Abandoned cart emails: Best practices & examples (2025)

Reading Time: 11 minutes

Cart abandonment is a revenue opportunity that’s too lucrative to miss. These shoppers almost purchased but didn’t convert for one reason or another. Abandoned cart email best practices can help you recover these lost sales and increase order value.

The best cart abandonment workflows trigger soon after abandonment to capture shoppers when they are most engaged. They respect the recipients’ time by not being too frequent, and use discounting and urgency tactics to address hesitancy.

Join us below to discover best practices to follow and abandoned cart email examples that can inspire your revenue recovery strategy.

What is an abandoned cart email?

You send abandoned cart emails when shoppers leave items in their online carts without completing purchases. These emails help recover lost sales by reminding customers about products they showed interest in but never bought.

Cart abandonment costs you money daily. Shoppers get distracted, feel unsure about buying, compare prices elsewhere, or face unexpected shipping costs. Your abandoned cart emails address these hesitations with targeted reminders.

Each email shows customers their forgotten items with product images and prices. Adding a direct link to their cart removes friction and makes returning to complete purchases easier. Your emails can also include incentives like free shipping or discounts to overcome price objections.

Abandoned cart email best practices

Follow these abandoned cart email best practices to build sales-winning workflows:

1. Use a compelling subject line
2. Send the first email promptly
3. Personalize your emails
4. Highlight the abandoned product
5. Offer an incentive (but use it wisely)
6. Create urgency with a time-limited offer
7. Use a clear and persuasive CTA
8. Leverage social proof
9. Optimize for mobile devices
10. Test and analyze performance

1. Use a compelling subject line

Your subject line determines whether customers open abandoned cart emails or ignore them. Keep subject lines short to avoid cutoffs in mobile inboxes. Include product names or categories to trigger memory of items left behind.

Adding emojis strategically next to keywords can make your subject lines stand out. Avoid clickbait tactics that promise discounts or benefits that are not delivered in the email body. Misleading subject lines lead to higher unsubscribe rates and damage customer trust.

Omnisend offers a free subject line generator and testing tool that scores your attempts from zero to one hundred. Use those tools to refine your subject lines.

2. Send the first email promptly

Send your first email within thirty minutes of shopping cart abandonment. Waiting longer allows customers to shop elsewhere or lose interest completely. Quick responses catch shoppers while purchase intent remains high.

Your prompt email is a helpful reminder rather than an annoying sales pitch. Mobile shoppers benefit from quick reminders as they often abandon carts while comparing options across multiple tabs.

3. Personalize your emails

Personalized emails convert better than generic messages, so use “you” and “your” to address customers directly throughout the email copy. Adding customer names to subject lines allows for immediate recognition in crowded inboxes.

Purchase history, location, and browsing patterns create additional opportunities for relevant messaging. Segment your customers and send different versions to first-time cart abandoners versus repeat customers.

Avoid excessive personalization that reveals how much customer data you may track. Subtle references work better than displaying everything you know about shopping habits.

4. Highlight the abandoned product

Your email must prominently display the items left in carts to trigger instant recognition. Include high-quality product images (matching those on your website) to help jog their memory faster than text alone, maintaining visual consistency and reinforcing brand trust. 

Product names should also match website listings to avoid confusion. When applicable, include size, color, and variant information. Price information eliminates uncertainty that might prevent returns to your store.

If multiple products were abandoned, arrange them strategically in your emails. Lead with the highest-value items and limit your display to three or four products to keep the email visually clean. A simple link to view their cart ensures the customer isn’t overwhelmed. 

Showing too many items can cause decision paralysis, making it less likely that visitors will complete their purchases. A well-structured email keeps them focused and more likely to return to the checkout.

5. Offer an incentive (but use it wisely)

Free shipping can be a powerful motivator as many shoppers complete purchases when shipping costs disappear. For higher-value items sitting in carts, even a small percentage discount can be the push they need.

Instead of offering the biggest discount upfront, save larger incentives for second or third abandonment emails. This way, you don’t give away too much too soon. Limited-time offers tend to perform better than permanent discount codes by creating a sense of urgency. 

Loyalty point bonuses are another smart tactic to encourage repeat purchases without direct revenue impact.

