5 abandoned cart email templates you can copy

23 August 2026 · 4 min read

Across published studies, roughly seven in ten online carts are abandoned (see the Baymard Institute's running meta-analysis), so most stores send some form of reminder. Below are five plain templates you can adapt. They're starting points, not magic — test them against your own audience.

Replace the bracketed placeholders with your tool's merge fields. Keep subject lines short and factual; every email needs a working unsubscribe.

1. The simple reminder (first touch)

Subject: You left something in your cart

Hi [First name],

You left these in your cart at [Store name]:

[Cart items]

Your cart is saved — you can pick up right where you left off:
[Recovery link]

If you've already ordered, please ignore this email.

[Store name]
[Unsubscribe link] · [Business address]

2. The gentle follow-up

Subject: Still thinking it over?

Hi [First name],

Your cart at [Store name] is still saved:

[Cart items]

If anything held you back — sizing, shipping, questions —
just reply to this email and we'll help.

[Recovery link]

[Store name]
[Unsubscribe link] · [Business address]

3. The question (reply-bait, service-first)

Subject: Did something go wrong?

Hi [First name],

I noticed you didn't finish checking out. If something didn't
work — payment, shipping options, an error — I'd genuinely
like to know so we can fix it.

And if you simply changed your mind, no problem at all.

Your cart: [Recovery link]

[Founder name], [Store name]
[Unsubscribe link] · [Business address]

4. The incentive (use sparingly)

Note: sending a discount to every abandoner can train shoppers to abandon on purpose — many stores reserve it for the final touch.

Subject: [X]% off the items in your cart

Hi [First name],

Your cart is still saved — and to make the decision easier,
here's [X]% off if you complete your order:

Code: [Discount code]
[Recovery link]

The code is single-use and expires on [date].

[Store name]
[Unsubscribe link] · [Business address]

5. The last touch

Subject: Last reminder about your cart

Hi [First name],

This is the last email about the items in your cart:

[Cart items]

[Recovery link]

We won't send further reminders about this order.
Thanks for considering [Store name].

[Unsubscribe link] · [Business address]

Compliance basics (not legal advice)

In the US, the FTC's CAN-SPAM compliance guide requires (among other things) a valid physical postal address and a clear opt-out that is honored promptly.
Google's email sender guidelines require bulk senders to authenticate mail (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), offer one-click unsubscribe, and keep spam-report rates low.
Consent rules differ by region, and on Shopify specifically, the checkout's marketing checkbox is only recorded at certain steps — we've written up why abandoned checkouts often carry no recorded consent.

Curious what abandoned carts add up to for your store? Try our cart revenue calculator — it's a plain arithmetic estimate from your own numbers.

Recover abandoned carts with coordinated, AI-timed email and web push — shopper email addresses encrypted at rest, no revenue-share pricing. Install Cartback free on the Shopify App Store →