When a customer puts products in their cart on your storefront and leaves without ordering, we email them one reminder on your store's behalf. This article explains what the reminder says, when it goes out, who can receive it and which plans include it.
What the reminder is
The reminder is a short email from your store to the customer about their own cart. It carries your store's letterhead: your store's name and logo, in your storefront's accent colour, with your store's contact email and address at the bottom. If the customer replies, the reply goes to your store's contact email, or to our support address while your store has none.
It is written in your store's main language and contains:
- The subject You left something behind at, followed by your store's name.
- The line Your basket is saved — these items are still waiting for you.
- A table of the products in the cart, with the quantity of each.
- A button, Return to your basket.
- A closing note: Prices and availability may have changed since you left.
The button opens your storefront's cart with the same products in it, even on a different phone or computer from the one the customer used. From there the customer checks out as usual, at today's prices and with today's stock.
The reminder carries no discount code. The order it brings back looks like any other order in your Orders list.
When it is sent: idle for 4 to 48 hours, once
We check your store's carts every hour. A cart gets its reminder when all of these are true:
| Condition | What it means |
|---|---|
| It still has products in it. | An emptied cart is not reminded. |
| No order was placed from it. | A customer who finished checking out is never reminded. |
| The cart has been left alone for at least 4 hours. | The clock counts from the cart’s last change. Every change starts it again: adding a product, changing a quantity, removing a product, typing or changing an email address at checkout, applying or removing a discount code, or signing in to an account. |
| It has been left alone for no more than 48 hours. | A cart untouched for more than two days is not reminded: the moment has passed, and we stay quiet. |
| It has not been reminded before. | One reminder per cart, ever. |
Because the check runs every hour, the reminder goes out within an hour of the 4-hour mark. A customer who is still adding to their cart is never reminded while they shop: each change moves the mark 4 hours on. For example, a customer who adds a linen dress at 10:00 and a scarf at 13:00, then leaves, is reminded soon after 17:00. A cart started days ago but changed today counts from today’s change. A customer who comes back after the reminder, changes the cart and leaves again does not get a second one.
The 4-hour wait leaves room for a customer who is still deciding, and the 48-hour limit stops the email arriving when it would feel like being watched rather than helped.
Who can be reminded: an account email, or one typed at checkout
We can only remind a customer whose email address we have:
- A signed-in customer: we use the email address of their account.
- A guest: we use the email address they typed at checkout. It is saved as soon as they move on from the email field, even if they never place the order.
- A guest who left before typing an email address cannot be reminded: there is no address to write to.
The reminder does not depend on the newsletter. Customers do not have to subscribe to your newsletter to get it, because it is about their own cart.
Tip
The more customers reach checkout and type their email address, the more carts can be recovered. Guest checkout and customer accounts both work; see Set tax, payment methods and guest checkout.
Nothing to switch on
Abandoned-cart recovery runs by itself on every plan that includes it. There is no setting for it in the console: you do not turn it on, and you cannot turn it off or change its timing or its words.
The console does not list abandoned carts or the reminders sent. You see the result as orders.
Because every reminder carries your store's details, check that your store's name, logo, contact email and address are right. See Update your store's details.
Which plans include it
Abandoned-cart recovery is on Starter and up: Starter, Growth, Business and Enterprise. A store on Free sends no reminders, and a store that moves down to Free stops sending them.
On noqtashop.com, the Pricing page compares every plan. Scroll the table to the Selling group to find the Abandoned-cart recovery row, or type “cart” in the Find a capability box. See Plans and what each includes.
For the other emails your customers receive, see Emails your customers get about orders. To give customers a reason to come back and finish their order, add a discount code and share it with them.