Abandoned Cart Recovery: The Next Best Thing to Free Money!

Fed up with losing money when customers leave items in their cart?

Wish there was a simple way to minimize lost revenue?

Want to recover abandoned carts without annoying customers?

If so, you need to read this post!

Recovering abandoned carts is one of the most important aspects of running an online store.

We use it all the time and it has helped recover thousands of dollars in lost sales.

What if we told you there were tools out there that could help you recover abandoned carts quickly and easily, with minimal expense?

It’s true!

We’re going to share 10 of the best WooCommerce abandoned cart recovery plugins to help you do just that.

Each delivers the tools you need to begin recovering lost sales.

Abandoned Cart Recovery

Did you know that:

• 70% of eCommerce shopping carts are abandoned
• 61% of consumers prefer to be contacted by brands via email

(Source)

Those stats are why we think abandonment cart recovery plugins are a key way to recover lost sales.

Combine a reliable plugin with an engaging followup email and you’ll be bringing people back to complete their purchases in no time!

Why do people abandon carts?

As you can see, there are many reasons why people don’t complete a purchase.

The good news is, cart recovery plugins can help with all of them!

This post shares the tools you can use to recover abandoned carts. We also have an entire post dedicated to cart recovery strategies to get the most out of them.

The Best WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery Plugins

We have tried and tested all the plugins in this list to ensure they deliver the qualities we look for and the features you need.

If you’re in a hurry, here are the top 3 plugins:

Plugin	WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery	Meteorik	ELEX WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery
Unique selling point	Offers free features you pay for elsewhere.	Much more than a cart abandonment plugin.	Part of a wider suite of eCommerce plugins.
Why we think it’s the best	Complete plugin with everything you need.	Store management and email marketing in one.	Excellent free option with potential to add more features.
Price	Free	Free/$79 per year	From $50 per month

Here’s the list in full.

WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery

WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery is a free plugin that can send automated emails to customers who abandon their carts.

You can configure it how you want, set your own email schedule, write your own emails and add unique links or coupons to help encourage conversion. There are email templates included with the plugin but you can also add your own.

Try WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery for free.

Features

• Send automated cart recovery emails on a schedule
• Include unique checkout links with all items ready to purchase
• Supports coupon codes for an extra incentive
• Email templates you can customize to fit your needs
• Reporting option so you can see how emails perform

Reviews

Reviews are overwhelmingly positive, summed up nicely with this:

Price

WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery is free to use.

Best for…

We think WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery is best for new or smaller WooCommerce stores. Start with the free plugin and upgrade to CartFlows when profits allow.

ELEX WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery

ELEX WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery is a very popular option and for good reason. It has similar features to WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery, but also has a premium version.

The free version has cart tracking, configurable emails, customizable schedules, coupons and the ease of use we look for when testing any plugin.

Features

• Configurable cart recovery email templates
• Schedule emails as you like
• Track lost and recovered carts
• Add coupons to encourage conversion
• Notifications for recovered carts

Reviews

There’s only a single review at WordPress.org, but it’s a good one:

Price

There’s a free version of ELEX WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery while premium costs from $79 per year for a single site license.

Best for…

ELEX WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery is good for any store that wants to boost profits. We’re not sure premium adds enough to justify the cost, but that’s your call.

CartBounty

CartBounty does all the things other cart recovery plugins do but has an extra feature up its sleeve, cart tracking. It monitors all carts in your store and begins tracking as soon as an item is added.

It also sends automatic cart recovery emails and can also send push messages or SMS reminders. It’s a very capable plugin that’s well worth checking out.

Features

• Automatic emails sent on a schedule
• Supports push notifications and SMS recovery reminders
• Monitors all carts ready to recover lost sales
• Reporting function for key insights
• Exit intent popup option

Reviews

Reviews are mostly positive, with only a few mentioning errors or issues.

Price

There’s a free version of CartBounty with premium costing $92 per year.

