Abandoned cart SMS is a short text that brings a shopper back to the cart they left. CartAbandon sends it only to shoppers with recorded SMS consent, honors STOP, respects quiet hours in the shopper's time zone, and includes 250 to 15 000 texts per month in your plan, with no per-message bill.
Texts are read quickly, which makes them strong for shoppers who were close to buying. An abandoned cart text is short, personal and points straight back to the cart.
But SMS is not always the right first move. It costs more than email and it feels more personal, so a text at the wrong time can annoy a shopper who would have come back anyway. CartAbandon decides per cart.
| Situation | Better first channel | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Returning customer, high cart value, SMS consent | SMS | Fast, personal, likely to convert without a discount |
| Shopper left at checkout on a phone | SMS | They are already on the device and close to paying |
| Card declined at payment | SMS or email | A quick payment fix matters more than the channel |
| First visit, low cart value, email only | No SMS consent, and an email costs less | |
| Browsing only, no cart | Email or web push | A text feels too pushy this early |
| Shopper's local time is late at night | Wait for quiet hours to end | Respect and legal timing come first |
A real example of a decision: a returning customer with a 480 USD cart and SMS consent gets a text after 20 minutes, with no discount. On Growth and up the Recovery Brain makes this call for each cart. On Starter, you set the SMS step in your flow yourself.
In the US, the TCPA requires consent before you send marketing texts. Other markets have their own rules. CartAbandon is built so that no marketing text goes out without it.
A data processing agreement is available in your panel, and the same rules apply under GDPR and CASL.
The AI writes each text to fit in a short message. It names the product, adds one reason to come back and links to the restored cart. A discount code appears only if the decision includes one, and every code is unique and single use.
For examples you can copy, see our abandoned cart SMS templates with notes on timing.
Texts work best as part of a sequence. A common plan is a quick text, then an email later if the shopper has not returned. See how emails fit in on the abandoned cart email page.
| Plan | Price | SMS per month | WhatsApp per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 49 USD/mo or 24 USD/mo yearly | 250 | Not included |
| Growth | 149 USD/mo or 74 USD/mo yearly | 1 000 | 1 000 |
| Scale | 399 USD/mo or 199 USD/mo yearly | 4 000 | 4 000 |
| Plus | 999 USD/mo or 499 USD/mo yearly | 15 000 | 15 000 |
Usage counts per billing period. At 80 percent use you see an upgrade prompt. At 100 percent, new SMS sends pause and email keeps working within your recovered-cart attempts. Nothing is billed per message, and upgrading charges only the price difference right away.
Prefer messaging apps for some markets? Compare with WhatsApp abandoned cart messages, included from Growth.
FAQ
Yes, when the shopper has given consent to receive marketing texts. CartAbandon sends marketing SMS only to contacts with recorded consent, honors STOP and respects quiet hours.
They are opted out right away. No further marketing texts go to that number, and the opt-out is recorded on the contact.
Starter includes 250 per month, Growth 1 000, Scale 4 000 and Plus 15 000. There is no per-message charge.
No. Texts work best for high-intent shoppers with SMS consent. CartAbandon uses email or web push when a text would be too early, too costly or not allowed.
Yes, if your guardrails allow it and the shopper's signals suggest it will help. Codes are unique, single use and capped by your margin rules.
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