RC
Returning customer, 480 USD cart, SMS consent
SMS
in 20 min
No discount
Why this message. Loyal buyer with a high-value cart. A quick reminder is enough, so we keep your margin.
Abandoned cart recovery channels in one place
CartAbandon recovers abandoned carts through six channels: email, SMS, WhatsApp, web push, an onsite offer when the shopper returns, and retargeting audiences. Each send respects the shopper's recorded consent, quiet hours and one frequency cap across all channels, so nobody gets the same reminder three times.
Six channels, one plan, no per-message bills
Most stores run recovery across several apps: one for email, one for SMS, one for popups. Each has its own rules and its own bill. CartAbandon runs every channel from one place, with one consent record per contact and one set of caps. SMS and WhatsApp are included up to your plan limits, with no per-message charge.
| Channel | Consent needed | Best for | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded email marketing consent | Every stage, longer messages, product images | Starter and up | |
| SMS | Recorded SMS consent | High-value carts, fast reminders, mobile shoppers | Starter (250 per month) and up |
| WhatsApp opt-in | Markets where shoppers prefer WhatsApp, rich product cards | Growth and up | |
| Web push | Browser permission | Repeat visitors, back in stock and price drop alerts | Growth and up |
| Onsite offer | None, shown on your store | Shoppers who return or are about to leave | Starter and up |
| Retargeting audiences | Recorded advertising consent | Shoppers you cannot message directly | Scale and up |
Email reaches the most shoppers at the lowest cost
Email is the base channel. Most checkouts capture an email, so it covers the largest share of reachable carts. CartAbandon sends unlimited emails within your recovered-cart attempts on every plan. Every email has one-click unsubscribe. Read more about writing an abandoned cart email that does not lean on discounts.
SMS brings back high-value carts fast
SMS is read within minutes. That makes it the right channel for a returning customer with a large cart. CartAbandon sends SMS only to numbers with a recorded SMS consent, handles the STOP keyword automatically and never texts during the shopper's local quiet hours. See abandoned cart SMS for timing and wording.
| Plan | SMS per month | WhatsApp per month |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | 250 | Not included |
| Growth | 1 000 | 1 000 |
| Scale | 4 000 | 4 000 |
| Plus | 15 000 | 15 000 |
WhatsApp works where your shoppers already chat
In many countries shoppers use WhatsApp more than SMS. CartAbandon sends WhatsApp recovery messages with the product, price and a link back to the cart, only to shoppers who opted in. Shoppers can opt out at any time. Details are on the WhatsApp abandoned cart page.
Web push and onsite offers catch shoppers without a contact
Many visitors leave before typing an email. Two channels still reach them.
- Web push. If a shopper allowed browser notifications, CartAbandon can send a short reminder, a back in stock alert or a price drop alert. No email or phone needed.
- Onsite offer. When the shopper comes back to your store, or is about to leave, CartAbandon can show a mobile-safe popup or slide-in. It can remind them of the cart or, if guardrails allow, offer free shipping.
Retargeting audiences turn abandoners into ad segments
On Scale and Plus, CartAbandon syncs abandoned segments to ad platforms as hashed lists. Only shoppers with a recorded advertising consent are included. You can then show ads to people who left a cart, and exclude people who already came back and bought, so you stop paying to advertise to recent buyers.
When one channel is not allowed, the next one takes over
The Recovery Brain (Growth and up) picks the best channel for each cart from the channels the shopper consented to. If the first choice is not possible, it falls back.
- A returning customer with SMS consent gets SMS.
- No SMS consent, but WhatsApp opt-in, gets WhatsApp.
- No SMS or WhatsApp consent gets email.
- No email either, but push permission, gets web push.
- No contact at all sees the onsite offer when they return, and may join a retargeting audience if they gave advertising consent.
On Starter, flows run on email, SMS and the onsite offer with fixed timing.
Frequency caps and quiet hours protect your customers
- One cap across all channels. You set how many recovery messages a shopper can get per day and per week. An SMS and an email for the same cart count toward the same cap.
- Quiet hours by time zone. No messages at night in the shopper's own time zone. A message due at 2 a.m. waits until morning.
- Purchase stops everything. When the order is placed, all pending messages for that cart are cancelled.
- Transactional is separate. Payment-failure notices are sent as transactional messages, separate from marketing.
FAQ
Questions about abandoned cart recovery channels
Which channel recovers the most carts?
It depends on the shopper. Email reaches the most people, while SMS and WhatsApp are read faster. The Recovery Brain picks the channel per cart from those the shopper consented to.
Do I pay extra for SMS or WhatsApp?
No. SMS and WhatsApp are included in your plan up to the monthly limits. There is no per-message bill. At 100 percent use, new attempts pause until the next period or an upgrade.
Is it legal to text shoppers about their cart?
Yes, when they gave consent. CartAbandon sends marketing SMS only to people with a recorded consent, handles STOP replies and respects quiet hours, in line with TCPA, GDPR and CASL.
What if a shopper did not leave an email?
They can still be reached by web push if they allowed notifications, by an onsite offer when they return, or through a retargeting audience if they gave advertising consent.
Will shoppers get the same reminder on every channel?
No. One frequency cap covers all channels, and a purchase cancels every pending message for that cart.
See which channels can reach your abandoned carts
Your estimate shows recoverable revenue by flow for your store.