If you run an ecommerce business, you know abandoned carts are everywhere. People browse, toss a few things in their cart, and vanish. Chasing those lost sales manually is a waste of time. That’s where automated abandoned cart emails come in—and if you’re using Iterable, you’ve got the tools to do it. This guide walks you step-by-step through automating the whole thing, minus the marketing fluff.
Who’s this for? Store owners, marketers, or anyone responsible for ecommerce revenue who’s tired of doing the same repetitive tasks and wants a reliable, no-nonsense setup.
Step 1: Get Your Data in Order
Before you start building anything in Iterable, make sure you actually have the data you need coming in. If your customer and cart data aren’t making it to Iterable, everything else is a waste of time.
What you need: - Customer profiles with email addresses - Cart events (e.g., “cart updated,” “cart abandoned”) - Product details (name, image, price, URL)
How does this data get in? - Direct integration: Some ecommerce platforms (like Shopify or Magento) have connectors or apps to send events straight to Iterable. - Custom API calls: If you’re using something custom, you’ll need your dev team to send cart events to Iterable’s API when someone adds, updates, or abandons a cart.
Pro tip:
Test your integration before moving on. Go to a user profile in Iterable, check Recent Activity, and look for relevant cart events. If you don’t see them, fix it now—don’t kid yourself that it’ll work out later.
Step 2: Define What “Abandoned Cart” Means for You
Not every unpurchased cart is worth chasing. Figure out your own rules for what counts.
Typical approach: - A cart is considered abandoned if the customer added items but didn’t check out after X minutes/hours.
Common timeframes: - 30 minutes: Aggressive, but catches hot leads - 2–4 hours: More standard - 24 hours: Good for higher-consideration purchases
Don’t overthink it:
Start with 1–4 hours. You can always tweak it after you see results.
Step 3: Set Up a Custom Event in Iterable
Iterable works on events. You need an event that clearly signals a cart was abandoned.
How to set it up:
1. Name your event something like cart_abandoned or abandoned_cart. Consistency matters—don’t get cute.
2. Include these fields:
- userId or email
- Cart items (as JSON array)
- Timestamp
- Session or cart ID (optional but helpful for debugging)
3. Have your ecommerce site trigger this event after your abandonment window. This usually means a backend job checks for carts that haven’t checked out after X time, then fires the event to Iterable.
What not to do:
Don’t rely on just “cart updated” or “product viewed” events. You want a clear signal so you don’t spam people who are still actively shopping.
Step 4: Build Your Workflow in Iterable
Now the fun part—actually sending the email.
1. Create a New Workflow
- In Iterable, go to Workflows and create a new one.
- Set the trigger to your
cart_abandonedevent.
2. Add Delays and Checks
- If you want to wait a bit before emailing (say, 30 minutes after abandonment), drop in a Delay node.
- Add a filter to check if the user has purchased since the cart was abandoned. No one likes irrelevant emails.
3. Add Your Email Node
- Build your email template (see Step 5).
- In the workflow, add an Email node to send this template when triggered.
4. Optional: Add More Logic
- Want to send a second reminder? Add another Delay and Email node.
- Want to skip people who’ve already gotten an abandoned cart email in the last 7 days? Add a filter.
Pro tip:
Keep it simple until you know what works. Complicated workflows break when your data isn’t perfect.
Step 5: Craft Your Abandoned Cart Email Template
Don’t waste your time making a “beautiful” email if it doesn’t show the right products or goes to spam.
What to include:
- Personalized product list: Pull items from the abandoned cart event (image, name, price, link).
- Clear call to action: “Finish your purchase” or “Return to your cart.”
- Contact info: Make it easy for people to ask questions.
- Subject line: Short and direct (“You left something in your cart”).
How to build it in Iterable:
- Use Handlebars or Iterable’s templating to pull in cart items dynamically.
- Test with real data. Preview with actual events, not dummy text.
- Make sure the links go straight to the user’s cart—not the homepage.
What doesn’t work:
- Guilt trips (“You’re breaking our hearts!”) rarely move the needle.
- Overly designed emails that don’t render well on mobile.
- Images that don’t load—always include basic product info as text too.
Step 6: Test the Full Flow (Don’t Skip This)
This is where most setups fall apart. Test every scenario:
- Add items to cart, abandon, and make sure you get the email at the right time.
- Click links in the email—do they go where they should?
- Try checking out after getting the email—does the workflow skip the next reminder?
- Use real email addresses if possible, not just test accounts.
Debugging tips: - Use Iterable’s Workflow Analytics to see where users drop off. - Check user profiles for event history and email send logs. - If emails aren’t sending, double-check your event triggers and workflow filters.
Step 7: Monitor, Iterate, and Don’t Overcomplicate
Once it’s live, keep an eye on your results.
Key metrics: - Open and click rates - Conversion (did people actually buy?) - Unsubscribes and spam complaints
If something’s not working: - Revisit your timing—maybe your window is too short or too long. - Check if your emails are hitting spam (bad subject lines, too many images, or sketchy links can do this). - Don’t pile on more reminders if people aren’t responding. One or two emails is enough.
Ignore the hype:
You don’t need fancy AI subject lines, GIFs, or endless A/B tests to start. Get the basics right first.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Ship, and Iterate
Automating abandoned cart emails in Iterable isn’t rocket science—but it does take a little planning and patience with the details. Get your data clean, set up a clear trigger, build a simple workflow, and test it like you mean it. Don’t get distracted by endless customization or shiny features. Start simple, see what actually works, and improve from there. That’s how you actually recover sales, not just check off a box.