Best for…

We think CartBounty is ideal for stores that want to engage using more than email. Most of the good stuff is locked to the pro version but there’s enough for free to give you a taste.

Retainful

Retainful is an email marketing plugin with cart abandonment features. It helps you create reminder emails and send them automatically on a schedule.

It can also send reminders, delivery notifications, thank you emails, winback emails and handle referrals and other email-based tasks.

Features

• Email marketing plugin that can help with cart abandonment
• Sends automatic emails on a schedule
• Helps create an entire email campaign
• Additional winback, reminder and thank you emails can be useful
• Part of a much wider range of features

Reviews

Retainful is largely well-reviewed with very few complaints.

Price

There’s a free version of Retainful with premium plans from $9 per month.

Best for…

Retainful would be ideal for online stores that want to do more with email than recover lost carts. Just be aware that most of the good tools are premium only.

Mailchimp for WooCommerce

While we’re on the topic of email marketing platforms, Mailchimp for WooCommerce offers similar features to Retainful, with cart recovery as part of the package.

You can use Mailchimp to send automatic recovery emails, track conversions, use social media ads, discount codes and popups. All designed to tempt customers back to complete a purchase.

Features

• Well-known email platform with cart recovery tools
• Automatically send cart recovery emails
• Track conversions and segment your audience
• Add discount or promo codes
• Send a range of customer nurturing emails

Reviews

Reviews for Mailchimp for WooCommerce reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

Price

There’s a free version of Mailchimp for WooCommerce that ties into the wider platform. Premium plans start at $13 per month.

Best for…

Mailchimp is best for stores that want cart abandonment features alongside other email marketing tools. There’s more to learn but there’s more you can do too.

Recover Abandoned Carts for WooCommerce

Recover Abandoned Carts for WooCommerce is an addon for the popular Shopmagic plugin. It adds essential cart recovery features that can automatically help recover lost sales.

The plugin tracks abandoned carts, lets you set your own schedule, capture email addresses for guests, show an exit-intent popup and more. You will need Shopmagic for it to run though.

Features

• Adds cart abandonment tools to the Shopmagic plugin
• Set your own timer to send emails
• Use exit intent popups to capture sales
• Track guests as well as registered users
• Provides analytics on performance

Reviews

There aren’t many reviews of Recover Abandoned Carts for WooCommerce, but they are all positive.

Price

The addon is free and so is Shopmagic. Premium versions cost from $69 per year for 10 addons.

Best for…

Recover Abandoned Carts for WooCommerce is ideal if you already use Shopmagic as it’s free. It’s useful, but we would prefer if it was stand alone rather than dependent on another plugin.

Meteorik

Meteorik is a lot more than a cart abandonment tool. It’s a complete suite that handles reporting, email marketing, engagement and store management.

The abandoned cart tools enable you to track carts, send automatic emails, track conversions and use dynamic discounts to tempt reluctant shoppers. There’s so much more to it than that though.

Features

• Powerful suite of tools that include cart recovery
• Tracking and reporting for everything eCommerce
• Includes emails and email templates
• Supports dynamic coupons and discounts
• Send emails in multiple languages for widest reach

Reviews

Most reviews of Meteorik are positive, which is great to see.

Price

Meteorik costs from $50 per month. There is no free version.

Best for…

We think Meteorik is best for larger or more established stores that want to do more than send abandoned cart emails.

Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce

Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce is the free version of Abandoned Cart Pro and provides all the essential recovery tools you need to begin recovering lost sales.

The plugin is simple to use and includes cart monitoring, email templates, a reminder schedule, rich text editor, tracking and reporting. It’s a great tool considering it’s free.

Features

• Cart monitoring to help trigger the abandonment process
• Includes email templates and rich text editor
• Reporting tool to identify lost and recovered carts
• Adjustable schedule for sending emails
• Merge code support for personalization

Reviews

Reviews are largely positive, with developers responding professionally to negative comments.

