How to Set Up Abandoned Cart Emails on Shopify

Short answer

Shopify's own email tool, Shopify Messaging, has ready-made reminders for abandoned checkouts, carts and product browsing. Shopify does not say whether one is already switched on for your store, so open the Automations list in the Messaging app and look. A sensible place to start is the ready-made checkout reminder. By default it sends one email 10 hours after someone reaches checkout, and it does not count toward your 10,000 free emails a month. Keep the series short and be careful with discounts. If nothing is going out, the checklist below walks through the settings and rules Shopify lists.

Does Shopify automatically send abandoned cart emails?

Shopify Messaging, which used to be called Shopify Email, has three ready-made reminders, for abandoned checkouts, carts and product browsing. Shopify's help pages do not say whether any of them is switched on by default, so check your own store.

Shopify says abandoned checkout emails are always free and do not count toward the 10,000 free emails a month. Cart and browse reminders do count toward that allowance, and Shopify charges for emails beyond it.

By default, these automatic emails go only to customers who have subscribed to email marketing, and the checkout reminder is the only one you can switch to reach all customers. Before you change that, read the section on permission below. Your store also needs an active paid plan, because Shopify says you cannot send to subscribers on a free trial or the Pause and Build plan. For a wider look at the tool, see our review of Shopify's built-in email tool.

Cart, checkout and browse reminders

In Shopify's words, a browse reminder is for someone who viewed a product but did not add it to their cart. A cart reminder is for someone who added products but did not start checkout. A checkout reminder is for someone who started checkout but did not complete an order.

Shopify only counts a checkout as abandoned once it has stayed incomplete for more than ten minutes after the customer entered their email, so a shopper who leaves before typing one cannot be reminded. Shopify does not explain how it identifies shoppers for cart and browse reminders, so do not assume those reach everyone who adds something to their cart.

For a sense of scale, Baymard Institute puts the average documented cart abandonment rate at 70.22%, based on 50 studies, on a page last updated September 22, 2025. That number describes how often shoppers leave, not how many a reminder will bring back.

The newer checkout automation, and moving from the old email

Shopify runs two versions of the checkout reminder side by side, an older abandoned checkout email and a newer automation in the Shopify Messaging app.

Shopify's help pages place the older reminder's settings in more than one spot. Depending on when your store was set up, you may find them under Settings and then Checkout, or listed as "Abandoned checkout emails by Shopify" in the Messaging app's Automations list.

Moving to the newer automation is your choice. Shopify calls it opting in, meaning you switch your store over. Shopify says three things about it.

1. It is permanent. Once you turn on the new automation, you cannot go back to the older email.
2. Your settings from the older reminder carry over.
3. The older email keeps working until Shopify removes it, and Shopify has not given a date.

On March 24, 2026, Shopify moved automations that use its own emails into the Shopify Messaging app, so older guides may point elsewhere. To opt in, open Apps, then Messaging, then Automations, view the templates, and pick Abandoned checkout. Edit it if you like, turn on the automation, review what Shopify shows you, and click Continue.

How many emails, and when

Shopify's ready-made checkout template sends one email, 10 hours after a customer reaches checkout without ordering. You can change the wait in Shopify Flow.

A calm approach is to keep the ready-made timing for a few weeks, then change one thing at a time. For comparison, Klaviyo's default delay before the first message is 4 hours, and Omnisend's main checkout preset has three emails.

If two similar automations are switched on, customers can get both. Omnisend, for example, says turning on its reminder does not switch off Shopify's, so check you have not doubled up.

What to put in them

In Shopify Messaging's template you can change who the email goes to, the subject line, the preview text, the sender address, and the logo, colours, text, button and images. The products shown match what the customer left behind, up to 9 per section.

A helpful reminder shows the items with a picture, gives one clear link back to the cart, answers common worries such as shipping or returns, and makes it easy to reply. Leave out fake countdowns.

Here is an example in our own words, not Shopify's template. Use the subject line "You left something in your cart" and open with "We saved your items in case you would like to finish your order." Show the products, add a sentence about delivery or returns, and end with a "Return to your cart" button and your name.

A word of caution on discounts

A discount can win back a sale, but it can also teach customers to leave carts on purpose, and it gives away margin on orders that might have happened anyway. Klaviyo's own help says it does not encourage a coupon in the first email. Reasonable choices are no discount at all, a small one in a later email, or free shipping instead.

