Abandoned Cart Recovery (ACR) detects incomplete or failed checkouts and sends automated email sequences to bring customers back. Combine with optional discount incentives to maximize recovery rates.
What Is Abandoned Cart Recovery?
ACR automatically identifies customers who started but didn’t complete a checkout — whether the payment failed or they left before paying — and sends a sequence of recovery emails to bring them back.- Failed payments: Customer attempted payment but it was declined or errored
- Incomplete checkouts: Customer visited checkout but never attempted payment
How ACR Works
Detection
We scan for payments that are 60+ minutes old and haven’t succeeded. This includes failed payments and checkouts where the customer never attempted payment.
Classification
Each abandoned checkout is classified by reason:
- Payment Failed: The customer attempted payment but it failed
- Checkout Incomplete: The customer visited checkout but never attempted payment
Email Sequence
Based on the classification, the system sends up to 3 recovery emails at configured intervals. Each email contains a unique recovery link.
Status Lifecycle
Each abandoned checkout progresses through these states:| Status | Description |
|---|---|
abandoned | Checkout detected as abandoned, no emails sent yet |
recovering | At least one recovery email has been sent |
recovered | Customer completed payment via the recovery link |
exhausted | All emails sent with no recovery, or a newer checkout superseded this one |
opted_out | Customer unsubscribed from recovery emails |
Configuring ACR
Enable and configure ACR from Settings in your dashboard.
Global Settings
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enabled | Master toggle for ACR | Off |
| Discount Enabled | Auto-generate a discount code for recovery emails | Off |
| Discount Percentage | Percentage discount that will be applied to the checkout for this customer | 0 |
| Discount Valid Days | How many days the auto-generated discount code remains valid | 5 |
Email Sequences
ACR supports two email sequences — Payment Failed and Checkout Incomplete — each with up to 3 configurable emails.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Enabled | Toggle individual emails on or off without deleting them |
| Delay | How long after abandonment detection to send this email |
| Subject | Email subject line with variable placeholders |
| Body | HTML email body with variable placeholders |
| Reply-To | Email address for customer replies |
| Email # | Default Delay |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 hour |
| 2 | 24 hours |
| 3 | 72 hours |
Example Recovery Emails
ACR sends different emails depending on the abandonment reason. Below are examples of each type as seen by the customer.- Payment Failed
- Checkout Incomplete
Recovery Discounts
When discount is enabled, ACR automatically generates a unique, single-use discount code for each abandoned checkout. The discount:- Is restricted to the product(s) from the original checkout
- Has a configurable expiration period
- Is limited to one redemption
- Is hidden from your dashboard discount list (internal use only)
Customer Recovery Experience
When a customer clicks the recovery link in an email, they’re taken back to their original checkout session. The page displays the product they left behind, along with a discount code if one has been configured.Analytics
Track the performance of ACR from the Analytics section of your dashboard.
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Abandoned Checkouts | Total number of detected abandoned checkouts |
| Recovery Rate | Percentage of abandoned checkouts that were recovered |
| Recovered Revenue | Total revenue recovered through ACR |
| Avg. Recovery Time | Average time from abandonment to recovery |
| Recovery by Email | Breakdown of which email in the sequence drove the recovery |
| Recovery by Product | Which products have the highest recovery rates |
Webhook Events
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
abandoned_checkout.detected | An abandoned checkout has been detected and recovery has begun |
abandoned_checkout.recovered | A customer completed payment through the recovery flow |
Recovery Webhook Payloads
View the full webhook payload schemas for ACR events.
Edge Cases
| Scenario | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Customer completes purchase before next email | Recovery is detected at send time; checkout is marked as recovered if eligible |
| Customer starts a new checkout | Old abandoned checkout is marked as exhausted |
| Customer clicks “Pay” after already recovering | Recovery page shows a confirmation that payment was already completed |
| Customer unsubscribes | Abandoned Checkout is marked as opted_out; no further emails are sent |
Best Practices
- Start with defaults: The default email timing and subjects are optimized for common recovery patterns. Customize after you have baseline data.
- Personalize emails: Use template variables to make emails feel personal and relevant to the customer.
- Monitor analytics: Track recovery rates by email to identify which messages drive the most conversions. Disable underperforming emails.
- Use discounts strategically: Start small (5-10%) to protect margins while testing conversion impact.
- Keep emails concise: Recovery emails should be short and action-oriented. A clear call-to-action drives better results than lengthy explanations.
ACR is designed to work automatically once enabled. Start with the default settings, monitor your analytics, and iterate based on performance data.
Related
Recovery Webhooks
React to
abandoned_checkout.detected and abandoned_checkout.recovered events.Subscription Dunning
Recover lapsed subscriptions with automated dunning emails.
Customer Portal
Customers complete recovery actions through the customer portal.
Discounts
ACR can auto-generate discount codes to incentivize recovery.