17 abandoned cart emails to win back lost sales

7 out of every 10 potential customers walking means a LOT of lost revenue for your online business. The good news? You can get a huge chunk of that back by creating abandoned cart messages that your customers can’t ignore with the help of our guide.

We start with 17 examples to inspire your emails, then cover essential abandoned cart best practices before showing you how to create an abandoned cart sequence in MailerLite.

Abandoned cart emails are highly effective, automated e-commerce emails that are sent to people who started the checkout process but exited the page before finalizing the purchase. These emails are powerful sales recovery tools because the recipient has already shown high purchase intent. A well-timed reminder is often all it takes to prompt them to return and complete the transaction.

Data shows that almost a third of clicks on abandoned cart emails lead to a sale.

You can set up these emails by integrating an email service provider, like MailerLite, with your e-commerce platform. This will track when users exit the checkout page without buying and automatically send an abandoned cart email.

Why do shoppers abandon their carts?

According to a survey conducted by Baymard Institute, the most common reason for shopping cart abandonment (besides shoppers just browsing and not yet ready to buy), is extra costs being too high ( 39%). In other words, shipping costs, taxes and other fees add too much to the final purchase price.

The next most common reason for cart abandonment is delivery being too slow (21%), followed by lack of trust (19%), site wanted them to create an account (19%), long or complicated checkout process (18%), unsatisfactory return policy (15%), website errors (15%), inability to see total costs upfront (14%), not enough payment methods (10%) and finally, declined credit cards (8%).

This tells us that even though the shoppers are the ones abandoning carts, the reasons they’re leaving are largely in the hands of the online retailer.

So what can you do to lower your cart abandonment rates? Read on to see example emails you can use to inspire your own.

The best abandoned cart emails make it easy for subscribers to complete the purchase while building excitement around the product and brand. There’s no one way to do this, as these 17 abandoned cart email examples show.

1. Combine humor with playful copy: Home Alive Pets

Home Alive Pets got creative in their abandoned cart email with some jovial copy that’s more fun than the generic “you left this item in your cart.”

(The pictures of cute puppies are definitely an added bonus too).

2. Gamify recovery with loyalty points: Taco Bell

Taco Bell uses creative imagery in its recovery email example to capture the attention of its subscribers. Plus the email highlights that customers earn points when they make an order.

Need email design tips? Learn the best colors for marketing emails to spruce up your email newsletters. 

3. Build rapport with witty copy: Whiskey Loot

Whiskey Loot takes a creative approach to abandoned cart emails. The witty copywriting builds rapport with subscribers and makes the brand more memorable. The email also has an FAQ section that answers common questions that may stop people from buying.

4. Incentivize with a discount coupon: Pepper

Pepper’s abandoned cart email includes a $5 discount coupon for the selected items. This offer may be all the encouragement the recipient needs to complete the purchase.

5.Create urgency with limited-time deals: Grove Collaborative

Grove Collaborative reels in new customers by offering buyers a free cleaning set. The brand adds a sense of urgency by highlighting that the deal ends today.

6. Remove hesitance with free shipping: Brooklinen

Unexpected delivery costs are one of the most common reasons shoppers abandon their carts. Brooklinen includes an offer for free shipping in its abandoned cart email, removing this common obstacle to purchase.

7. Build FOMO with a countdown timer: IPSY

Subscription beauty box service, IPSY, creates a fear of missing out in their abandoned cart email example by offering a limited-time incentive. Their use of a countdown timer makes the offer expiry date extremely clear—subscribers know exactly how long they have before they lose access to the incentive.

8. Amp up the urgency with expiration warnings: Pulp & Press

Pulp & Press uses two different tactics to generate urgency in their cart abandonment email. First, the brand reminds customers that their cart will expire, and then it mentions that the Cyber Monday sale is coming to an end. 

9. Leverage social proof with customer photos: Luno

Luno injects social proof into their abandoned cart email campaign by including social media posts from happy customers. Readers can see the abandoned products in action, which makes it easier to picture themselves using it. And let’s be real, who wouldn’t get a little FOMO looking at those dreamy camping pics!

10. Leverage social proof with customer photos:Adidas

Adidas uses 3 prominent customer reviews in its abandoned cart email. Yep, even massively well-known global brands use this tactic to build trust with their audience.

11. Grow engagement with relatable puns: Brooks 

Brooks uses a fun, running-related pun in its abandoned cart email copy. This appeals to the brand’s audience and helps the email stand out. The product image and CTA are also super clear and clickable.

12. Improve affordability with easy payment plans: Pro:Direct Running 

Pro:Direct Running highlights that customers can pay for the basket over 3 months. This reduces the amount the customer pays now significantly, which may make the purchase more appealing.

13. Use a 2-step cart sequence: GoDaddy 

Abandoned cart emails aren’t just for e-commerce. SaaS tools like GoDaddy use them to encourage visitors to buy too. GoDaddy's abandoned cart email strategy includes an initial email after an hour, then another email the day after the cart abandonment event.

14. Keep it simple and clear: Amazon 

That’s right, Amazon is also a fan of abandoned cart emails. The company is well-known for its high conversion rates, so if abandoned carts are working for Amazon, they’re probably worth experimenting with for your e-commerce store too.

15. Overcome objections with clear benefits (and humor!): Atolea Jewelry 

Atolea’s abandoned cart email includes a Titanic joke that appeals to its target audience. It also highlights 2 major benefits of the online store: the fact the jewelry doesn’t tarnish in water, and that you can get hassle-free returns on your purchase.

16. Highlight your brand values: Daughters of India 

Daughters of India’s abandoned cart email includes the standard product image and link. But it stands out due to the reminder that the brand’s ethical and sustainable business practices mean you’re making a conscious choice when buying from the company.

