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WeZend
Playbooks

Abandoned cart recovery

Recover the customers who added to cart but didn't buy — with a timed, multi-channel nudge that stops the moment they purchase.

Goal

Recover lost revenue from abandoned carts

Trigger

cart_updated with no purchase within an hour

Channels

Email · SMS

Setup

30 minutes

Most abandoned carts aren't rejections — they're interruptions. A phone rings, a train arrives, a toddler needs something. Abandoned-cart recovery catches those buyers before the intent fades, and it's reliably one of the highest-ROI automations in commerce because the audience has already told you what they want.

The craft is in the timing and the exit: nudge soon enough that the intent is warm, escalate only if they don't act, and stop the instant they purchase so no one gets "come back and buy" after they already did. This playbook builds exactly that in WeZend.

Build it in WeZend

  1. 1

    Send the cart_updated event

    Your store fires a `cart_updated` event to WeZend with the items and cart value. Most shop integrations do this out of the box.

  2. 2

    Trigger a journey on the event

    Create a journey with an event trigger on `cart_updated`, and set the goal event to `purchase` so buyers exit automatically.

  3. 3

    Wait 1 hour, then email

    A short delay keeps you from pestering someone still shopping. Then send an email showing the exact items — pull them in with a recommendations or cart block.

  4. 4

    Wait for purchase (up to 24h)

    Add a wait-for-event step. If they buy, the goal fires and they leave. If not, continue.

  5. 5

    Escalate with SMS + a unique code

    For those still holding out, send a short SMS with a single-use discount from a code pool — real scarcity, no coupon-site leakage.

Or draft it in one prompt

Paste this into AI Studio (or your own Claude/ChatGPT via Connect AI) and review the draft it builds:

"Build a two-step abandoned-cart journey: email after 1 hour showing the cart, then an SMS with a discount after 24 hours if they haven't bought — exit on purchase."
See how AI Studio works

Tips that make the difference

Don't lead with a discount. The first touch should just remind — save the code for people who need a second push, or you train customers to abandon on purpose.

Cap it at two or three messages. Recovery has sharply diminishing returns; chasing longer mostly earns unsubscribes.

Respect quiet hours so the SMS never lands at 2 a.m.

Features this playbook uses

Build this playbook free — no credit card.

  • No credit card
  • EU data residency
  • 6 channels, one API
  • GDPR built in

One platform. Every customer interaction.

Replace your patchwork of messaging APIs, CDP and automation tools with a single engagement platform built for scale.

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