Recovering abandoned checkouts

Use Abandoned checkouts to follow up when a shopper reaches checkout, leaves contact information, and does not finish a purchase. Open a record to review its items, copy its checkout link, or use the available recovery-email action.

This is different from an unpaid draft-order invoice. Invoice checkouts created from draft orders are excluded from abandoned-checkout collection; manage those from Draft orders.

Before you start

• Sign in as the store owner or with Abandoned checkouts permission.
• Check the record's current status before contacting the shopper. A recovered checkout already has an associated order.
• Review any active abandoned-checkout automation so you understand whether recovery messages are already being handled automatically.

Sending a reminder is a real email action. Copying the link only copies it; it does not send an email or create an order.

Find an abandoned checkout

1. Open Abandoned checkouts under Orders in the admin sidebar.
2. When records exist, search using the shopper's email/contact. Use Add filter to narrow by Status, Created, Updated, or Items.
3. Use Sort to arrange results by Created or Checkout number. Browse further pages if needed.
4. Open a row to inspect the checkout.

The demo store has no abandoned checkout records. No checkout or customer record was created for this screenshot. Select it to enlarge it.

For a populated list, columns show Name, Date, Customer, Status, Items, and Amount. Items is the sum of item quantities, rather than the number of different product lines.

Understand when records appear and disappear

Abandoned records are collected by background processing after a checkout has been inactive for roughly 15 minutes and has recorded contact information. Allow time for processing; leaving a product in a cart without reaching checkout or providing contact information is not enough to guarantee a record here.

A checkout linked to an order that was voided because it was never paid can also become eligible for follow-up. Before contacting the shopper, inspect the record and related order state rather than assuming every past payment attempt failed.

The list shows unrecovered records from the last 30 days. Older unrecovered records are removed automatically. Recovered records are retained, so the list can include recovered checkouts older than 30 days.

Review the checkout details

Open a record to check:

• The checkout number, recorded date, and status.
• Summary: product lines, variants, SKUs, quantities, prices, and the recorded total.
• Customer: available contact details and shipping/billing addresses. A linked customer identity can open the customer record.
• Activity: recorded completed events, where present, such as abandonment, a recovery-email event, and recovery.

The Customer card is read-only here. It does not offer customer reassignment or address editing. Missing address or phone information can simply mean the shopper did not provide it before leaving.

Send a recovery email

1. Open the checkout and verify the contact and Summary.
2. Check that it is still unrecovered and that Send recovery email is available in the Summary footer.
3. Click Send recovery email when ready to send the reminder to the checkout's contact address.
4. Review the updated status and Activity, then allow time for delivery and for the shopper to return.

The current action sends directly; it does not open a compose or confirmation modal. It uses your store's abandoned-checkout recovery notification template and sender configuration.

If an active abandoned-checkout automation applies to a checkout linked to a customer, the manual action is disabled and its tooltip explains automatic recovery. An already Email sent record also disables the manual action. Check the active automation and current state instead of trying to send the same reminder through another control.

If a record is Failed, inspect its details and your notification/automation setup. Use the available action only after understanding the failure; contact support with the checkout reference if the problem remains.

Copy the checkout link

1. Open an unrecovered checkout.
2. Click Copy checkout URL in the Summary footer.
3. Confirm the copied state, then share it privately with the intended shopper through your chosen communication channel.

The button is disabled when no checkout URL is available. Copying does not send a message, take payment, or mark the checkout Recovered. The shopper still needs to open checkout and finish the purchase.

Treat the link as specific to that shopper's checkout. Review the cart and current availability before using it for follow-up; the recorded abandoned Summary is not a guarantee that the same items remain purchasable later.

Check recovery status

• Pending: the checkout has been recorded for follow-up and is not yet recovered.
• Email sent: a recovery email has been requested; it is not a completed sale.
• Failed: the record is marked failed and needs investigation.
• Recovered: the checkout has been associated with a recovered purchase.

For a Recovered record, the Summary offers Go to order instead of the reminder/copy actions. Open that order to review its current payment and fulfillment state. Recovery does not itself mean the order has shipped or that a later refund cannot occur.

You do not mark a record recovered by copying its URL or clicking Send recovery email. Recovery follows the completed purchase workflow.

Delete an unrecovered record

1. Open the checkout and its header actions menu.
2. Choose Delete checkout.
3. Read the permanent-delete warning and confirm only if the record is no longer needed.

Deleted records cannot be restored through the admin. Deletion removes the abandoned-checkout entry from follow-up; it is not an order cancellation or a refund. Recovered records have Delete disabled and are kept for recovery reporting.

Troubleshooting