In short: An abandoned cart flow usually has three emails: a short reminder after a few hours, answers to objections after a day, and a last email after two to three days. Discounts, if at all, only in the last email.
Email 1: the reminder
One to four hours after abandonment. Product image, name, a button back to the cart. No sales copy, no discount.
Email 2: the objections
After about a day. Reviews, shipping and returns in two sentences, an answer to the most common question about the product.
Email 3: last chance
After two to three days. A small incentive is fine here, like free shipping. Give a discount in email 1 and you teach customers to abandon on purpose.
The filters that are often missing
- Anyone who has bought in the meantime gets no further email.
- Anyone who got an abandonment email in the last few days isn’t contacted again.
- Only people who opted in to marketing emails, depending on the law in your country.
Cart or checkout?
In Klaviyo you can trigger on added to cart or on started checkout. People who started checkout are closer to buying. Start with that trigger.
Frequently asked questions
Klaviyo or Shopify Email?
Shopify Email is enough to start. Once you want several flows, segments and tests, Klaviyo is much stronger.
Which flows should a store build first?
Welcome, abandoned cart and post-purchase. For most stores, these three bring in most of the email revenue.