Cart abandonment is one of the most frustrating parts of running an online store: a shopper adds something to their cart, gets to checkout, and then just… leaves. The good news is that recovering some of those sales doesn’t require a Shopify Plus subscription or a big budget. Shopify’s own abandoned checkout emails are built into every paid plan, and if you want more control, several email tools offer free tiers that handle cart recovery just fine for a small store.
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This guide walks through both paths — Shopify’s native automation and a free third-party tool — so you can pick what fits your store and get recovery emails running today.
Quick Answer
You don’t need Shopify Plus. Every paid Shopify plan (Basic and up) includes a free abandoned checkout email you can turn on in Settings > Checkout, or the newer automation under Apps > Messaging. For more flexibility — multiple follow-up emails, SMS, better design — connect a free-tier email app like Klaviyo or Omnisend instead, both of which offer free plans that include abandoned cart automation.
Set Up Shopify’s Built-In Abandoned Checkout Emails
Shopify automatically records a checkout as “abandoned” once a shopper enters their email or contact info at checkout and then leaves without finishing the order. There are two places this lives in the admin right now, depending on which version of your store you’re on. Older stores may still have the legacy toggle under Settings > Checkout: scroll down to the “Abandoned checkouts” section and check the box for “Automatically send abandoned checkout emails.” From there you can pick the recipient group (everyone who abandons checkout, or only email subscribers) and the send-after timing.
Shopify has also been rolling out a newer, more flexible version of this automation under Apps > Messaging. Open the Messaging app, click Automations, and look for “Abandoned checkout emails by Shopify” — open its menu and choose Edit settings to turn it on, pick who receives it, and set how long to wait after abandonment before sending (typically a window of a few hours up to a full day). This newer automation carries over your existing settings if you were already using the legacy toggle, and gives you more control over email design.
Keep in mind a few limits either way: the email only fires for checkouts on your Online Store or Buy Button channel (not POS or some third-party sales channels), it won’t send if the cart only contains free items or out-of-stock products, and it skips anyone who already completed the purchase before the email went out. It’s generally a single recovery email rather than a multi-step sequence, so if you want several follow-ups, a dedicated email app is the next step.
Use a Free Email App for More Recovery Emails
If you want a sequence of two or three follow-up emails, better templates, or the ability to add a discount code to the second or third message, a dedicated email marketing app will get you further than Shopify’s single built-in email — and you can do this without paying anything if your list is small.
Klaviyo’s free plan covers a capped number of contacts and a capped number of email sends per month, and it includes a pre-built abandoned cart automation template, so you can connect your Shopify store, turn on the flow, and customize the email sequence without writing any code. Omnisend’s free plan lets you store an unlimited number of contacts but caps how many unique contacts you can email each month, and it likewise includes abandoned cart automation out of the box, plus the option to add SMS later if you upgrade.
To connect either one, install the app from the Shopify App Store, link your store when prompted, and look for the “Abandoned Cart” or “Abandoned Checkout” flow template in the automations section. Most of these templates come with sensible default timing (the first email an hour or two after abandonment, with one or two follow-ups over the next day or two) that you can adjust once you see how your customers respond.
Once your contact list or send volume grows past the free tier, you’ll move to a paid plan — but by that point the recovered sales from your cart emails should easily justify the cost. Check each provider’s pricing page for current thresholds before you commit, since these free-tier limits do shift over time.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Don’t rely on just one email. A short sequence — a gentle reminder first, then a follow-up with a little more urgency or a small incentive — recovers more sales than a single message, which is why upgrading to a flow-based app pays off once your store has consistent traffic.
Make sure your checkout actually asks for an email early. If a shopper never enters their email, neither Shopify’s native tool nor any email app can reach them, so consider enabling express/accelerated checkout buttons and asking for contact info as the first checkout step.
Don’t stack multiple abandoned cart emails from different sources at once. If you install a third-party flow, turn off Shopify’s native abandoned checkout automation (or vice versa) so customers aren’t getting duplicate messages for the same cart.
Keep the email simple: a photo of the item, a clear “complete your order” button, and your support contact. Avoid large unverified discounts as a default — test a small incentive only after you’ve seen how the plain reminder performs on its own.
Check your spam/deliverability settings. A properly authenticated sending domain matters more for recovery emails than clever copy, since the email does no good sitting in a spam folder.
Explore more: more small business tech guides.
Abandoned cart recovery emails FAQs
Do I need Shopify Plus for abandoned cart emails?
No. Shopify’s built-in abandoned checkout email is available on all paid Shopify plans, not just Plus. Plus mainly adds more advanced native automation options, but a free recovery email is available to every store.
Is Shopify’s native abandoned checkout email actually free?
Yes. It doesn’t require any app installation or extra cost — it’s a built-in automation you turn on from Settings > Checkout or the newer version under Apps > Messaging, depending on your store.
What’s the benefit of using an app like Klaviyo or Omnisend instead of Shopify’s built-in email?
Third-party apps let you send a multi-step sequence of follow-up emails instead of just one, offer more design flexibility, and let you add channels like SMS later. Both have free plans suitable for small contact lists.
Why isn’t my abandoned checkout email sending to everyone who left a cart?
Shopify only sends the recovery email to shoppers who entered contact information (like an email) before abandoning checkout, and it skips certain cases like out-of-stock items, free-item-only carts, or checkouts outside the Online Store and Buy Button channels.
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Photo by حامد طه on Unsplash.