17. Include personalized recommendations: Hardgraft 

Hardgraft’s abandoned cart email stands out as it includes a selection of product recommendations as well as the image of the abandoned item. This combo could increase the value of the final purchase.

Did you know that 43% of people determine whether or not they’ll open an email by its subject line? No pressure, right?

A good abandoned cart email subject line could be personalized, witty or creative. But the most important factor is that subscribers should know what the email is about, and why they should open it.

Check out some powerful and effective abandoned shopping cart subject line examples below.

MailerLite makes it easy for e-commerce businesses to send automated cart abandonment emails with the help of our built-in integrations for leading platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce. You can also create one if you sell digital products with our built-in checkout.

Follow the instructions below to create your workflow. You can also read our help guide on how to create an abandoned cart email for more details. 

To set up an abandoned cart workflow, install an e-commerce integration, create a new automation and select the e-commerce trigger “abandoned cart”.

Then you can choose how long after abandonment you want the email to trigger and get to work designing your abandoned cart email! The email sequence will automatically trigger every time a subscriber abandons their cart.

We recommend including these three emails in your abandoned cart email sequence:

1. Cart reminder email: Send the first abandoned cart email with the item information, social proof or other popular items.

2. Follow-up email: The second email should be for subscribers who didn’t open or click the first email. You can use a delay step and a condition step to separate your workflow.

3. Final incentive: If the first two emails didn’t work, you can add another delay and condition step and add an email with a final offer, such as a discount code to encourage subscribers back to their online shopping carts.

Once set up, it’s possible to edit your abandoned cart email workflow as many times as you like! If you create a series of emails that don’t resonate with your subscribers. Tweak your content, delays, images, etc, until you're happy with your cart recovery rates.

Abandoned cart email best practices

As you’ve seen from the examples above, the most effective shopping cart abandonment emails follow similar best practices. 

They will typically include some combination of the following 5 elements:

• Information about the abandoned item(s)

• A clear call-to-action (CTA)

• Testimonials from happy customers

• Links to your shipping and returns policies

• FAQs or customer support contact links

See how these elements can come together in the abandoned cart email template below. All 5 elements are covered in a way that’s easy to read and provides the customer with enough information to complete the sale.

Other abandoned cart email best practices to consider are the timing of your email and optimizing its performance with testing. 

Let’s look at each of these factors in further detail.  

1. Remind them: Include the abandoned item details

First, bring the product back into focus. Seeing the item right in their inbox acts as a powerful reminder of why they wanted to buy it in the first place.

Be specific: Include a clear image, the product name, price, and any other relevant details like size, color, or quantity.

2. Guide them: Add a clear call-to-action (CTA)

Use a clear CTA button to compel the reader to click through and complete their purchase.

Your CTA should be easy to spot and include actionable instructions. Here are 8 CTA ideas you can use in your messages:

1. Complete my order

2. Let’s do this!

3. View cart

4. Claim offer now

5. Get 15% off

6. Choose free gift

7. Order now

8. Take it home

Want to learn how to create a CTA button that works? Check out this guide:

3. Build trust: Offer easy customer support and FAQs

A common reason for abandonment is a solvable question or doubt. Making it effortless for customers to get help is a crucial best practice.

• Contact information: Include direct contact information (phone, email) or a contact form link in your email footer

• Invite replies: Encourage subscribers to simply reply to the abandoned cart email with any questions

• Anticipate doubts with an FAQ: Address common hesitant shopper concerns by adding an FAQ section to your content

FAQ sections could answer questions such as:

• “How long does shipping take?”

• “How can I return items I don’t want to keep?”

• “Is this product made from sustainable materials?”

• “Does this product come with a warranty?”

• “Is there a cooling-off period to use this service?”

• “Can I get a discount for referring a friend?”

4. Provide proof: Testimonials from happy customers

Lack of trust is a frequent cause of cart abandonment. Add testimonials, reviews or social media posts to your cart recovery emails to show potential customers they can trust your brand.

After reading the positive feedback from other real people, the cart abandoners are more likely to follow through with their purchase.

5. Remove friction: Links to your shipping and returns policy

Empower new customers to shop with confidence. bBy including links to your shipping and returns policy in the email, you clarify the costs and ensure the purchase feels risk-free.

6. Master the timing: Send your abandoned cart email at the right time

The best time to send email newsletters depends on your industry, audience and the type of content you send. But when it comes to abandoned cart emails, there is a tried and true, ideal sending time.

Abandoned cart emails should be triggered one hour after cart abandonment. 

This leaves enough time to ensure the cart actually has been abandoned (and the shopper isn’t just comparing items from another store in a different tab) but doesn’t leave too much time that the potential buyer no longer wants to make the purchase.

To maximize the chances of abandoned cart recovery, you can also use an abandoned cart email sequence to send follow-up emails in the days after the cart abandonment.

7. Optimize performance: A/B test your workflows

The perfect sequence rarely happens on the first try. Always analyze your automation reports to see where engagement is high or low.

Use A/B testing to try two different versions of your:

• Subject line

• Send delay time

• Incentives (e.g., free shipping vs. 10% off)

Once you have a winner based on open or click rates, implement it across all customers to continuously increase the impact of your recovery efforts.

Whether you’re a world-renowned e-commerce brand or running a small business from home, cart abandonment happens to everyone.

Cart abandonment emails are the easiest way to recover sales when this happens. Get started by signing up for an email marketing platform, connecting it with your e-commerce store, and creating an abandoned cart marketing automation. 

E-commerce stores with under 500 email subscribers can use MailerLite’s free plan to access all they need to send abandoned cart emails without paying a cent. 

Larger e-commerce stores can try our paid plans, which start at $9 per month and come with a 14-day free trial you can use to test the software.