How to See Abandoned Carts in Shopify: Quick Access Guide

Every e-commerce store owner knows the frustration of watching shoppers add products to their cart, only to leave without completing the purchase. 

With nearly 70% of online carts abandoned, Shopify sellers lose a significant chunk of potential revenue daily.

That’s why it’s crucial to understand how you can see abandoned carts in Shopify. By accessing this data quickly, you open the door to recovery strategies that re-engage warm leads, increase conversions, and turn missed opportunities into real sales.

Access and See Your Abandoned Carts in Shopify

Locating abandoned carts in your Shopify admin area is straightforward once you know where to look. These valuable leads are just waiting to be recovered with the right approach.

1. Log in to your Shopify admin panel by navigating to yourstorename.myshopify.com/admin or admin.shopify.com
2. Click on "Orders" in the left sidebar menu
3. Select "Abandoned checkouts" from the tabs at the top
4. View your list of all abandoned carts displayed in chronological order, with the most recent at the top

This section shows you critical information about each abandoned cart, including:

• Customer contact information
• Products they were interested in
• Total cart value
• Date and time of abandonment
• Check the progress stage

Pro Tip: The checkout progress stage is particularly valuable as it shows you exactly where customers dropped off. 

Carts abandoned at the shipping information stage might indicate shipping costs are too high, while those abandoned at payment might suggest payment friction issues.

Understanding the Abandoned Checkout Dashboard

When viewing your abandoned carts, you'll notice several columns of information that help you understand customer behavior:

• Checkout - Shows the checkout number and date of abandonment
• Customer - Displays customer name and email (if provided)
• Recovery status - Indicates whether recovery emails have been sent
• Total - Shows the monetary value of the abandoned cart
• Recovery - Allows you to send a cart recovery email manually

From this dashboard, you can click on any individual abandoned checkout to see full details about what items were in the cart, any discount codes applied, and how far the customer progressed in the checkout process.

Why Customers Abandon Their Carts

Before diving into recovery tactics, it's essential to understand why shoppers abandon their carts in the first place. Addressing these underlying issues can reduce your abandonment rate significantly.

Common Reasons for Cart Abandonment

1. Unexpected shipping costs - Shoppers are surprised by shipping fees added at checkout
2. Complicated checkout process - Too many steps or required fields
3. Website navigation issues - Technical problems during the purchase journey
4. Security concerns - Customers don't feel their payment information is secure
5. Comparison shopping - Customers are checking options before committing

A recent study found that 69% of online shopping carts are abandoned, with unexpected costs being the primary reason. 

By automating your Shopify store with proper price transparency, you can address one of the main abandonment triggers.

Setting Up Automated Abandoned Cart Recovery Emails

Shopify offers built-in functionality to automatically send recovery emails to customers who have abandoned their carts. 

These emails serve as gentle reminders that can bring customers back to complete their purchase.

Configuring Abandoned Cart Emails

1. Go to "Settings" in your Shopify admin
2. Select "Checkout and accounts."
3. Scroll down to the "Abandoned checkouts" section
4. Toggle on "Automatically send abandoned checkout email."
5. Choose when to send the recovery email (typically 1, 6, or 10 hours after abandonment)
6. Customize your email content to align with your brand voice

When setting up these emails, consider these best practices:

• Personalize the email with the customer's name and specific items they abandoned
• Include product images to visually remind them of what they were interested in
• Add a clear call-to-action button that takes them directly back to their cart
• Consider offering an incentive like free shipping or a small discount
• Keep the tone friendly and helpful rather than pushy

Customizing Recovery Email Templates

The default Shopify recovery email template is functional but basic. For more impact, consider customizing the design and content:

Subject: You left something in your cart

Hi {{customer.first_name}},

We noticed you started shopping at {{shop. Name}} but didn't complete your purchase.

Your cart is saved here: {{checkout_url}}

[Optional: Include a discount code]

Use code COMEBACK15 for 15% off when you complete your purchase.

Thanks,

The {{shop.name}} Team

Advanced Abandoned Cart Recovery Strategies

While Shopify's built-in abandoned cart recovery features are useful, savvy merchants can implement more sophisticated strategies to increase recovery rates.

Using Shopify Apps for Enhanced Recovery

Several Shopify apps can extend your abandoned cart recovery capabilities:

1. Cartkit - Offers multi-channel recovery including SMS, Facebook Messenger, and email
2. Recart - Specializes in Facebook Messenger abandoned cart recovery
3. Omnisend - Provides sequence-based recovery workflows with multiple touchpoints
4. SMSBump - Focuses on SMS recovery for abandoned carts

When selecting an app, consider your budget, the complexity of campaigns you want to run, and which communication channels your customers prefer.

Implementing Multi-Channel Recovery Campaigns

The most effective recovery strategies use multiple channels to reach customers:

• Email - Primary recovery channel with the highest ROI
• SMS - Higher open rates, but should be used judiciously
• Web push notifications - Useful for returning visitors
• Retargeting ads - Display reminders on social media and across the web

A staggered approach works best—start with a gentle email reminder, follow up with a second email offering help or answering common questions, then potentially offer an incentive in a final email.

