final message lifts recovery without eroding every order.
5
Retarget the rest
Run retargeting ads for shoppers who don't respond to email or SMS.