An abandoned cart email reminds a shopper what they left, shows the item with its price, and links straight back to a saved cart. Most stores send a short series of two or three, starting within hours. Treat them as marketing mail: include an unsubscribe link and your postal address, and keep subject lines honest.
| When to try it | Content | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Reminder | A few hours after the cart is left | The item, its price, one button back to the cart |
| 2. Help | About a day later | Answers to likely doubts: delivery, returns, sizing |
| 3. Last nudge | Two to three days later | A final reminder; an offer only if your margins allow |
Updated
Example galleries of cart emails show other brands' designs as images. Here every email is built for an invented shop in table-based HTML that email apps can render, so you can edit it live, generate your own version and copy the code into your email platform.
Enter your shop name, the product, its price and an optional code. The preview is a table-based email you can paste into most email platforms.
Replace #cart and #unsubscribe with your platform's links, and the address with your real one.
<table role="presentation" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:#f4f4f5;padding:16px 0">
<tr><td align="center">
<table role="presentation" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:600px;background:#ffffff;border-radius:8px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#18181b">
<tr><td style="padding:20px 24px;font-size:18px;font-weight:bold">Kilnworks</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 8px;font-size:22px;font-weight:bold">You left something in your basket</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 16px;font-size:15px;line-height:1.5">We saved it for you. Pick up where you left off whenever you are ready.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 16px">
<table role="presentation" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border:1px solid #e4e4e7;border-radius:6px">
<tr><td width="88" style="padding:12px"><div style="width:72px;height:72px;background:#d4d4d8;border-radius:4px"></div></td>
<td style="padding:12px;font-size:15px"><strong>Speckled Stoneware Mug</strong><br>£24.00</td></tr></table>
</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 24px"><a href="#cart" style="display:inline-block;background:#18181b;color:#ffffff;text-decoration:none;padding:12px 22px;border-radius:6px;font-weight:bold">Return to my basket</a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:16px 24px;font-size:12px;color:#52525b;border-top:1px solid #e4e4e7">
Kilnworks, 1 Example Street, Exampletown, EX1 2AB<br>
You are getting this because you started an order with your email address. <a href="#unsubscribe" style="color:#52525b">Unsubscribe</a>
</td></tr></table></td></tr></table>No discount, just the facts people check before buying. The reply line invites a real conversation.
<table role="presentation" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:#f4f4f5;padding:16px 0">
<tr><td align="center">
<table role="presentation" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:600px;background:#ffffff;border-radius:8px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#18181b">
<tr><td style="padding:20px 24px;font-size:18px;font-weight:bold">Fernway Outdoor</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 12px;font-size:20px;font-weight:bold">Questions about your tent?</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 12px;font-size:15px;line-height:1.6">
<strong>Delivery:</strong> 3 to 5 working days, tracked.<br>
<strong>Returns:</strong> 60 days, unused, free return label.<br>
<strong>Size:</strong> the 2-person tent sleeps two adults with bags inside.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 12px;font-size:15px">Just reply to this email and a person from our team will answer.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 24px"><a href="#cart" style="display:inline-block;background:#18181b;color:#ffffff;text-decoration:none;padding:12px 22px;border-radius:6px;font-weight:bold">See my basket</a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:16px 24px;font-size:12px;color:#52525b;border-top:1px solid #e4e4e7">
Fernway Outdoor, 1 Example Street, Exampletown, EX1 2AB<br>
You are getting this because you started an order with your email address. <a href="#unsubscribe" style="color:#52525b">Unsubscribe</a>
</td></tr></table></td></tr></table>Says plainly that this is the final reminder, so it does not feel like a stream. The offer line is easy to delete.
<table role="presentation" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:#f4f4f5;padding:16px 0">
<tr><td align="center">
<table role="presentation" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:600px;background:#ffffff;border-radius:8px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#18181b">
<tr><td style="padding:20px 24px;font-size:18px;font-weight:bold">Marlow Tea Co.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 12px;font-size:20px;font-weight:bold">Last reminder about your order</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 12px;font-size:15px;line-height:1.5">Your basket still has <strong>Smoky Lapsang, 100 g</strong>. We will not email about it again.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 12px;font-size:15px">Free UK delivery if you finish the order by Sunday.</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 24px"><a href="#cart" style="display:inline-block;background:#18181b;color:#ffffff;text-decoration:none;padding:12px 22px;border-radius:6px;font-weight:bold">Finish my order</a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:16px 24px;font-size:12px;color:#52525b;border-top:1px solid #e4e4e7">
Marlow Tea Co., 1 Example Street, Exampletown, EX1 2AB<br>
You are getting this because you started an order with your email address. <a href="#unsubscribe" style="color:#52525b">Unsubscribe</a>
</td></tr></table></td></tr></table>Lists each item with its price and a subtotal, so the shopper sees the whole basket at a glance.
