Abandoned basket emails: what a small shop should send, and when
Two short emails that bring shoppers back to a basket they left, when to send them, wording you can copy, and what UK shops should check first.
17 October 2026 · The Workden team
Someone carries a lamp to your till, pats their pockets, says "I'll come back for it" and leaves. You wouldn't shout a discount code after them. You'd say, "No problem, shall I keep it behind the counter?"
Online, the same thing happens while you're asleep. A basket gets filled, the checkout gets opened, and then nothing. Nobody offers to keep it behind the counter.
An abandoned basket email is you making that offer. The short version: send one plain reminder a few hours later, while they still remember the lamp. Answer the delivery question in it. Send a second note a day or two after that, signed by a person, and then stop. Keep the discount in your pocket for now. Both emails are below, ready to copy.
Most of them were only looking, and that's fine
The Baymard Institute collects studies of how often online baskets are left behind. Across 50 of them, the average is 70.22%. So if seven in ten of your baskets go nowhere, your shop isn't broken. That's what shopping online looks like.
The same research asked people why. The biggest group, 42% of US online shoppers, said they were just browsing or not ready to buy. No email changes that, and you shouldn't try too hard.
The useful number is the next one. Among everyone else, the top reason by a distance was extra costs being too high: shipping, tax and fees. That tells you what your email is for. Somebody wanted the lamp and then met the delivery charge. Your email should answer the delivery question before it does anything else.
Email one: the "shall I keep it for you" note
Send it a few hours after the basket was left. That timing is our advice and not a rule. The reasoning is simple: the same evening they still want the thing, and by next week they've bought it somewhere else or forgotten it.
Subject: Still thinking about the brass lamp?
Hi Sam, You left a brass desk lamp in your basket earlier. It's still there if you want it. Delivery is £3.95 and it'll be with you in two to three working days. If it isn't right, you've got 30 days to send it back. [Pick up where you left off] Any questions, reply to this email. It comes straight to me. Priya, at Alder and Wren
Swap in your own delivery price, times and returns terms. Sam, Priya and the shop are made up for the example.
Look at what's in it. The thing they chose. The cost that might have put them off, stated plainly. A way out if it's wrong. One link. A real person to reply to. There's no countdown timer and no "hurry".
Email two: the note from a person
Send it a day or two later, and only to people who didn't come back.
Subject: Can I help with the lamp?
Hi Sam, I noticed you didn't finish your order, so I wanted to check nothing went wrong at the checkout. It happens. If you were unsure about something, the size, the colour of the brass, whether it takes a normal bulb, reply and I'll tell you honestly. Your basket is saved here: [link] Priya
This one earns replies, and the replies are worth more than the sale. "Your site wouldn't take my card" and "I couldn't tell how tall it was" are things you can fix for every shopper after them.
Then stop. Two emails is a shopkeeper being helpful. Five is a shop that won't let you leave.
Go easy on the discount
A code in the first email teaches your regulars to fill a basket, close the tab and wait for 10% off. If you want to use one, save it for the second email, and only for people who've never ordered from you. Free delivery often does the same job for less, because delivery was the objection in the first place.
Setting it up without paying for anything new
If you sell on Shopify, the first email is already built in. Shopify's help centre says you can automatically send an email to customers after they have abandoned their checkout, with a link back to their basket, and you choose how long to wait. You can also send one by hand from the abandoned checkouts list in your orders.
Three things from that page are worth knowing:
- If a customer gave a phone number at checkout in place of an email address, the email can't be sent.
- If they come back and buy before the email is due, it isn't sent.
- Abandoned checkouts older than three months are deleted from your admin.
On other platforms, look for "abandoned cart" in your settings or your email tool. The second email is the one most shops have to add themselves, or send by hand. With a handful of baskets a week, by hand is fine. Ten minutes on a Monday will cover it.
UK shops: check who you're allowed to email
A basket reminder is trying to sell something, so treat it as marketing. The ICO's guidance says you must not send marketing emails or texts to individuals without specific consent. It describes a limited exception for your own previous customers, often called the soft opt-in, and says that exception doesn't apply to prospective customers.
In practice, the safe ground is people who ticked yes to marketing at checkout, and past customers who were given a clear chance to opt out. A first-time visitor who typed an email address and left is less clear. If your platform lets you choose who gets the reminder, choose subscribers, and take advice if you're unsure. This is a summary, not legal advice. The ICO page also carries a notice that it's being updated after a change in the law.
Wherever you are, put an unsubscribe link in every reminder.
A simple sum to see if it's worth your time
This is an illustration with made up numbers. Say 40 baskets are left in a month and your average order is £35. That's £1,400 that reached the checkout and stopped. If your two emails bring back three of those shoppers, that's £105 a month for an hour of setting up. Put your own numbers in. If you see four baskets a month, write to those people by hand and skip the automation.
Where Workden fits
The emails above work from any shop platform. What they can't tell you is who you're writing to.
Connect your Shopify shop to Workden and unfinished baskets arrive on the right person's page, beside what they've bought before and what you last said to them. So you can see that this basket belongs to someone on their sixth order, and write her a line yourself. Email her from Workden and it goes out as you and is saved on her page, so whoever picks up next knows she's been asked.
It's £10.99 a month for your whole team. You can see how the customer page looks and start a 14 day free trial from there.
Questions shop owners ask
How long should I wait before sending an abandoned basket email?
A few hours for the first, a day or two for the second. Sooner than an hour can feel like being watched. Later than a couple of days and they've moved on.
Should I offer a discount?
Not in the first email. Try answering the delivery question first. If you do use a code, keep it for the second email and for new customers only.
What if they filled a basket but never gave an email address?
Then there's nobody to write to. That's the case for making your delivery costs obvious on the product page, so fewer people get a surprise at the checkout.
Sources
Checked 12 October 2026.