To maximize results, monitor how different incentives perform. Some customers respond better to free items, while others prefer cash discounts. Test various tactics and refine your approach to ensure you’re offering the right nudge at the right time.

6. Create urgency with a time-limited offer

Include expiration dates for both saved carts and special offers. A 24-hour window builds optimal urgency without seeming manipulative.

Inventory alerts showing limited remaining stock generate natural urgency based on reality rather than artificial deadlines. Stating “Only five left” or “Almost sold out” demonstrates popularity while encouraging quick decisions.

Countdown timers added to emails also provide visual urgency cues that improve conversion rates. Mobile viewers respond well to timers as they create easy-to-understand deadlines without requiring extensive reading.

Balance urgency messaging with honesty to maintain customer trust. False scarcity claims damage credibility when customers discover plenty of inventory remains available.

7. Use a clear and persuasive CTA

Your CTA button represents the critical conversion point in abandonment emails. Make buttons large enough for easy tapping on mobile screens with contrasting colors that stand out from email backgrounds. Position buttons after product reminders but before footer content.

Action-oriented button text drives better results than generic phrases. “Complete my purchase” and “Return to my cart” perform better than “Click here” or “Learn more” by clarifying exact outcomes.

To avoid decision paralysis, limit each email to one primary CTA. You can include secondary links, but these should receive less visual emphasis than the main conversion button. Test CTA button colors, sizes, and text variations to identify the highest-performing combinations.

8. Leverage social proof

Your social proof elements reduce purchase anxiety that caused initial abandonment. A simple five-star rating displayed near the product instantly signals quality with no extra reading required. It’s a universal cue that makes hesitant buyers feel more confident in the product’s quality.

To strengthen credibility, display the number of reviews next to the ratings. A five-star rating carries more weight when backed by lots of positive customer reviews. For an extra persuasive push, include customer testimonials with real names and locations, as people trust reviews when they feel authentic and relatable.

Legitimacy concerns can also stop customers from checking out. Trust badges from review platforms, security providers, and payment processors like Trustpilot, Norton, and PayPal signal professionalism and safety.

9. Optimize for mobile devices

Your mobile optimization matters when most cart abandonment emails get opened on phones. Use single-column layouts that adapt automatically to different screen sizes without horizontal scrolling. Responsive email templates handle this requirement without custom coding.

Your CTA buttons should be large enough to match finger tap areas, as recommended by usability experts — no one likes struggling with tiny links. Keep them well-spaced to prevent accidental taps and frustration. At the same time, compress product photos while maintaining visual clarity to keep loading times fast.

Before launching your automation sequences, always preview them on multiple devices. Email testing tools help you catch any display issues on iOS and Android. Pay special attention to font sizes, which should remain readable without zooming on small screens.

10. Test and analyze performance

Send test emails to yourself and team members using various email clients. Check how messages are displayed in Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail and on different devices to catch formatting issues before they reach customers.

You can take it a step further by A/B testing different variations. Compare subject lines, incentive offers, and CTA placements across sample audience segments. Monitor click-through rates, return-to-cart percentages, and revenue recovery figures to see which abandoned cart emails perform best.

To continuously improve, consider having monthly analysis sessions to identify trends and opportunities for refinement in your abandoned cart workflows (among other automations).

5 abandoned cart email examples

Check out these abandoned cart email examples to inspire your template designs:

1. Friendly reminder email

Subject line: Your tea is right where you left it.

Brew Tea Co.’s abandoned cart email turns cart abandonment from a potential lost sale into a helpful reminder. The language feels conversational — “Free of distractions and interruptions? You can pick up right where you left off” to reduce customer friction.

The email visually displays the abandoned product (Decaffeinated Ceylon Loose Leaf Tea) with a prominent “SHOP” button providing a direct path back to the cart. 

Additional motivators like free shipping over £20, same-day dispatch, and references to loyalty coins produce multiple reasons to complete the purchase.

2. Discount incentive email

Subject line: Don’t Forget 👋

Bra retailer Pepper transforms hesitation into action with a $5 discount offer. The email reduces purchase barriers with abandoned items (Scrunchies Set, Cotton Mask) and provides clear “VIEW CART” options.