Analyzing Abandoned Cart Data for Store Improvements

Beyond recovery, abandoned cart data provides invaluable insights that can help improve your overall store performance and reduce future abandonments.

Key Metrics to Track

1. Abandonment rate - Percentage of initiated checkouts that are abandoned
2. Recovery rate - Percentage of abandoned carts successfully recovered
3. Average abandoned cart value - The typical value of abandoned orders
4. Abandonment point - Where in the checkout process most customers leave
5. Recovery campaign performance - Open, click, and conversion rates of recovery emails

Using Insights to Optimize Your Store

By analyzing these metrics, you can identify specific improvements:

• High abandonment at shipping - Consider free shipping thresholds or flat-rate options
• Abandonment at payment - Add more payment methods or improve security messaging
• High mobile abandonment - Optimize mobile checkout experience
• Low recovery email open rates - Test different subject lines and sending times
• Low click-through but high open rates - Improve email design and call-to-action.

Recovering High-Value Abandoned Carts Manually

While automation is efficient, sometimes personal outreach is worth the effort for high-value abandoned carts.

When to Consider Manual Recovery

Consider direct outreach when:

• The cart value exceeds $100-200 (set this threshold based on your average order value)
• The customer is a repeat buyer
• The cart contains multiple items, suggesting serious purchase intent
• The customer progressed far in the checkout process

How to Approach Manual Outreach

1. Send a personalized email addressing the customer by name
2. Acknowledge their specific cart items with genuine enthusiasm
3. Offer direct assistance with any questions or concerns
4. Provide a direct contact method for immediate help
5. Consider a phone call for very high-value orders if you have their number

This example template shows how to strike the right tone:

Subject: Quick question about your [Your Store] order

Hi [Customer Name],

I noticed you were interested in [specific product] but didn't complete your purchase. These items are still saved in your cart, and I wanted to personally check if you had any questions I could answer.

I'm happy to help with sizing, product details, or shipping questions—just reply to this email, and I'll get back to you quickly.

Would you like me to hold these items for you? They're quite popular, and I'd hate for you to miss out.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

[Your Store]

Leveraging Shopify Flow for Automated Workflow Solutions

For Shopify Plus merchants, Shopify Flow provides powerful automation capabilities for abandoned cart recovery.

Creating Custom Abandoned Cart Workflows

With Shopify Flow, you can set up conditional workflows like:

• Tagging high-value abandoned carts for personal follow-up by sales staff
• Creating customer support tickets for carts abandoned after a specific point
• Segmenting abandoners based on products, location, or other factors
• Triggering different recovery sequences based on customer lifetime value

Example Workflow for High-Value Carts

1. Trigger: Checkout abandoned
2. Condition: Cart value is greater than $X
3. Action: Tag customer as "high-value abandonment" and create a task for the sales team

This automated workflow ensures your team can focus personal attention on the most valuable recovery opportunities without manual monitoring.

Preventing Cart Abandonment: Proactive Strategies

The best way to handle abandoned carts is to prevent them in the first place. Implementing these strategies can significantly reduce your abandonment rate.

Optimizing Your Checkout Experience

1. Streamline the checkout process to minimize steps and required fields
2. Add a progress indicator showing customers where they are in the process
3. Implement guest checkout to remove account creation friction
4. Display trust badges and security indicators prominently
5. Ensure mobile optimization for seamless checkout on all devices

Implementing Exit-Intent Popups

Exit-intent technology detects when a user is about to leave your site and displays a targeted message:

• Offer a small discount to encourage immediate purchase
• Address common objections like shipping costs or return policies
• Collect email addresses for future marketing, even if they don't buy now
• Highlight key value propositions that might convince them to stay

The Hidden Power of Timing: When to Reach Out for Maximum Impact

The timing of your abandoned cart emails can significantly influence recovery rates. While many merchants send recovery emails within hours of abandonment, the key is in the gap between your first and second emails. 

Research shows that sending a second email within 24 hours increases the chances of recovering the sale.

For optimal results, try a 2-step email campaign: send the first email within 1-3 hours, then follow up within 24 hours with an incentive, like a discount. 

This creates a sense of urgency, leveraging FOMO (fear of missing out) without overwhelming customers with too many reminders.

Transform Abandoned Carts Into Completed Sales Today

Abandoned carts are a valuable opportunity for revenue growth in your Shopify store. Instead of viewing them as lost sales, consider them warm leads needing a little extra nudge to complete their purchase.

Start by implementing basic recovery strategies like locating abandoned carts, setting up automated emails, and understanding abandonment reasons. Then, scale up with multi-channel recovery and personalized outreach. 

With abandoned cart rates averaging 70%, even small improvements can lead to significant sales growth. Check your abandoned cart dashboard and start your recovery campaign today—your revenue depends on it.

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