Today's Biggest Tool - The "Incomplete Checkout" Email Flow
First, let's answer the question you might be asking yourself. What is the "incomplete checkout" email flow? Fair question, because even though the answer may be obvious to you when you hear it, it's actually something many businesses don't even think about initially or realize they need. So to answer your question, let's talk through a potential real-life example where this flow would be incredibly helpful:
Imagine your marketing efforts have worked, and you have successfully encouraged a potential customer to visit your online store. They browse your products and add one to cart (exciting!) But then, they suddenly leave the checkout process without actually purchasing.
This can be incredibly frustrating, because you have no idea why. You know they were interested enough in your product to add it to cart, but for some reason they just stopped right when they were about to take the final jump. When this happens, we call it an "incomplete checkout."
The Incomplete Checkout Email Flow is designed to help bring these potential customers back and encourage them to seal the deal and actually purchase a product from you. It's extremely helpful, because as we will get into in a second, potential customers abandon cart a lot. And when it happens, it's important to ensure you aren't throwing away the hard work of your marketing by not taking advantage of the initial interest they showed.
So, Why Do Customers Abandon Cart?
So, how does this work? Let's start by talking through why it happens, so we can strategize how to empathize and use that knowledge to reel these potential customers back in. There are many reasons a customer might leave their cart behind, and it's not always because they changed their mind. Here are a few common ones:
- Unexpected costs: Extra fees like shipping, taxes, or duties show up at the last second and make them hesitate.
- Too many steps: A long or complicated checkout process can cause frustration, especially on mobile.
- Just browsing: Sometimes they weren’t ready to commit. They were instead comparing options, saving items for later, or just window shopping.
- Payment issues: Their card didn’t go through, or they didn’t have their payment info handy.
- Distractions: Life happens! A text, call, or crying baby can interrupt even the most excited shopper.
- Lack of trust: If your website feels even slightly sketchy or unfamiliar, people may bounce before typing in personal info.
Now as you will notice with many of these, there might be other improvements in your marketing that will help to avoid this from happening in the first place. This could mean cleaning up your website's checkout process, ensuring your brand identity is cohesive and trustworthy, minimizing potential unexpected fees your customers will have to face, and more. If you want more advice on how to clean these areas up, be sure to check out our personal Services if you need one-on-one help, our free Branding Basics guide, or our other blog post on How To Audit Your Own Website!
But for now, we want to focus on how to reel customers back in. The truth is no matter how perfect your brand, website, and checkout processes are, some people will simply abandon cart for reasons you can't control. So let's get into how we can bring them back with the Incomplete Checkout Email Flow!
How Do I Set It Up?
How you set up the flow will depend on the eCommerce solution and email services you use. Most of our clients use Shopify to sell their products, and Klavyio for an email service. Both are great options, but this can be done through many platforms! Regardless of which services you use however, you do need to ensure that each meet the following crucial requirements:
- Your services need to have an integration with each other. This means the companies have collaborated to create a simple way to connect each of the platforms together. This will make the process easy and intuitive.
- You need to ensure your eCommerce solution has the ability to record an incomplete checkout. Many do, but it's important to check, because without your software recognizing when checkouts are abandoned, we won't know who to send emails to!
If you aren't sure if your current services meet these requirements, or are looking to start from scratch and with two new options, we suggest you do a good amount of research. Once you have determined your services of choice, then we get into setup!
What You'll Need For Set Up
Before you can send abandoned checkout emails, there are a few things you’ll need to make sure are in place. The exact steps will vary depending on what platforms you’re using, but in general, you’ll likely need to:
- Connect your e-commerce platform to your email marketing tool: This usually happens through a built-in integration or plugin. Most platforms have built-in integrations you can find under the “Apps,” “Integrations,” or “Settings” area. If there’s no built-in option, you can usually add a plugin or extension—this is just a small add-on that lets the two tools share data and “talk” to each other. If you need help with this, feel free to research more specifics or reach out to us directly with questions!'
- Enable abandoned checkout tracking on your e-commerce platform, if it’s not already turned on by default. Many e-commerce platforms (like Shopify) automatically track when someone starts checkout but doesn’t finish, but it’s worth checking your store settings to confirm this is enabled. Look for options like “customer activity,” “abandoned carts,” or “checkout tracking” in your platform’s admin area.
- Set up a trigger that tells your email platform when someone starts checkout but doesn’t finish. You’ll need to tell your email platform when to send the email. Usually, this means choosing an event trigger like “Started Checkout” or “Abandoned Cart” and setting a delay (e.g. 1 hour after they leave). Most email tools will walk you through this when creating a new automation or flow.
- Create a flow or automation that sends emails based on that trigger. Once your trigger is set, you’ll create an automation (sometimes called a “flow,” “journey,” or “sequence”) that includes the actual emails you want to send (which we will get into in a minute!) Just make sure you are familiar with how to add in these emails before we get into the content in the next section.