Price

Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce is free to use while Pro costs from $149 per year.

Best for…

We think Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce is better as a ‘try before you buy’ option than a full cart recovery plugin. Your mileage may vary though.

Recapture

Recapture links your store to its main platform where you can configure abandoned cart emails, measure lost carts and recovered revenue.

The plugin includes readymade but customizable email templates to help recover sales, remind customers to leave reviews and nurture them to return.

Features

• Email platform with cart recovery features
• Readymade templates that can be fully customized
• Links to the wider Recapture platform
• Adds email popups, add to cart popups and more
• Supports SMS notifications

Reviews

All reviews on WordPress.org are five stars which should tell you a lot about this cart recovery plugin.

Price

Recapture is free but you’ll need to sign up for an account. You’ll also need a premium account starting at $39 per year.

Best for…

We think Recapture is best for smaller stores. Once you recover $500 of lost sales, you’ll need to pay. The price scales with your revenue, almost punishing you for success. Not a great way to run a plugin but it is very good…

HubSpot for WooCommerce

We left HubSpot for WooCommerce until last because it’s much more than a cart abandonment plugin, with pricing to match when you go premium.

The cart recovery features are so good, we would be remiss if we didn’t include it. It’s a tiny part of this CRM, but very relevant for this list. There’s everything you need to recover lost sales here.

Features

• Cart tracking, including for guests
• Configurable scheduler to send automated emails
• Email templates and drag and drop template builder
• In-depth analytics and reporting tools
• A complete CRM

Reviews

Most reviews of Hubspot are positive, with the main complaints being about complexity.

Price

The HubSpot for WooCommerce plugin is free to use. The CRM has some very complex pricing plans.

Best for…

We would recommend Hubspot for larger, more established businesses that want much more than an abandoned cart recovery plugin. The potential is all there so it would be a shame to waste it.

How We Choose WordPress Plugins

We hand pick every WordPress plugin we suggest to make sure it lives up to the hype.

When selecting WooCommerce abandoned cart recovery plugins, we look for:

• Is the plugin easy to use?
• Are there enough features to perform cart recovery?
• Does it allow you to set the time and frequency of reminders?
• Does it offer good value for money if paid or enough features if free?
• Is it supported and regularly updated?
• Does the developer have a reliable reputation?
• Does it include any other ways to reduce cart abandonment?

If the answer to all these questions is yes, we include the plugin!

How To Use WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery

Now you know which plugins are worth your time, let’s show you how to use one.

We’ll use our own WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery as we know it better than all the others.

Here’s how to set it up:

Log into WordPress and select Plugins > Add New.

Search for ‘WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery’ and install and activate it.

You should now see a new Cart Recovery item within the WooCommerce menu on the left.

Select it and you’ll see an overview of how many carts have been recovered and how much revenue it has made you.

It will be all zeros for now as you have just installed it, but it won’t be that way for long!

Select the Follow-Up Emails tab at the top of the page to see the templates provided with the plugin.

Hover over an email and select Edit to customize each email template.

Change the template name, email subject and email body content to match your brand.

Toggle Activate Template now? at the top to enable that email.

Scroll down and set the time delay at the Send This Email line.

All other settings are optional, so select or leave as you see fit.

Do the same for the other two emails.

Once you’re happy with your emails, we’re almost done.

Select the Settings tab to complete setup.

The main setting on this page is at the top, Enable Tracking. Check that box to initiate cart recovery in your store.

All other settings are optional but we recommend checking the Email Settings and GDPR Settings sections if they are relevant.

Save any changes you made and you’re ready to begin recovering lost revenue!

While it’s entirely up to you when you send your cart recovery emails, we recommend sending:

• First email after 30 minutes or 1 hour: Ask if there’s a reason they didn’t purchase.
• Second email after 24 hours: Reminder to complete purchase.
• Third email after 72 hours: Offer a coupon as incentive to complete the purchase

This sequence is similar to what we use in our own stores and it works very well!

