Abandoned cart emails: how to win back shoppers who left checkout
In short: about 70% of carts are abandoned before payment, according to an average of 50 studies compiled by the Baymard Institute, and some of those shoppers come back if you remind them at the right time. A sequence of three messages (after an hour, then a day, then three days) by email or WhatsApp is enough for most stores. But email has rules: Google requires everyone sending to Gmail to authenticate with SPF and DKIM, publish a DMARC record and keep spam reports under 0.3%, and requires bulk senders to offer one-click unsubscribe. And Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Law sets conditions for direct marketing.
The customer added the product to the cart, reached the checkout page, then vanished. This is the closest customer you have, and the cheapest to win back, because you don’t need to convince them from scratch.
How many carts are abandoned, and why?
The Baymard Institute compiled 50 studies and found an average cart abandonment rate of 70.22%. Among the biggest reasons for abandoning during checkout: unexpected extra costs (40%), slow delivery (20%), not trusting the site with card details (19%), and being forced to create an account (18%). So some abandonment you fix in the store itself, read how to raise your conversion rate, and the rest you win back with messages.
A suggested message sequence
- After about an hour: a simple reminder. The product’s image, name and price, and a button that takes them straight back to the cart. No discount.
- After a day: answer the reason. Mention shipping and delivery, payment options (mada, Apple Pay, instalments), the return policy and real product reviews.
- After three days: last chance. If you want an offer, this is its place: free shipping or a small time-limited discount. Don’t give the discount in the first message, or customers learn to abandon carts to get it.
These timings are a common starting point, not a rule. Test them on your store and measure the recovery rate of each message.
Email or WhatsApp?
- WhatsApp is closer to customers in Saudi Arabia and read faster, but marketing messages on the WhatsApp Business Platform are priced per message and need the customer’s consent and approved templates. Read the WhatsApp business bot guide.
- Email is cheaper and carries more images and detail, but reaching the inbox depends on correct setup.
- Often best: the first message on the channel the customer agreed to, the rest by email.
Google’s sender requirements: keeping your messages out of spam
According to Google’s email sender guidelines, anyone sending to personal Gmail accounts must:
- Authenticate messages with SPF and DKIM.
- Publish a DMARC record for the domain, with at least a
p=nonepolicy, and align the From: domain with the SPF or DKIM domain. - Have valid DNS records and use TLS.
- Keep the spam report rate below 0.3%, ideally below 0.1%.
Anyone sending close to 5,000 messages or more a day to Gmail counts as a bulk sender, and must add one-click unsubscribe to marketing messages and honour unsubscribe requests within 48 hours. And from November 2025 Google began ramping up enforcement on non-compliant mail, including temporary and permanent rejections.
Data protection law and marketing
Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Law came into force on 14 September 2023 with a year to comply, and SDAIA is actively enforcing it according to DLA Piper’s summary, which notes that the law and its Implementing Regulations set specific conditions for processing data for direct marketing. In practice: collect clear consent to marketing messages at purchase or sign-up, provide an easy way to unsubscribe, and explain it in your privacy policy. Check the details for your business with your legal adviser.
Frequently asked questions
Do I send the abandoned cart message to every visitor?
Only to those who left their email or number and agreed to be contacted, usually at the start of checkout or at sign-in. Anonymous visitors are won back with retargeting ads, not messages.
How many messages should I send?
Three is a good starting point. More raises unsubscribes and spam reports, which hurts the delivery of all your messages.
Do store platforms provide these messages?
Most store platforms and email marketing tools have a ready abandoned cart feature. What matters is setting the timing and content, and setting up your email domain (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) before switching it on.
The bottom line
Abandoned cart messages are one of the fastest ways to raise sales without extra ad budget, given thoughtful timing, messages that answer why people left, correct email setup and clear consent. If you want someone to set them up and connect them to your store, have a look at our online store service.
