17 Best Abandoned Cart Email Examples & Templates [2025]

You’ve noticed that customers are adding products to their carts but leave without checking out. You’re left wondering what went wrong. No matter the reason, you can win back those potential buyers.

Abandoned cart emails help turn hesitation into action. These automated reminders nudge shoppers to complete their purchase—with the right timing, messaging, and incentives.

Explore how to set up abandoned cart emails, along with best practices and examples to help recover lost revenue.

What Is An Abandoned Cart Email?

An abandoned cart email is a follow-up message sent to customers who add products to their cart but leave the website without buying. It’s a powerful sales recovery strategy that can reclaim around 10% of lost revenue.

These emails serve as friendly reminders, highlighting the items left behind and including a clear call-to-action. To make them even more enticing, some marketers offer incentives like free shipping or discount codes.

Why You Should Send Abandoned Cart Emails

The good news is that your business isn’t doomed due to cart abandonment. If you want to win back lost customers and increase sales, an abandoned cart email strategy is the best way to succeed.

Here are some cart abandonment stats that point to their importance:

• Abandoned cart products can reach up to $4 trillion annually.
• In 2025, the average cart abandonment rate reached 70.19%.
• B2C businesses using automated cart abandonment workflows see a 50% increase in conversion rate.
• More than 40% of cart abandonment emails are opened, and half of the subscribers who engaged with the content of the email purchased.

Crafting compelling abandoned cart emails is not just a cool way to re-grab your prospects’ attention. It helps you cope with a real revenue blocker and reduce its impact on your business.

Common Reasons for Shopping Cart Abandonment

While every industry is different, there are certain common issues that can result in cart abandonment:

Source

Expensive delivery, cheaper options from competitors, and unexpected costs that appear during the checkout process are the main cart abandonment causes. Plus, cart abandonment is often linked to customer intentions. Some may just browse through your website or consider a purchase unnecessary.

These findings show that improving your eCommerce site navigation leading to checkout is a must. But since controlling all these factors is not always easy, setting up abandoned shopping cart emails can help you make up for lost revenue.

Best Practices for Converting Abandoned Cart Emails with Examples

Cart abandonment emails are a surefire way to bring customers back, but this doesn’t mean that any cart abandonment email will work. Follow these best practices to meet your goals.

1. Choose email automation software

How can you set up abandoned cart emails without wasting valuable time and resources? Most email marketing platforms offer dedicated features to create converting abandoned cart emails with premade email templates and automation workflows.

Besides creating a single email, these tools let you also schedule and trigger abandoned cart emails and sequences to increase your conversion potential. Moreover, you can use segmentation tools to make your abandoned cart reminder emails more relevant to your audience.

For instance, Moosend provides users with a premade cart abandonment workflow that can be easily adjusted following the if/then logic. Use cart abandonment product blocks to remind users of what they left behind and tweak your messaging to suit your brand style using the beginner-friendly editor.

Try Moosend for free

2. Add a clear sender name

The sender name is the initial element that attracts the recipient’s attention and might impact the success of your campaign. Pick a trustworthy and well-perceived name otherwise your email might look spammy.

Your company’s name is usually enough. To make your email feel a little more personal, use a person’s name in your sender. It’s a simple, yet effective touch that can elevate readers’ experience and gets you closer to a good open rate. Make sure it’s not too long, otherwise it won’t be fully visible in the mailbox.

Another great strategy is using a more personal sender name in later messages. While the first abandoned cart email has a more generic feel, the one that arrives a few days later feels like someone from the company took the time to check the cart personally. It will make subscribers feel more valued and eager to open your emails.

3. Create an attention-grabbing subject line

Good subject lines secure a high open rate. Once reading it, a recipient decides to open or ignore the email. Depending on your brand you can try different things, from informal, cheerful, mysterious, or even a little urgent.

Here are our top 5 favorite abandoned cart email subject lines:

• Your shopping cart xpires in two days – Save it now!
• You’re so close to better coffee.
• Oops… You left something in your cart! 🛒
• You know you want them. Take a second look!
• Was it something I said?

The optimal number of characters for a subject line is between 30-40 to ensure that your sentence will look good on mobile, too. Adding the visitor’s name to the subject line is also a nice addition. It catches the reader’s attention on the spot, creating a personal touch that buyers value a lot.

Want to ensure that your subject line is efficient for your target audience and industry? Use an AI writer to find helpful suggestions or conduct A/B testing to find the winning version.

4. Show them what they’re missing

Not everyone remembers what they were about to order and may have visited other stores, too. Product images of abandoned items can help, especially for potential buyers still thinking about buying.