<table role="presentation" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:#f4f4f5;padding:16px 0">
<tr><td align="center">
<table role="presentation" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="max-width:600px;background:#ffffff;border-radius:8px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#18181b">
<tr><td style="padding:20px 24px;font-size:20px;font-weight:bold">Still thinking it over?</td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 16px">
<table role="presentation" width="100%" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" style="font-size:15px;border-collapse:collapse">
<tr style="border-bottom:1px solid #e4e4e7"><td>Linen napkins, set of 4</td><td align="right">£18.00</td></tr>
<tr style="border-bottom:1px solid #e4e4e7"><td>Oak serving board</td><td align="right">£32.00</td></tr>
<tr><td><strong>Subtotal</strong></td><td align="right"><strong>£50.00</strong></td></tr>
</table></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:0 24px 24px"><a href="#cart" style="display:inline-block;background:#18181b;color:#ffffff;text-decoration:none;padding:12px 22px;border-radius:6px;font-weight:bold">Check out</a></td></tr>
<tr><td style="padding:16px 24px;font-size:12px;color:#52525b;border-top:1px solid #e4e4e7">
Hearth and Grain, 1 Example Street, Exampletown, EX1 2AB<br>
You are getting this because you started an order with your email address. <a href="#unsubscribe" style="color:#52525b">Unsubscribe</a>
</td></tr></table></td></tr></table>| Subject | Preheader | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | You left something in your basket | We saved it, ready when you are |
| 1 | Your Speckled Mug is still here | One click takes you back to checkout |
| 1 | Forget something? | Your basket is saved |
| 2 | Questions before you buy? | Delivery, returns and sizing in one place |
| 2 | How returns work at our shop | 60 days and a free label |
| 2 | Need a hand choosing a size? | Reply and a person will help |
| 3 | Last reminder about your basket | We will not email about it again |
| 3 | Free delivery on your basket until Sunday | Then it goes back to normal prices |
Checked against the FTC's CAN-SPAM compliance guide and Google's email sender guidelines in October 2026. Rules differ by country; this is not legal advice.
| Rule | Source | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Accurate From, To and Reply-To | CAN-SPAM (FTC) | Send from your real shop name and domain |
| Subject reflects the content | CAN-SPAM (FTC) | No fake Re: or order confirmations |
| Valid physical postal address | CAN-SPAM (FTC) | Street address, PO box or registered mailbox in the footer |
| Clear way to opt out | CAN-SPAM (FTC) | Visible unsubscribe link in every email |
| Honour opt-outs within 10 business days | CAN-SPAM (FTC) | Let your platform suppress the address |
| SPF, DKIM and DMARC | Gmail, over 5,000 a day | Set up in your domain's DNS |
| One-click unsubscribe headers | Gmail, over 5,000 a day | Check that your email platform adds them |
| Spam rate below 0.30 percent | Gmail, over 5,000 a day | Watch Postmaster Tools |
The first email is a service, not a sale: here is what you picked, here is the button to finish. The second handles doubts, which is where delivery times, returns and a reply-to address that reaches a person do real work.
The third is the last word. If you give an offer, make it simple and time limited only if the limit is real.
Email apps support far less CSS than browsers. Tables for layout, inline styles, web-safe fonts and a bulletproof button made from a styled link are the safe choices.
Write a preheader, the short line after the subject in the inbox, that adds to the subject instead of repeating it.
Generally yes, if you follow the email rules that apply to you. In the US, the FTC treats an email whose main purpose is promoting a product as commercial under CAN-SPAM, which requires accurate headers, an honest subject line, a postal address and a working opt-out. Other countries have stricter consent rules. This is not legal advice.
The FTC's CAN-SPAM guide says within 10 business days, and the opt-out must keep working for at least 30 days after you send the message. Your email platform normally handles this automatically when you use its unsubscribe link.
Usually not. A plain reminder answers the most common reason, which is simply getting distracted. If every cart email carries a code, regular customers learn to leave carts on purpose. Save any offer for the last email, if at all.
Google's sender guidelines say senders of more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail must set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC, support one-click unsubscribe for marketing mail with a visible link in the body, and keep reported spam rates below 0.30 percent.
Related: HTML email templates, Email subject line tester, HTML email template builder, Product page design, Checkout optimisation.
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