Cart recovery

Abandoned Cart SMS Templates for Every Step of the Sequence

What should a text say an hour after someone leaves a full cart, and what should it say three days later? These abandoned cart SMS templates answer both, mostly without a discount, in under 160 characters each and with a preview on both phone platforms.

Choose a step

Read the reminders Write one yourself

The one-hour nudge abandoned cart SMS on an iPhone

The one-hour nudge abandoned cart SMS on an Android phone

1 hour later, previewed on two phonesGo to it →

The sequence

From the one-hour nudge to the last call: 10 abandoned cart SMS examples

Each card carries its send time, so you can line the reminders up into your own sequence. Flip any phone between iPhone and Android, and switch to the short version when you want the link to do most of the work.

No. 01 · 1 hour later

The one-hour nudge

MarketingBeautyAbout an hour after the cart is left

Lead with the link back, not a discount. Save any incentive for a later message, so you are not paying for orders that would have come anyway.

Full SMS

LUMA: Hi {{name}}, your {{product}} is still in your bag. Pick up where you left off, everything is saved: luma.co/bag Reply STOP to opt out

141 characters with sample values · GSM-7 · 1 segment

Try it in the editor →

Offer help with the size abandoned cart SMS on an iPhone

No. 02 · Sizing help

Offer help with the size

MarketingFashionTwo to four hours later, for clothing and shoes

When the cart holds clothing, the open question is often the size. Inviting a reply turns the reminder into a conversation your team can close.

Full SMS

MAREN: Not sure about the size of the {{product}}? Reply with your usual size and we'll tell you which fits. Cart: maren.co/cart Reply STOP to opt out

154 characters with sample values · GSM-7 · 1 segment

Try it in the editor →

Free shipping on the cart abandoned cart SMS on an iPhone

No. 03 · Free shipping

Free shipping on the cart

MarketingSupplementsAbout 24 hours later, if the first reminder went unanswered

Shipping is often the cost that surprises people at checkout. Taking it away keeps your product price intact and answers the objection directly.

Full SMS

NORTHWELL: Still thinking about {{product}}? Shipping is on us if you finish your order today, no code needed: nwl.co/cart Reply STOP to opt out

147 characters with sample values · GSM-7 · 1 segment

Try it in the editor →

Last reminder with a code abandoned cart SMS on an iPhone

No. 04 · Last reminder

Last reminder with a code

MarketingHome48 to 72 hours later, as the final message

If a code is coming, it goes in the last message only. Put it in the first one and customers learn to leave carts and wait for it.

Full SMS

ALDER & CO: Last call on your cart. Take 10% off the {{product}} with code {{code}} until midnight: alder.co/cart Reply STOP to opt out

142 characters with sample values · GSM-7 · 1 segment

Try it in the editor →

A cart with several items abandoned cart SMS on an iPhone

No. 05 · Several items

A cart with several items

MarketingFashionA few hours later, when the cart holds more than one product

Name the count and one item, not the whole list. The link preview shows a single product, and the number tells them the rest is still there.

Full SMS

MAREN: Your {{count}} picks are still in your cart, the wide-leg trousers included. Everything is saved, sizes and all: maren.co/cart Reply STOP to opt out

147 characters with sample values · GSM-7 · 1 segment

Try it in the editor →

Help with a big purchase abandoned cart SMS on an iPhone

No. 06 · High-value cart

Help with a big purchase

MarketingHomeSame day, for carts well above your average order

A big purchase stalls on questions more than on price. Offer a person who can answer them instead of money off.

Full SMS

ALDER & CO: Questions about the {{product}}? Reply and a person answers, from delivery to assembly. Your cart is saved: alder.co/cart Reply STOP to opt out

157 characters with sample values · GSM-7 · 1 segment

Try it in the editor →

For a returning customer abandoned cart SMS on an iPhone

No. 07 · Returning customer

For a returning customer

MarketingBeautyAbout an hour later, for customers who have ordered before

Someone who has bought before already trusts you. Remove the effort of checkout instead of offering a discount they do not need.

Full SMS

LUMA: Welcome back, {{name}}. The {{product}} you added is still in your bag, and your saved address is ready at checkout: luma.co/bag Reply STOP to opt out

155 characters with sample values · GSM-7 · 1 segment

Try it in the editor →

Order before the delivery cut-off abandoned cart SMS on an iPhone

No. 08 · Delivery cut-off

Order before the delivery cut-off

MarketingSupplementsLate morning, a few hours before the dispatch cut-off

A delivery date is an honest reason to finish today. It needs no discount and is easy to keep true.

