70% of people who add something to their cart don't buy it.
That's not a typo. Seven out of ten people get all the way to the checkout and then just... leave. Their kid screamed. Their boss walked over. They got distracted by literally anything else.
And that's money sitting on the table. Weird how many businesses just accept this as normal.
Why People Abandon Carts
The number one reason is surprise costs at checkout. Shipping fees, taxes, "handling charges," whatever. Almost half of abandoned carts happen because the final price was different than expected.
Nobody likes surprises when they're about to spend money. Nobody.
The second biggest reason is forcing people to create an account. 24% of shoppers bail specifically because they don't want another username and password to forget. Guest checkout exists for a reason.
Other common reasons:
- Checkout process was too complicated
- Didn't trust the site with their credit card
- Website crashed or had errors
- Shipping took too long
- Couldn't find a coupon code that worked
Most of these are fixable. That's the good news.
Fix Your Checkout First
Before you get fancy with abandoned cart emails and retargeting, just make your checkout not terrible.
Show total costs early. Don't surprise people with shipping at the last step. Put it on the product page or cart page. Let them know what they're actually paying before they commit.
Guest checkout is mandatory. Yes, you want their email. You can ask for it without making them create an account. The extra friction of account creation costs you more than the data you'd collect.
Fewer steps is better. Every additional page in your checkout process loses you customers. Amazon's one-click buying exists because they tested this obsessively. You probably don't need five screens to collect a shipping address.
Trust signals matter. Security badges, known payment logos, clear return policies. Anything that tells people "yes, this is a real business that won't steal your credit card."
| Problem | Impact | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Surprise shipping costs | 48% of abandonment | Show costs on product page |
| Forced account creation | 24% of abandonment | Add guest checkout |
| Complicated process | 17% of abandonment | Reduce checkout steps |
| Trust concerns | 18% of abandonment | Add security badges |
Abandoned Cart Emails
Now for the fun part. Someone left items in their cart, you have their email, and you want them back.
The average abandoned cart email sequence recovers 5-10% of lost sales. Not huge, but not nothing. And it's automated. Set it up once, it runs forever.
Email 1: The Reminder (1-4 hours later)
Don't wait a day. By then they've forgotten you exist. Send the first email while they still remember what they were looking at.
Keep it simple. "Hey, you left something in your cart. Here it is. Here's the link to finish."
No discount yet. Some people just got distracted and a reminder is all they need.
Email 2: The Nudge (24 hours later)
Still nothing? Now you can add a little pressure. Show the product again. Maybe mention if stock is limited. Ask if they have questions.
Still no discount. Not yet.
Email 3: The Incentive (48-72 hours later)
Okay, they're not coming back on their own. Time to sweeten the deal.
10-15% off. Free shipping. Whatever makes sense for your margins. Make it time-limited so they actually act.
"Your cart is about to expire" works because people hate losing things they almost had. Loss aversion is real.
Beyond Email
Abandoned cart emails work, but they're not the only option.
SMS works better than email for some audiences. Higher open rates, faster response. Just don't be spammy about it. One text, not five.
Retargeting ads keep you top of mind. That "creepy" thing where products follow you around the internet? It works. Annoying but effective.
Exit-intent popups catch people before they leave. A discount offer that appears when someone moves their mouse toward the X button. Hit or miss, but worth testing.
What Not to Do
Don't send 47 emails. Three is plenty. Four max. After that you're just annoying people who decided they don't want your product.
Don't discount immediately. You're training customers to abandon carts on purpose to get deals. Wait for email 3.
Don't ignore the data. If your abandonment rate is way above 70%, you have a checkout problem. Fix that before worrying about recovery campaigns.
Don't forget mobile. 85% abandonment on mobile versus 70% on desktop. Mobile checkout is usually worse. Make it not worse.
The Math
Let's say you have 1,000 abandoned carts per month at an average cart value of $80. That's $80,000 in potential revenue walking away.
A decent abandoned cart sequence recovers 5-10%. Call it 7%.
0.07 × $80,000 = $5,600/month recovered
That's $67,200 per year from a sequence you set up once and never touch again. Worth the hour it takes to create? Yeah. Probably.
Start Simple
You don't need a sophisticated multi-channel recovery campaign on day one. Start with one abandoned cart email sent 2-4 hours after abandonment. See what happens.
Then add a second email. Then a third. Then test different subject lines. Then try different timing.
Build on what works. Cut what doesn't.
The goal isn't a perfect system. The goal is recovering some of the 70% you're currently losing. Even getting back 5% is found money.