Check out this example by Trade. They added the product names next to beautiful visuals of abandoned items and links to redirect them to their carts.

To make this email even more appealing, include social proof such as customer reviews and ratings to earn prosects’ trust and build up a little FOMO.

5. Write compelling email copy

To increase abandoned cart email conversions, your messaging should stand out. A simple trick is staying on brand and keeping it short. Large paragraphs and stories rarely help, so go for something witty and bold, followed by a brief description of the abandoned products.

Let’s see some abandoned cart email examples from major brands:

Camera Ready Cosmetics’ Scarcity Message

Scarcity is one of the most important marketing principles. We tend to place a higher value on things that are in short supply.

Creating a sense of urgency or scarcity in your abandoned cart email like Camera Ready Cosmetics can work wonders. If your customers believe a product is available for a limited time, about to sell out, or out of stock, they’ll be more eager to act.

Lewis’ Personalized Abandoned Cart Email

E-commerce businesses can often come across as impersonal. Personalized emails delivering a friendly, more personal tone in your copy can be a real savior.

Lewis chose to reengage lost customers with a friendly email that entices the reader to give their cart another chance. The personalization at the greeting and the signature at the closing of the email creates a welcoming copy that makes the reader appreciate the brand even more.

Chubbies’ Humorous Cart Abandonment Email

Chubbies have a fun time with their copy, serving fresh content all year round. While it’s not a suitable strategy for all kinds of brands, humor can be highly effective. You can keep your subscribers engaged and drive them back to their cart only because they appreciate a little cheerfulness in their inbox.

Finally, it’s normal for customers to need help or guidance while browsing your eshop. It’s also possible that they didn’t complete their purchase because of technical issues. Show you are there for them, by including contact information such as phone number or email address or even a FAQ section.

6. Add a clear CTA

The CTA button is one of the most important parts of your abandoned cart email, as it can make or break lead conversion. While strong words are often a great strategy for CTAs, words like “buy,” “shop,” or “complete” may put off some of your customers. Choose low-commitment action words showing readers that you offer them the freedom of choice.

For instance, you could ask them to “Return to shopping cart,” “View cart,” or “Get the goods.” If you’re offering free shipping or a discount code, you can also use this in your CTA by urging them to “Use the coupon.”

Don’t forget to make your button outstanding so the reader doesn’t miss it, as shown in the example by Casper:

7. Segment your recipients

Abandoned cart emails not only need to be properly structured and well-timed, but relevant, too. Not all visitors have the same needs or shopping habits, so they cannot be driven back to their cart with the same email.

To increase conversions and win back as many “abandoned” customers as possible, use list segmentation. It’s one of the most effective email marketing strategies that helps you get to the root of why a visitor hasn’t completed their purchase and address their specific concerns to make them buy your products.

List segmentation lets you group your e-store visitors according to various criteria and send the right email to them. Here are some of them:

• Repeat vs. first-time customer
• Shopping history
• Location
• Cart size
• Order value
• Product type

To nail that strategy, get list management software with top-notch capabilities. Look for a platform with a great deliverability rate and additional personalization features, such as custom fields, to create highly targeted emails.

8. Create time-relevant email series

Another factor to consider is the timing of your abandoned cart emails. When is the perfect time to win your visitors back?

The best option is sending it within an hour from the time of the cart abandonment. Remember that your first email shouldn’t be pushy, but a gentle reminder wishing to help the visitor.

If you’re planning to send a series of abandoned cart emails, you can adopt a more urgent language in your second email or last call. However, avoid sending too many follow-ups as your content will look spammy.

9. Optimize for mobile devices

If you’re only designing emails to look good on desktop, then you’re clearly missing sales recovery opportunities. According to recent stats, mobile users have a higher abandonment rate reaching 85%, calling for better optimization tactics.

Most email services—including Moosend—offer mobile-optimized templates to tackle that challenge. You can also look for integrations to run tests for different devices and screen sizes.

Overall, a clean format with subsections, white space, and short chunks of text can secure a better experience for mobile users.

10. Make data-informed decisions

It’s tempting to rely on your intuition to predict what your audience wants to read when receiving an email, but this strategy might not always lead to great results. Instead, resort to data-informed tactics such as A/B testing.

To understand exactly what works and what doesn’t, play around with your subject line, content format, images, and CTA to find what resonates the most with your target audiences.

Once you start collecting data from your abandoned cart emails, observe patterns that work and what needs improvement. For instance, check out what subject lines receive higher open rates, and whether certain content formats, such as social proof, lead to higher conversions.