In Shopify Messaging, create the discount in your Shopify admin first, then add it in the email editor. Shopify does not say whether a discount on the older email carries over when you switch, so check afterwards.

Setting it up in Shopify Messaging

1. In your Shopify admin, open Apps, then Messaging, then Automations.
2. Create an automation and pick the checkout, cart or browse reminder.
3. Select Email, then edit it and send yourself a test if you like.
4. Turn on the automation.

You can create these reminders in the Shopify mobile app, but editing needs a computer. Shopify says full use needs the Shopify Flow app installed. All three reminders can also send a text, charged per message. Texts need their own permission, because Shopify says consent given for email does not cover texts. Shopify can send marketing texts only to customers in a short list of countries, including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and it holds them back during local quiet hours. Read the permission section below before you turn texts on. The exact menu names may differ, so check Shopify's help page.

Setting it up in Omnisend or Klaviyo

Omnisend. You create a workflow under Automation, choose Cart Abandonment and pick a preset. By default the cart reminder goes to contacts who have subscribed and to those who have never subscribed, though not to people who have unsubscribed, so check that setting against the permission section below. Omnisend bills on subscribed and never-subscribed contacts. For more, see our Omnisend review.

Klaviyo. You start from its flow library. Klaviyo recommends a filter that removes anyone who has ordered since the flow started, so make sure yours has it. Klaviyo counts anyone it can email toward your bill, whatever their consent.

The exact menu names may differ, so check each tool's help page.

Who gets these emails, and permission

Shopify describes its abandoned checkout reminder as a marketing message, and by default it sends all of these reminders only to customers who have subscribed to email marketing. The checkout reminder is the only one you can switch to "All customers", which would include people who typed their email at checkout but did not agree to marketing. Whether you may email those people is a legal question, not only a setting.

Shopify's help says marketing email laws, including rules about consent, identification and unsubscribe links, depend on where you and your customers are, and that you are responsible for following the laws that apply to your business. Shopify also asks stores to make sure they have opt-in consent for their contacts. It says that if your store sends abandoned cart reminders, you need to change the wording shown next to the marketing checkbox at checkout, which you can find under Settings, then Checkout, then Marketing opt-in.

The rules differ from place to place. In general terms:

• United States. The federal CAN-SPAM Act covers commercial email. The Federal Trade Commission's guide says each marketing email needs a clear way to opt out and your postal address, and that opt-out requests must be honoured within 10 business days.
• Canada. Canada's anti-spam law generally requires consent, which can be express or implied, before you send commercial emails or texts. Each message must also identify you and include a way to unsubscribe.
• United Kingdom and European Union. Marketing emails and texts generally need the person's specific consent. There is a limited exception for your own existing customers about similar products, which applies only if you gave them a clear chance to opt out when you collected their details and in every message. The UK regulator says its guidance is under review after recent changes to the law.

Texts need their own permission. Shopify says consent given for email marketing does not apply to texts, and customers need to opt in to texts specifically. In the United States, federal rules require the customer's prior express written consent for many marketing texts. The usual practice is to get that written consent before sending any. Customers can withdraw consent in any reasonable way, such as replying STOP, and federal rules bar telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the customer's local time. Some states set stricter hours or rules of their own. Shopify Messaging holds back marketing texts during quiet hours, which it sets at 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. in most of the United States, with longer hours in some states, and at 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. in Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom. Shopify also requires your terms of service to say how often you send texts, that message and data rates may apply, and how to opt out.

This page cannot tell you whether your own setup meets the rules. Before you switch the checkout reminder to all customers or turn on text reminders, check your situation with a qualified adviser, such as a lawyer who works on marketing and privacy law where you and your customers are. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Abandoned cart emails not sending? A checklist