- Double-check your legal settings to make sure you’re only emailing people who’ve consented to receive messages from you. Many platforms automatically include this as part of the checkout process, but it’s a good idea to review your marketing permissions, especially if you're collecting emails from other places like popups or landing pages.
Once that’s in place, you’ll be ready to create emails that actually make people want to come back and finish their order. Let’s talk about what to include in those next.
Email One: Remind The Customer
Your first email should simply be a reminder that they abandoned their cart. This is crucial to begin with, because many of these potential customers likely still have the desire to buy the specific products they had picked out. As we mentioned earlier, their decision to abandon may not have even been purposeful.
We want to start by highlighting the same products they already had to simply give them another opportunity to purchase if they still want to. This should have a friendly tone and not be overbearing or demanding. Instead it should be enticing, potentially including images, descriptions of products, or pricing if applicable to remind them of their interest. Additionally we want to focus on ensuring their return to checkout is as easy as possible. Add an easy way for them to get back without having to re-add the items to their cart, like a button or link. This helps avoid making them search up your website again separately and have to re-add everything. Remember, the more steps you make them take, the less likely they are to purchase.
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Here's an example of what this first email might look like, using an imaginary skincare brand:
Subject line: Forgot something? We saved your glow ✨
Header: Your cart is still waiting...
Body:
Hey there,
We noticed you left a few self-care goodies behind—no worries, we’ve saved them for you! Whether you got distracted (life happens!) or just needed a little more time to decide, we’ve made it easy to pick up right where you left off.
[Return to My Cart] (button)
Your skin will thank you later 💛
If you have any questions before you check out, feel free to reply to this email—we’re always here to help.
With love,
The Lumen Botanicals Team 🌿
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This reminder, paired with an easy way to act, will make a good case for them to finish their purchase.
Email Two: Highlight Similar Or Related Products
Your second email needs to be extra enticing, since if the customer is receiving this one, it's because the first email didn't convince them to come back yet. This time let's create an email that will trigger a full day after their initial cart abandon. Start by gently reminding them again of their abandoned items, and also suggesting new ones. You will want to suggest specifically related products or services, since those are more likely to catch their attention.
This gives the potential customer the opportunity to look at new shiny ideas that might again catch their interest. And to top it off, now is a great time to also throw in some testimonials or social media posts showcasing the products of services to bring in a sense of social proof, and get them excited about the possibilities your products or services can offer them.
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Here's an example of how this email may look using our same concept brand:
Subject line: Still thinking it over? Here are a few more you might love 💫
Header: A little inspo while you decide...
Body:
Hey again,
Totally get it—sometimes you need a moment before making the perfect pick. While your original cart is still safe and sound, we thought you might like to see a few other favorites our community is loving right now.
Here’s what one of our happy customers had to say:
“I’ve tried so many natural skincare brands, and nothing has made my skin this soft and calm. I’m officially obsessed.”
— Marissa G.
Whether you stick with what caught your eye or find something new that feels just right, we’ve got you 💛
[Return to My Cart] (button)
[Browse More Favorites] (secondary button or link)
Need help deciding? Just reply—we’re always happy to help with recommendations!
With care,
The Lumen Botanicals Team 🌿
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Email Three: Offer A Limited Time Discount
Set up a final email to trigger a few days later to act as our last attempt. We don't want to do more than three emails total, since that could be potentially overwhelming to and turn off our customer. We want to limit to three and make each email more enticing than the last. This time we will do that by offerring something new - a discount or promotion.
We want to create a sense of urgency with a limited-time offer to complete the purchase at a discounted price. This gives them the excitement of a good deal, while still encouraging them to spend money with you. It's a great way to catch those customers who at this point may probably no longer plan to purchase a full priced service or product, but will be convinced with a better deal.
In your email, offer a unique discount that they can only obtain from the email. Then, clearly state an expiration date on the discount and emphasize that the cart items might also not be available for long. This helps create a sense of urgency that will hopefully be the final push this potential customer needs to complete a purchase.
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Here is our last example from our concept brand:
Subject line: A little thank-you—just for you 💛
Header: Your exclusive offer is waiting (but not for long!)
Body:
Hey there,
We know life gets busy, and your self-care routine shouldn't feel like a chore—so we wanted to make things a little easier. For the next 24 hours, you can use the code GLOW15 at checkout to get 15% off your order. Just our way of saying thank you for stopping by.
Your cart’s still here, your glow is still calling, and now’s the perfect time to treat yourself.
“Fast shipping, beautiful packaging, and my skin has never felt better. I’ll be ordering again!”
— Kelsey D.
This special offer is only available through this email and expires soon—don’t miss out!
[Use My 15% Off] (button)
Here if you need us,
The Lumen Botanicals Team 🌿
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You can download this template by clicking here!
Conclusion
And that's the process! Now that you have an outline for an incomplete checkout flow, you can start looking into how to implement it with your own business and setup.
Need some help? Feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions, or want someone to set up this entire process and write the emails for you.
Happy Marketing!
