.avif)
TL;DR: A Klaviyo abandoned cart flow recovers shoppers who start checkout and leave. Trigger it on Started Checkout, send the first email 1 to 4 hours later, then two or three more across 48 to 72 hours. Hold your discount for the last email. The biggest lever isn't copy or timing, though. It's fixing the tracking gap that hides most of your abandoners from Klaviyo.
A Klaviyo abandoned cart flow is an automated email and SMS sequence that wins back Shopify shoppers who start checkout but don't buy, and it recovers 5 to 11 percent of those lost carts once it's dialed in. That matters because most stores leak revenue right here. Baymard Institute puts the average cart abandonment rate at 70.22 percent, based on 50 separate studies. Seven of every ten people who reach your cart walk away without ordering.
The upside is simple. A well-built flow is the highest-ROI automation you can run. Across the Shopify stores we manage at CartStrings, the abandoned cart flow is almost always a top-three revenue driver, and it works on autopilot once it's live.
This guide walks the full setup: which trigger to use, when to send each email, how many to send, and where a discount belongs. Then we'll cover the one thing that quietly caps most flows, the piece almost no other guide mentions. Let's build it.
How does a cart flow work?
An abandoned cart flow triggers when a shopper adds items or starts checkout, then leaves without ordering. Klaviyo waits a set delay, checks that they still haven't bought, and sends a reminder. If they order at any point, the flow stops and pulls them out on its own.
There are two versions, and the difference matters. Cart abandonment, powered by the Added to Cart event, fires when someone adds a product but never reaches checkout. Checkout abandonment, powered by the Started Checkout event, fires once they hit the checkout page and enter an email. Started Checkout catches higher-intent shoppers, so it recovers more per send.
Most stores run the Started Checkout flow as their main one and layer an Added to Cart flow on top later to catch earlier browsers. Getting this structure right is the core of any solid email automations program, since the cart flow feeds directly into welcome, post-purchase, and winback later on.
Which trigger should you use?
Use Started Checkout as your main trigger on almost every Shopify store. It fires when a shopper reaches checkout and gives an email, so intent is high and recovery is strong. Added to Cart catches earlier, more casual browsers, and works best as a second, lighter flow.
Klaviyo's own documentation points most Shopify stores to Started Checkout, and every high-performing setup we've seen uses it as the backbone. The logic is clear. Someone who typed their email into checkout is much closer to buying than someone who clicked "add to cart" and kept browsing.
That doesn't mean Added to Cart is useless. Its audience is larger, just lower intent. If you run it, keep it softer: fewer emails, no hard offer, and a filter so anyone who moves on to Started Checkout drops out and enters the main flow instead. Run one trigger as your workhorse and treat the other as support.
When to send each email?
Send the first email 1 to 4 hours after abandonment, while intent is fresh. Send the second about 24 hours later, and a third 48 to 72 hours out. Klaviyo recommends a 4-hour delay on email one. Big-ticket items can wait longer, since buyers take more time to decide.
One trap catches a lot of people. Set that first delay to at least 1 hour and 15 minutes. Klaviyo starts the countdown when the event syncs, not the exact second of abandonment. If you set an ultra-short delay, the email can fire almost immediately or overlap oddly with the sync window. A little buffer keeps the timing clean.
There's no perfect number that fits every store. If you sell considered purchases like furniture or electronics, stretch the gaps out. If you sell impulse products, tighten them. Test one variable at a time and let your own recovery numbers, not a blog benchmark, settle the final timing.
How many cart emails to send?
Three emails works for most stores. Add a fourth only for higher-priced products where people take longer to decide. Email one is a simple reminder. Email two handles objections like shipping or sizing. Email three brings urgency or a small incentive. More than four just annoys people and hurts your sender reputation.
Each email has a job. The reminder should show the exact items left in the cart, with a clear button back to checkout and almost no other distraction. The objection email answers the quiet hesitations that stall a sale: free returns, real reviews, shipping speed, and a sizing or fit note where it fits. The final email adds a reason to act now, whether that's low stock, a deadline, or your first offer.
Keep each message short and single-minded. These flows also pair well with your broader email campaigns calendar, so the cart flow stays focused on recovery while campaigns do the wider storytelling.
Should you add a discount?