Cart Recovery Email Templates

Most of the plugins in our list come with readymade email templates all ready to go.

As you’ll see, some are better than others and you’ll likely want to tweak or completely change your emails.

As we’re all about helping you succeed, we’re going to share 3 email templates similar to the ones we use in our own stores.

Use them as is or as inspiration, or not at all, it’s entirely up to you!

Email 1

Your first email is a simple reminder to return and complete the purchase.

Subject line: Did you forget something?

Hi there, NAME here. We noticed you added items to your cart but didn’t complete the purchase.

<Cart list with images>

You have great taste! Unfortunately, so do other customers so these items won’t be in stock for long!

Click here to complete the purchase. You know you want to! <CTA link

Email footer with trust signals, links to FAQs or other useful information.

Email 2 – Followup

Your second email has to up the game as a little as longer has passed since items were added to the cart.

Subject line: We have what you want!

Hi there, NAME again. Did your Wi-Fi crash? Boss come into the office? Your team win the big game?

No problem, NAME, we saved your cart so you can pick up where you left off. We wouldn’t want you missing out!

Complete your purchase <CTA button or link>

Don’t wait too long. Products as good as these won’t be here forever!

Still not sure? Remember, you get free delivery and all purchases are covered by a 14 day, no-quibble money back guarantee.

Contact one of our team if you have any questions. We’re here for you!

<1-3 positive product or company reviews if you have them>

Email footer with trust signals, links to FAQs or other useful information.

Email 3 – Incentive

This is your last chance to recover the cart, which is where you would usually add a coupon or other incentive.

Subject line: 15% off your order for the next 3 hours!

Hi again, complete your purchase for an exclusive 15% off your order!

Purchase your goodies within the next three hours and you’ll get 15% off, free shipping and a money back guarantee.

What’s not to like?

Check out with 15% off! <CTA button or link>

Click the button/link above and your discount will be applied automatically.

Contact one of our team if you have any questions. We’re here for you!

<1-3 positive product or company reviews if you have them>

Email footer with trust signals, links to FAQs or other useful information.

These are just ideas, but you can see how the email sequence fits together as an evolving story between you and your customer.

That personal connection can make all the difference to how the emails are received.

WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery

Every abandoned cart is lost revenue. No store owner wants that, which is why cart recovery is such an important part of eCommerce.

If you don’t use a cart recovery plugin yet, you really should.

You have no excuse now as you have everything you need to choose one and implement it in your store!

We recommend trying WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery. It’s free, powerful and has everything you need to begin reclaiming lost revenue.

Click the button below to check it out instantly, without having to install or do anything!

What cart abandonment plugin do you use? Are you tempted to try something else? Have another plugin to recommend? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Abandoned Cart Recovery FAQs

Have more questions on abandoned cart recovery?

How do I recover an abandoned cart?

You can recover an abandoned cart using a WooCommerce abandoned cart recovery plugin. Install the plugin, set the conditions to send the recovery email and write a compelling email that will convince customers to return. Use the right plugin and it could be much easier than you think!

What is an abandoned cart recovery plugin for WooCommerce?

An abandoned cart recovery plugin for WooCommerce helps you recover lost sales by watching for carts that aren’t completed and sending a reminder email after a set period of time. It’s an automatic process that can help recover lost sales. It does depend on collecting emails, but that should be no problem for logged in users.

Can I see abandoned carts in WooCommerce?

Yes, you can see abandoned carts in WooCommerce. Open the Orders dashboard and filter ‘Pending Payment’ status. This tells you how many people have added items to their cart without paying for them.

How do you fix shopping cart abandonment?

You cannot ‘fix’ shopping cart abandonment but you can help reduce it. People abandon carts for all kinds of reasons and you’ll never be able to address all of them. The best you can do is use one of these WooCommerce abandoned cart recovery plugins, write a compelling recovery email and hope for the best.

If your experience is anything like ours, you’ll recover more carts than you thought you would!