1. Is the reminder switched on? Check it in the Messaging app's Automations list. Turning an automation off cancels emails that were waiting.
2. Is your store on a paid plan? On a free trial or Pause and Build, you cannot send to subscribers.
3. Who may it reach? Automations go to subscribers by default, so a shopper who never subscribed will not get a cart or browse reminder. The checkout reminder can be switched to all customers, but Shopify's help also lists customers who have not bought before and have not subscribed among those who will not get it. Shopify's help pages describe both without explaining how they fit together, so check the setting, then look at the automation's recent activity to see who it reached. Before switching to all customers, read the section on permission above.
4. Did the shopper give an email? If they entered a phone number instead, the email cannot be sent.
5. Is it one of Shopify's listed exceptions? It is not sent if the customer bought before it was due, if a newer abandoned checkout is still waiting, if no items can be bought, if everything was free with free shipping, or if Shopify Payments blocked the payment as high risk. It only covers the Online Store and Buy Button, not the Shop app, point of sale or other sales channels.
6. Are two apps involved? Another app's reminder may be sending instead of, or as well as, Shopify's.
7. Has Shopify limited your sending? Shopify says it may temporarily limit or pause access after sustained spam complaints or high bounce rates.
8. Is your sending domain set up? Without your own authenticated domain, Shopify sends from a shopifyemail.com subdomain. It is worth checking, although Shopify does not list it as a reason emails fail.
9. Is it in the Promotions tab? An email that lands there has still been sent.

If none of these fit, contact the tool's support team.

How to tell it is working

After a few weeks, compare reminders sent, clicks and credited orders with the weeks before. Shopify's automation reports show reach, sessions, orders, conversion rate and sales. Shopify credits an order to the last click that did not come directly to your store, and says some funnel figures are estimates. Each tool credits sales its own way, so compare your store with itself, about once a month.

Common mistakes

• One mistake is reminding people who already bought. Omnisend notes that in some cases a workflow may still send after an order is completed, and suggests waiting at least 30 minutes before the first message.
• Another mistake is skipping a test email read on a phone.
• Changing everything at once is a mistake, because you cannot tell what helped.

When to look at other tools

Shopify's ready-made reminders cover the basics described on this page, inside your Shopify admin. You might look further if you want more steps or branching than they offer, or reports the built-in tool does not give. In alphabetical order, with no ranking:

• Klaviyo and Omnisend both offer cart and checkout reminders, and we compare them in our Omnisend and Klaviyo comparison.
• Mailchimp has an abandoned cart flow, but its automation flows need a paid plan.
• Seguno runs inside the Shopify admin, and its Standard plan lists browse and cart abandonment emails. When we checked on October 2, 2026, its App Store listing showed 4.8 from 735 reviews and the Built for Shopify badge. See our guide to Klaviyo alternatives.

Prices depend on your list size and how each company counts contacts. Switching means rebuilding your reminders and turning off the old ones.

Where this leaves you

Check that your checkout reminder is on and who it may reach. Keep the series short, hold back on discounts, use the checklist if nothing sends, and review results monthly.

How we put this page together

We have not set these reminders up in a store of our own, and we have not run paid tests. Everything here comes from each company's public help pages, pricing pages and App Store listings, checked on October 2, 2026. Where pages disagreed, we used the more careful wording, and anything we could not confirm is left out. You can read more about how we review.

Sources

All checked October 2, 2026. Shopify Help Center (plain text, not linked): "Shopify Messaging email pricing"; "Creating and managing marketing automations in Shopify Messaging"; "Requirements and considerations for creating marketing automations"; "Requirements for using Shopify Messaging"; "Opt in to the new abandoned checkout automation"; "Recovering abandoned checkouts"; "Customer abandons checkout"; "Managing Shopify Messaging templates"; "Optimizing your marketing campaign delivery and deliverability"; "Building and maintaining your email deliverability"; "Shopify Messaging email analytics"; "Marketing automation metrics and reporting"; "Creating and managing email marketing with Campaign Autopilot"; "Collecting customer contact information"; "Requirements and guidelines for sending SMS marketing campaigns"; "Building and maintaining your SMS deliverability"; "Best practices for SMS marketing campaigns". Shopify Changelog, "Marketing automations are moving on March 24", March 5, 2026, and "Shopify Messaging now supports SMS marketing", December 10, 2025. Federal Trade Commission, "CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business". Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 47 CFR 64.1200. Government of Canada, "Canada's anti-spam legislation". UK Information Commissioner's Office, "Electronic mail marketing". Omnisend and Klaviyo Help Centers. Baymard Institute, cart abandonment rate (updated September 22, 2025). Mailchimp pricing page. Seguno pricing page and App Store listing.