Full SMS

NORTHWELL: Finish your order by {{time}} today and The Morning Trio ships tonight, at your door by {{day}}. Your cart: nwl.co/cart Reply STOP to opt out

146 characters with sample values · GSM-7 · 1 segment

Try it in the editor →

Let other customers do the talking abandoned cart SMS on an iPhone

No. 09 · Reviews

Let other customers do the talking

MarketingBeautyThe morning after the cart is left

Some shoppers stall because they want a second opinion. A link to the reviews of the exact product answers that without a word of sales copy from you.

Full SMS

LUMA: Not sure about the {{product}} yet? See what other customers say about it, then pick up your saved bag: luma.co/reviews Reply STOP to opt out

147 characters with sample values · GSM-7 · 1 segment

Try it in the editor →

A cart that looks like a present abandoned cart SMS on an iPhone

No. 10 · Gift order

A cart that looks like a present

MarketingFashionThe same evening, in the weeks before a holiday

A cart left in the run-up to a holiday may well be a present. Offering wrapping and a note speaks to the reason they were shopping, not to the price.

Full SMS

MAREN: Shopping for someone? Your cart is saved, and we can wrap it and add a handwritten note at checkout: maren.co/cart Reply STOP to opt out

143 characters with sample values · GSM-7 · 1 segment

Try it in the editor →

Reminder editor

Rewrite a reminder for your own store

Load any reminder, put in your product and your link, and the phone redraws as you type. Go past 160 plain characters and a second bar appears, which means a second segment on every send.

Reminder to edit Reminder text

0 / 160 characters1 segment

Opens with your brand
Links back to the cart
Includes STOP
Fits a single segment

9:41

Text Message
Today 10:02

Text message

Tuesday 7 October9:41

Messages · now62418now

The one-hour reminder as a notification on an iPhone lock screen

The same reminder as a notification on an Android lock screen

First impression

Will they tap? The notification decides

Your reminder arrives as a banner with a number for a sender. If the product is not in those first words, there is nothing to tap for.

Product in the opening line

Name the item before anything else, so the customer knows which cart you mean without opening the text.

Write for the shorter preview

Android cuts a collapsed notification after one line; an iPhone banner shows a few more. If it reads in one line, it reads everywhere.

The photo comes after the tap

The product image in the link preview appears only inside the conversation, so the banner has to work with words alone.

Do and don't

How to run a cart sequence by text

Opted-in shoppers onlyA cart reminder is a marketing message, so it needs marketing consent, not just an account.
Cap it at threeA nudge within the hour, a follow-up the next day and a final note by day three is plenty.
Hold the code backLead with help and the link. If a discount appears at all, it belongs in the final reminder.
Text between 8am and 9pmUS rules confine marketing texts to those hours, measured in the shopper's own time zone.
Count characters, not wordsPlain text allows 160 characters per segment. A single emoji cuts that to 70.

Recover carts with Zefir, on SMS and WhatsApp

Zefir builds the reminder sequence with you, sends each step on the channel the shopper uses, and credits each recovered order to the reminder that brought it back.

Request access See how it works

$530M+attributed to WhatsApp messages sent with Zefir

1,000+ecommerce brands use the platform

12 to 15%revenue lift on average, tracked per order

Common questions

Abandoned cart texts: what stores ask

How does an abandoned cart text work?

When a subscriber adds products and leaves without paying, your store sends them a text with a link straight back to that cart. Zefir runs the whole flow across SMS and WhatsApp and ends it once the order comes in.

When should each reminder go out?

Send the first about an hour after the cart is left, the second around a day later and the last within three days. Zefir sends each step from your store's cart events and respects quiet hours in the shopper's time zone.

Does every reminder need a discount?

No, the early reminders usually do their job with the link alone, and a code fits best in the final message. Zefir ties each order back to the reminder behind it, so you can see which one earned the sale.

Can I text everyone who leaves a cart?

Only shoppers who agreed to receive marketing texts from you, because a cart reminder counts as marketing. Zefir builds the consent and opt-out handling into every reminder.

What keeps a cart reminder to one segment?

Staying under 160 plain characters; a single emoji or curly apostrophe cuts it to 70. Zefir counts segments on every reminder before sending, so none of them costs double.