How to automate abandoned cart emails for Shopify and WooCommerce

Recovering abandoned carts is an effective way to increase your sales without additional advertising costs. By sending automated emails to customers who leave products in their shopping carts, you can remind them of the items they were interested in and encourage them to complete their purchase.

To set up this automation, please go to Automation section, click on new automation and select start from scratch. Then you'll use the 'Abandoned Cart' start trigger, which consists of four customizable conditions. These conditions determine when a contact will be added to the automation.

The first condition is integration. Choose whether the trigger applies to whether it is an every linked webshop (Shopify or WooCommerce) or a specific webshop (useful if you manage multiple stores).

The next condition is 'Select Product'. Trigger can apply to any product left in the cart or to a specific product (useful for promoting high-value or seasonal items).

The following condition is 'Select Category'. Choose whether the trigger applies to any product category or a specific category (e.g., electronics, clothing, accessories).

And the last condition is 'Cart Value'. Trigger can be set for any cart value or for a specific value (e.g., only send emails for carts over $50).

After conditions are set you need to choose if you want to run it once or multiple times.

Also to fine-tune your abandoned cart automation, you have the option to exclude certain contacts from entering the automation. This allows you to precisely target your audience and avoid sending reminders to contacts who don’t need them, such as recent buyers or specific segments. 

To exclude specific contacts look for the checkbox labeled ‘Segment the contacts entering this automation’ while setting up your automation and check this box to activate segmentation. After enabling segmentation, you can set conditions to specify which contacts should be excluded.

Examples of exclusion conditions include:

• Contacts who made a purchase recently.

• Contacts who previously opted out of cart reminders.

• VIP customers who receive a different follow-up sequence.
  

Once all conditions are set as desired, click on the green button labeled ‘Add a start’ located in the bottom right corner. This will initiate the automation and apply your segmentation rules. 

After adding the start trigger, you can create a personalized email to remind your contacts about the items left in their shopping cart. Include product images, names, and a clear ‘Complete Your Purchase’ call-to-action button to encourage conversion.

An abandoned cart email is a powerful tool to recover lost sales by reminding customers about the products they left behind. In Marketune, you can easily create this email using the special ‘Abandoned Cart’ content block, which is only available in automations that use the ‘Abandoned Cart’ start trigger.

Note: You can only use one ‘Abandoned Cart’ content block per email.

Follow these steps to set up this automation:
1. In your automation workflow, decide where you want to add the abandoned cart email. Click on the plus icon at the desired point in your automation.
2. Choose ‘Send an Email’ and then select ‘Create a New Email’.
3. Enter a name for the email that will be visible to you only (e.g., “Abandoned Cart Reminder n.1”) and click on ‘Start with a Template’ to begin designing your email.
4. Browse through the available templates and choose one that fits your brand’s style. Hover over the template and click on ‘Select’.
5. Enter a compelling subject line that entices the recipient to open the email. Examples: “Did you forget something?”, “Your cart is waiting!”
6. Decide where you want to place the ‘Abandoned Cart’ content block within your email. Click on the insertion field and drag the content block to the desired location.

7. Click on the Abandoned Cart content block to open the settings panel. Here, you can customize product information display (product image, name, price, quantity, description), select text style and color, choose the order in which the products will be displayed (e.g., by price, by name, etc.) and set a limit on the number of products shown in the email.

The product details (images, names, prices, and descriptions) are automatically populated in the email when it is sent. This dynamic content is tailored to each recipient, showing only the products they left behind.

Important note: The abandoned product details will only be displayed to contacts who have abandoned cart data at the time the email is sent. If no products were abandoned, the email will not display any product details, preventing any irrelevant content from being shown.

Once you have finished designing and customizing the email, click on ‘Next’ in the top right corner. Review your settings and then click on ‘Finish’.

The timing of your abandoned cart email can significantly impact its effectiveness. Here’s why you might want to adjust the duration:

• Shorter Wait Time: Ideal for impulse purchases where a quick reminder can prompt an immediate action.
• Longer Wait Time: Useful for high-consideration purchases where customers might need more time to decide.

First go to the Marketune main menu and click on ‘Settings’ at the bottom left corner. Select ‘Integrations’ from the settings menu and locate the Shopify integration. Click on the button labeled ‘Connected’ next to Shopify. Then, click on ‘Manage’ to access the settings. 

In the settings menu, you will see the default wait time set to 1 hour (recommended). Use the drop-down menu to choose a different duration. Options typically include: 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour (recommended), 2 hours, 4 hours, 24 hours

Tip: Shorter wait times are effective for impulse buys, while longer wait times work well for high-value purchases. After selecting your preferred wait time, click on the button labeled ‘Save’ to apply the changes.

The process for WooCommerce is almost identical to Shopify, with the only difference being the choice of integration.