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Abandoned basket emails with Shopify and Klaviyo

Abandoned basket automation follows up with shoppers who started a checkout but didn’t finish it. It sends a personal reminder about the items they chose, and only offers an incentive on a later reminder if the basket is still open.

An example of how the studio would build it. No live services are connected.

From a forgotten basket to a finished order.

  1. Step 01

    Basket left

    Shopify records a checkout that was started with an email address but not completed.

  2. Step 02

    An hour passes

    Wait an hour, then check that the order still hasn’t been placed.

  3. Step 03

    Consent checked

    Confirm the shopper has agreed to hear from you and hasn’t had a basket reminder recently.

  4. Step 04

    Personal note sent

    Klaviyo sends a short note about the item itself, with a link straight back to their basket.

  5. Step 05

    Second reminder

    Only if the basket is still open a day later, send one final reminder that may include a small incentive.

The result

Recovered sales without training people to wait for discounts.

A completed order stops the sequence immediately. Each shopper can receive only one incentive in a set period, so regular customers don’t learn to leave baskets for a code.

Before we connect it.

Where this is useful

Useful for shops with a steady number of started checkouts and either no follow-up or one that leads with a discount. A sensible first version sends a single personal note, then adds the second reminder once you have seen how shoppers respond.

What we need to connect

  1. 01Shopify checkout events connected to Klaviyo, including the items and a link back to the basket.
  2. 02Each shopper’s marketing consent and their recent email history.
  3. 03Approved wording, product images, timing rules and the incentive you are willing to offer.

What needs careful handling

A shopper may finish the order on another device or by phone, so the order status is checked immediately before every send. Reminders only go to people who have agreed to hear from you, in line with your consent records. Incentive codes should be single-use and limited per customer, so they can’t be shared widely or collected again and again.

Questions people ask.

Should the first reminder include a discount?

Not by default. Leading with a discount can teach regular shoppers to wait for one. A personal note about the item comes first, and an incentive is a choice you make for the second reminder.

Doesn’t Klaviyo already do this?

Klaviyo has abandoned checkout flows built in. The value here is in the rules around them: consent checks, timing, product-specific wording and limits on incentives, set up to match how your shop works.

First order placed → Series stopped
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History checked → Return recorded
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Returning-customer follow-up automation

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