A prominent “$5 off” call to action creates immediate value, and there’s a fit quiz that provides an additional engagement pathway. Free shipping over $90 and free returns further reduce potential purchase objections. 

The conversational tone — “Let’s be friends” — adds a personal touch that makes the discount feel like a recommendation from a trusted source.

3. Urgency-driven email

Subject line: Time’s running out to get $25 off

Uber Eats uses countdown psychology with its urgency-driven abandoned cart email. The text “YOUR $25 OFF OFFER IS GOING… GOING…” creates immediate tension and compels customers to act before the discount disappears.

The email transforms potential lost sales with a clear, time-limited incentive. A prominent promo code and straightforward messaging — “Feast for less before it’s too late” — remove friction from the purchase process. 

The “Use your promo→” CTA button guides customers to the next step, and its placement below the promo code reinforces the value to encourage action.

4. Social proof email

Subject line: Press knows best

Figlia’s abandoned cart email transforms press coverage into a sales tool. Quotes from The New York Times, Vogue, GQ, and Forbes add layers of credibility and position the non-alcoholic aperitivo as a sophisticated, must-try product.

Each publication quote highlights a different aspect of the drink — color, flavor, complexity — to build a comprehensive narrative. They also serve as third-party validation to turn potential customer hesitation into purchase motivation.

5. Thanks for stopping by email

Subject line: Thanks for stopping by

Patagonia’s abandoned cart email moves beyond traditional sales tactics with an invitation to engage with brand values. Instead of pushing products, the email offers storytelling, environmental activism, and visual inspiration.

It provides multiple non-transactional pathways — “Stories to get you out there,” “Protect Lands and Waters,” and “Patagonia Films” — that reconnect customers with the brand’s mission. 

Curated images, including one of dogs riding on the top of a car with a child driving, reinforce Patagonia’s commitment to fun, outdoor experiences.

Optimize your abandoned cart flow with Omnisend

Omnisend is an omnichannel marketing platform for businesses of all sizes. It automates abandoned cart emails, segments audiences, and tracks standard email metrics alongside sales and revenue performance.

Additional automations include abandoned checkout, welcome series, post-purchase emails, back-in-stock, review requests, and more to cover your entire customer journey.

Here’s how Omnisend will optimize your abandoned cart flows:

Automated abandoned cart tracking

Identify cart abandoners via checkout tracking when customers enter their email but don’t complete the purchase. Cookie-based recognition catches subscribers who previously clicked newsletter links or completed Omnisend signup forms.

Drag-and-drop workflow builder

Pre-built abandoned cart workflows ensure no learning curve. The visual workflow builder lets you create abandoned cart sequences by dragging message blocks into place. You can add emails, SMS, and push notifications with customizable timing between messages.

Here’s an example of an abandoned cart workflow:

Create targeted email sequences

You can target customer groups based on cart value, product collections, or purchase history. Trigger settings control when emails go out after cart abandonment. Each email can show the products left behind, with images matching your website.

Add strategic incentives

Add a unique or static discount code to your abandoned cart email template. For instance, you could add a discount code for 10% off, which would only show in that template. Toggle new and old prices within the abandoned products item to show savings.

Here’s an example:

Personalize recovery messages

Adding customer names to subject lines and email intros helps your emails stand out in crowded inboxes. Customize call to action buttons with phrases like “Complete my purchase” to drive more clicks than generic text.

See revenue recovery metrics

Dashboard reporting shows total revenue, revenue from automations, campaigns, and store revenue. You can see orders placed by switching the graph view. The automation tab displays sales generated alongside click and open rates.

Here’s a snapshot of the Omnisend dashboard showing automation sales performance:

Summary

Automated abandoned cart emails transform potential lost sales into revenue opportunities with timely reminders that reignite purchase intent and smooth the path to conversion.

Omnisend has pre-built workflows you can customize with triggers, audience filters, exit conditions, and more. You can also drag SMS and push messages into your abandoned cart workflow to reach customers at optimal moments.

Track which messages, incentives, and timing generate the most returns and use that data to create an increasingly effective recovery workflow.

Also, consider your customer’s journey to cart abandonment. Test your checkout for friction points, simplify navigation, clarify pricing, and reduce steps from product selection to purchase to see if you can minimize abandonment in the first place.

Abandoned cart emails FAQs