Abandoned cart vs abandoned checkout: why I run both as separate flows

What's the difference between abandoned cart and abandoned checkout?

Abandoned cart. Someone added a product to their cart, then left without starting checkout. Klaviyo's Added to Cart metric "triggers when someone adds an item to their cart."

Abandoned checkout. Someone added a product, went to checkout, and typed in their email before leaving. On Shopify this event is called Checkout Started, and Klaviyo says it tracks after a customer fills out the email address field on the checkout page.

Here's the side-by-side:

Both are among the 8 core flows I install for every brand, and each one gets separate paths for customers and people who haven't bought yet.

Why does the difference matter?

Who it can reach. Klaviyo can only send an Added to Cart flow to people it can identify. Its Shopify onsite tracking guide lists how that happens: submitting a Klaviyo form, submitting a Shopify form, entering their info at checkout, or logging in. A stranger from an ad who adds to cart and leaves is invisible. But if that same stranger types their email at checkout, the checkout flow catches them.

Why I run both as separate flows

Some brands run one flow off Started Checkout and call it "abandoned cart." That's Klaviyo's default. Their Added to Cart guide notes the default abandoned cart flow uses Checkout Started, and that the Added to Cart flow is aimed at "more casual shoppers who have yet to start checkout."

If you only run the checkout version, every identified shopper who added to cart and bailed before checkout gets nothing. For a consumable brand with lots of returning visitors, that's a lot of people. Plenty of them may be past customers shopping for their next order.

If you only run the cart version, you'll miss the strangers who went straight to checkout.

Running both covers both, and each gets emails built for where that person actually is:

• Checkout flow: short and direct. "Your order's still here." Answer shipping and timing. I lay this one out in full in the abandoned checkout email guide.
• Cart flow: a bit more selling. Reviews, what the product does, why it's worth it, help choosing size or quantity.

How do you stop people getting both flows?

The fix is filters. Here's what Klaviyo recommends, and what I'd add.

On the abandoned cart (Added to Cart) flow:

• Started Checkout zero times since starting this flow. Klaviyo recommends this so shoppers who start checkout move over to the checkout flow.
• Placed Order zero times since starting this flow. Anyone who buys leaves.
• Has not been in this flow in the last 35 days. Klaviyo lists a re-entry filter as optional. In my system, all five abandonment flows share a 35-day re-entry window.

On the abandoned checkout (Started Checkout) flow:

• Placed Order zero times since starting this flow. Klaviyo calls this the main filter.
• Has not been in this flow in the last 35 days.

On the flows further out: Klaviyo's browse abandonment guide recommends adding "Added to Cart zero times since starting this flow" if you run a separate Added to Cart flow. Same idea. Every flow should let go of anyone who moves deeper.

The rule I use: each flow exits anyone who takes a step closer to buying. Site abandonment hands off to collection or browse. Browse hands off to cart. Cart exits on checkout or purchase. Checkout exits on purchase, and post-purchase takes over. Nobody should be in two of them for the same visit.

How should timing differ between the two?

Klaviyo's abandoned cart guide recommends sending the first checkout message 2 to 4 hours after someone starts checkout, then a second one 20 to 48 hours later. Its research says 2 to 3 messages is the sweet spot. I run longer. In my pooled data from 4 consumable brands, cart abandonment email #5 still earned about $0.25 per person, the same as email #3.

Here's the cart timing I install. Five emails per path over about 8 days, and the waits get shorter toward the end to build urgency.

Cart, non-customer path:

1. Cart reminder. Show what they left, one button back.
2. Wait 2 days: rebuild desire and confidence. Why people love it, what's in it.
3. Wait 3 days: social proof. Reviews from people who sound like them.
4. Wait 2 days: lifestyle reasons to buy. How it fits into their day.
5. Wait 1 day: final reminder.

Cart, customer path:

1. Cart reminder.
2. Wait 1 day: restock or next order. For a consumable, they're probably running low.
3. Wait 3 days: use cases and routines.
4. Wait 2 days: completion urgency.
5. Wait 1 day: final reminder.

The customer path opens faster, with a 1-day first wait instead of 2. They already trust you.

Checkout moves faster still. Both checkout paths open at 35 minutes, while the checkout is fresh, then run 5 emails: non-customers on Day 2, 5, 7 and 8, customers on Day 1, 4, 6 and 7. I lay that out in the abandoned checkout email guide.

Neither flow leads with an offer. Klaviyo warns that coupons in the first email can train customers to abandon carts.

In both flows I install, the offer follows the same pattern: no offer in email 1, it comes in later in the sequence, and the final reminder carries it until it expires with the last email. Non-customers get the same offer as your welcome series, never a bigger one, so abandoning never earns a better deal than signing up did. Customers get a slightly upgraded offer, an offer built around a bigger order, or a monthly subscription offer.

Customer vs non-customer paths in both flows

Both flows get split with the same routing check at the top: "Placed order ever?" A past customer who left a cart and a stranger who left a cart aren't in the same spot.

• Non-customers need proof: reviews, ingredients, what it tastes or feels like, shipping and returns. Their offer matches your welcome offer.
• Customers need the reminder, plus a nudge if they're trying something new. They already trust you, so the reminder does most of the work.

Two rules apply to both paths. Customers who order in large quantities are usually excluded from these automations. And subscription options show up inside the flow, so the customer can save by committing to a monthly order, and the brand gets predictable, recurring revenue.

Common mistakes with cart and checkout flows

• Only one flow, called "abandoned cart," running off Started Checkout. You miss everyone who left before checkout.
• Both flows live, no cross filters. People get double emails.
• Behavioral tracking never turned on. On Shopify, Added to Cart needs the Klaviyo app embed and the "Track behavioral events" setting. If it's off, the cart flow never fires.

These two are part of a bigger chain. Further out you've got browse abandonment, collection abandonment and site abandonment. The full build order is in the essential Klaviyo flows for CPG brands.

Where these numbers come from

The cart abandonment number comes from pooled data across 4 consumable brands, 2,897 campaigns and $17.7M in email revenue. It's a small sample, so treat it as directional. Trigger, filter and timing details are from Klaviyo's help center, linked below.

FAQ

WRITTEN BY Jack White

Founder of Bardown Digital, a Chicago-based Klaviyo email and retention agency for Shopify brands. He's worked with brands doing $500K to $100M a year, with $100M+ in email-attributed revenue across them.

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