Every day, dozens of people walk into your store, browse, pick something they like, add it to the cart — and then disappear.
It is easy to blame the marketing budget or the price tag. Most of the time, the real loss happens much later than that: at the very last step, after the shopper has already decided to buy. That is what abandoned cart recovery is for. It brings the shopper back to a cart that is still sitting there, waiting. In this guide, you'll learn why shoppers walk away at checkout, which reminder to send for each reason, and how to stop carts from being abandoned in the first place.
An abandoned cart is a cart a shopper filled but never paid for. Salla lets you send an automated reminder — with or without a discount code — after a delay you choose. The message shows the product, the price, and a direct link back to checkout, so the shopper can finish the order in a single step.
📌 Article overview
- Why shoppers leave a full cart behind
- The four types of abandoned cart, and what to send for each
- A three-message recovery sequence that works
- How to reduce abandoned carts in the first place
- Frequently asked questions
💡 The part most stores miss
Winning a shopper's attention is not the hard part. Getting them back after they leave is. A cart that sits untouched is not a rejection — it is an unfinished conversation, and you are the one who gets to restart it.
Before you decide what to send, though, it helps to understand why the shopper stepped away.
🎬 Four carts, four hours, one afternoon:
9:00 a.m. — Sarah adds a bottle of premium perfume to her cart, then stalls at checkout because her preferred payment method isn't there.
12:00 p.m. — Abdulaziz fills a cart with new clothes for his kids, and a work call pulls him away from the screen.
3:00 p.m. — Khalid compares your price against another store and decides he'll think about it later.
10:00 p.m. — Nouf sees the shipping fee appear at the final step and leaves immediately.
Four visits. Four shoppers who genuinely intended to buy. Four orders lost without a word.
To fix an abandoned cart intelligently, you first need to know what caused the hesitation. Ask directly through your live chat or an email — a short, friendly question about whether anything went wrong at checkout goes a long way. Your store reports fill in the rest: which step the shopper stopped at, which payment method they tried. That reading is what tells you which message and which incentive will actually work.
The four types of abandoned cart
💭 The hesitation cart
🎬 What happens:
The shopper wants to buy, but is stuck between two options.
"Large or small? Pay now or pay later?"
The moment passes, and the tab closes.
💡 What to do:
Send a reminder that puts the chosen product back in front of them and gives them a small reason to decide now — a note that stock is limited, for example.
⚙️ How to set it up:
Set up an abandoned cart reminder without a discount and choose when it goes out — 30 minutes after the shopper leaves, for instance.
The shopper receives an automatic message showing the product, its price, and a link straight back to checkout.
💸 The comparison cart
🎬 What happens:
The shopper adds the product, then leaves to check prices somewhere else. A few hours later, they can't remember where they saw the first offer.
💡 What to do:
Get to them before the competitor does. Show the product they liked alongside an incentive worth coming back for — free delivery, or a discount code that belongs to them.
⚙️ How to set it up:
Write custom text for a reminder that carries a discount code, or offer free shipping for a limited window.
It goes out automatically once the shopper leaves, while the decision is still open.
📱 The distraction cart
🎬 What happens:
The shopper was seconds from paying when a notification from another app took over the screen. A few messages later, the cart is forgotten.
💡 What to do:
Remind them what they left behind, and hand them a direct payment link so they don't have to sign in again.
⚙️ How to set it up:
Copy the payment link from the order details page.
Send an abandoned cart reminder with a discount on the cart total that expires on a set date, and include the payment link in the message.
Keep the wording personal: "Did you forget something in your cart? Your order is one step away."
🚚 The shipping cart
🎬 What happens:
Everything goes smoothly until the shipping cost appears at the final step. The shopper pauses, and the pause turns into an exit.
💡 What to do:
Win them back with a message that lays out the shipping options available, or a short-lived free shipping offer.
⚙️ How to set it up:
Turn on an abandoned cart reminder and add your own text, such as: "We'd love to see you finish your order — shipping is on us today."
In every one of these cases, the abandoned cart is the start of the story, not the end of it. This article walks through how to manage abandoned carts day to day and turn each missed order into a completed one.
🚀 A three-message recovery sequence
Start by picking the channel your customers actually read — email, SMS, or WhatsApp. The channel decides whether the message lands at all. Once that's settled, run this sequence.
1. First message, one hour after the cart is left
🎯 Goal: put the products back in view and nudge the shopper to finish before the offer ends or the stock runs out.
💬 Sample copy: "Your item is still waiting — complete your order before it sells out."
2. Second message, after 12 hours
🎯 Goal: add a discount code, and reassure the shopper that delivery is fast and support is there if they need it.
💬 Sample copy: "Here's an extra discount — fast shipping and instant support included."
3. Third message, after 24 hours
🎯 Goal: make a final offer that combines an extra discount with free delivery, and make clear that today is the last chance to use it.
💬 Sample copy: "Last chance today — extra discount and free shipping before the offer ends tonight."
📝 Important notes
The strength of this sequence is not the number of messages. It is the timing and the fit — each message should match where the shopper actually stopped and how they behave.
Do not lead with your biggest discount. Save it for the final message, or you train customers to abandon carts on purpose.
✅ How to reduce abandoned carts in the first place
Recovery works, but the cheaper win is preventing the abandonment. Merchants who cut their abandoned cart rate tend to fix the same handful of things:
💬 Handle customer complaints quickly through instant messaging tools such as Salla Chat on WhatsApp, so a problem gets solved in the moment rather than after the shopper has gone.
💳 Offer more payment methods so you cover how people actually prefer to pay: mada, credit cards, Apple Pay, and pay-later options like Tabby and Tamara.
⭐ Show customer reviews clearly, so a first-time buyer has a reason to trust you at the checkout step.
📱 Reach shoppers where they already are — push notifications from your own store app built with the app builder, or SMS apps that put the reminder directly in their hand.
❓ Frequently asked questions
What counts as an abandoned cart?
Any cart a shopper filled with products but never paid for. The items and the shopper's details are still recorded, which is what makes a reminder possible.
When should I send the first reminder?
Soon — while the intent to buy is still fresh. Around 30 to 60 minutes after the shopper leaves works well, and you can set the exact delay yourself.
Does every reminder need a discount?
No. A shopper who was simply distracted usually needs nothing more than a link back to checkout. Keep discounts for shoppers who left over price or shipping cost, and for the last message in the sequence.
Does the customer have to sign in again to finish the order?
No. Copy the payment link from the order details page and include it in your message, and the shopper goes straight to payment.
Which channel should I use for cart reminders?
Whichever one your customers respond to. Email, SMS, and WhatsApp all work — choose based on how your audience already communicates with you, and keep the sequence on that one channel.
Every abandoned cart is a message from a customer who stopped halfway. Don't leave it unanswered. Turn on your reminders, time-limited discounts, and retargeting today, and watch abandoned carts turn from an irritation into one of your strongest sources of sales.