Additional Amazing Abandoned Cart Email Examples to Get Inspired

Want to see how other brands designed their abandoned cart emails to boost conversions? Here are 9 notable examples and why they work:

1. Beauty Bay

Subject line: We’ve saved your bag

Beauty Bay created a bold abandoned cart email, without missing the point:

Why we liked it:

• They displayed their brand identity using bright colors, bold texts, and unique photos.
• They employed a sense of scarcity (“before someone else does”) to motivate readers to act fast followed by a strong CTA.
• The free delivery incentive makes the offer more attractive and harder to resist.

2. Design Milk

Subject line: Forget something in your Design Milk cart?

Design Milk stepped into their prospects’ needs and delivered a great abandoned cart email readers can identify with:

Why we liked it:

• The reader understands straightaway from the subject line what this email is about.
• They wrote empathetic copy, acknowledging their need for extra time to purchase this item.
• They shared information in the form of icons without boring the reader.

3. Church California

Subject line: You left something behind…

Church California, an online store with botanical products, used various tools to make their abandoned cart emails a success:

Why we liked it:

• They shared an article below the abandoned products to help prospects decide if they’re suitable for them.
• They added customer testimonials to tempt readers to buy driven by social proof.
• They included an unsubscribe button to help recipients opt out if they’re not interested in receiving emails from the brand.

4. Bluemercury

Subject line: You have great taste!

A little compliment goes a long way, and flattering your prospects like Bluemercury can lead to impressive results.

Why we liked it:

• The headline “we love your choices” gets noticed straight away.
• They added two CTA buttons with the same goal leading to the customer’s cart.
• They created a sense of urgency with the words “don’t miss out on” to boost conversions.

5. Timberland

Subject line: Can’t Stop Thinking About Me?

Timberland nudged cart abandoners and offered alternative ideas to boost sales.

Why we liked it:

• They wrote a creative subject line that’s hard to skip even in busy inboxes.
• They added product recommendations, similar with the item in the prospect’s cart.
• They created a CTA button leading recipients straight to the checkout page to save time.

6. Allbirds

Subject line: Your Cart Is Waiting

Allbirds created a customer-centric abandoned cart email, with emphasis on the return policy.

Why we liked it:

• They targeted prospective customers leaving their cart behind due to lack of return options to tackle their hesitance.
• They added two icons leading to customer support or service to respond to concerns and win back customers.
• They created a personalized experience by adding the recipient’s name on the introduction.

7. Native

Subject line: Does this count as a humble brag?

Native used the social proof tactic to elevate the efficiency of their abandoned cart email:

Why we liked it:

• They wrote an attention-grabbing subject line with a clever wordplay to boost open rates.
• The added customer testimonials in the form of start ratings to trigger FOMO and build credibility.
• The added urgency to the CTA buttons to move readers to the checkout.

8. Recess

Subject line: you’re so close (to having 10% off)

Recess showcased their brand identity in their email design, using pop colors that make a difference:

Why we liked it:

• This follow-up email comes with a 10% discount–also mentioned in the subject line–to boost conversions.
• Their email copy is short but straightforward, focusing on the incentive.
• The “I’m ready” CTA button aligns perfectly with the rest of the design assets and colors.

9. The Home T

Subject line: Oh no! This expires soon. Don’t miss it.

Home T’s cart recovery email focused on announcing zero shipping costs to attract abandoners.

Why we liked it:

• They added an urgent tone straight from the subject line, mentioning that the offer will expire soon.
• They included a visual of an adorable puppy to make this email campaign more engaging.
• They added “Free shipping” on the initial call-to-action button to boost visibility.

Premade Abandoned Cart Email Templates to Save Time

Want to build converting landing pages without wasting extra time? Use one of the templates below and customize them based on your needs. To get them, log in to your Moosend account or request a free monthly trial:

Stylish abandoned cart email template

Tweak the initial image, copy and fonts based on your brand needs. This template also includes social media buttons for those interested in interacting more with your brand, without necessarily purchasing:

Tailor this

Minimal abandoned cart email template

This template is perfect for retailers and eCommerce businesses looking for a simpler design to nudge cart abandoners. Use the editor to add more sections if needed, such as testimonials:

Customize this

Visual cart recovery template

If you want your template to be more about your products, customize this template focusing on product details. The red CTA buttons can maximize conversions, but feel free to tailor them based on your brand’s colors:

Use this

Build Abandoned Cart Emails You’d Love to Receive

The next time an abandoned cart email lands on your inbox, think about what made you give it some extra thought. Was it the subject line, the design, or simply the product itself? Stepping into your prospects’ shoes is essential to nail this strategy.

And finally, remember that these email campaigns let you show prospects what your brand is made of. Through your copy and tone, you can create hard-to-skip customer experiences.