Don't put a coupon in the first email. It trains shoppers to abandon on purpose to unlock a deal. Klaviyo recommends holding any incentive for the final email, or offering it only to first-time buyers. Plenty of carts get recovered by a plain reminder with no discount at all.
The math is easy to miss. Every dollar you discount on a cart that would have converted anyway comes straight out of margin. A shopper who left because of a slow shipping estimate doesn't need 15 percent off. They need to see your returns policy or a delivery promise.
When you do offer something, be surgical. Use a conditional split so only never-purchased profiles see the code, and keep repeat buyers on a reminder-only path. A quick Klaviyo audit often finds stores handing out discounts on carts that would have closed on their own, which is free margin left on the table.
The gap nobody fixes
Here's what most abandoned cart guides skip. Klaviyo can only email a shopper it can identify, and it identifies roughly 14 to 15 percent of abandoners. The rest are anonymous browsers, new visitors, or people with cleared cookies. Klaviyo never fires the trigger for them, so they never enter your flow, no matter how sharp your copy is.
That's the real ceiling. You can perfect your timing and your subject lines and still only reach one in seven people who abandon. Copy tweaks move a flow a few percent. Closing the identification gap can double it.
The fix has two parts. First, capture more emails earlier with a strong popup and email capture setup, so shoppers are already identified before they reach checkout. Second, add server-side tracking, using Klaviyo's server-side checkout events or a tool like Littledata, so events still fire when ad blockers or iOS block the browser script.
Get identification up and every other improvement compounds. This is where we spend the most time for CartStrings clients, because it's the real difference between recovering 3 percent of carts and 10 percent.
Add cart flow SMS + filters
Two upgrades round out the flow. If you have text consent, add one SMS around 30 to 90 minutes after Started Checkout. Layering a single SMS usually recovers an extra 1 to 3 percent of carts, because texts get opened fast and reach people on the phone they were already shopping on. Use a conditional split so consented shoppers get the SMS and everyone else stays email-only.
Now the filters. Exclude anyone who has placed an order, and keep Smart Sending on so the flow doesn't collide with your campaigns. Watch your filter logic closely. When you stack exclusions like "has not placed order" and "has not started checkout," those conditions need AND, not OR. Get that wrong and shoppers end up in the wrong flow entirely.
A conditional split by cart value helps too. High-cart shoppers can get a different message, and maybe a different offer, than low-cart ones. Clean sending habits here also protect your deliverability, which keeps these emails landing in the inbox where they can actually recover the sale.
Build it or audit it
A Klaviyo abandoned cart flow is one of the few automations that pays for itself in the first month. Trigger on Started Checkout, send three to four emails across 72 hours, hold the discount for the end, and add SMS if you have consent. Then do the part most stores miss: close the tracking gap so Klaviyo actually sees more of your abandoners.
Do all of that and this single flow can move from a nice-to-have to 5 to 10 percent of your total revenue. Across the stores we manage at CartStrings, we typically see email drive 32 percent of revenue, and the abandoned cart flow is a big reason why.
Want it built or audited for your store? Book a call and we'll map it out.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should you wait to send the first abandoned cart email?
Send it 1 to 4 hours after abandonment, while buying intent is still fresh. Klaviyo recommends a 4-hour delay for email one. Set the delay to at least 1 hour and 15 minutes, since Klaviyo starts the countdown when the event syncs, not the exact moment of abandonment.
Should abandoned cart emails include a discount?
Not in the first email. Leading with a coupon trains shoppers to abandon carts on purpose to unlock a deal. Hold any incentive for the final email, or show it only to first-time buyers. Many carts recover from a plain reminder with no discount at all.
How many abandoned cart emails should you send?
Three is the sweet spot for most stores: a reminder, an objection-handler, and a final nudge. Add a fourth only for higher-priced products with longer decision cycles. Sending more than four tends to annoy shoppers and can hurt your sender reputation over time.
What is a good abandoned cart recovery rate?
Most Shopify stores recover 3 to 5 percent of abandoned carts, while well-built flows recover 5 to 11 percent, and top performers push 10 to 14 percent. A mature abandoned cart flow usually contributes 3 to 8 percent of total store revenue once it's optimized.
Started Checkout or Added to Cart, which trigger is better?
Use Started Checkout as your main trigger. It fires once a shopper reaches checkout and enters an email, so intent is high and recovery is stronger. Added to Cart catches earlier, more casual browsers and works best as a lighter, secondary flow layered on top.
