Cart Recovery

8 min read

Automatically recover abandoned carts and unpaid orders with timed email reminders and one-click recovery links.

Overview #

Every WooCommerce store loses between 60–80% of its carts. Customers add products, get distracted, and leave — most never come back on their own. Cart Recovery captures those abandoned carts and sends automated reminder emails with unique recovery links that restore the customer’s cart in one click.

Whether a customer forgot to check out or left an order unpaid, Cart Recovery brings them back with well-timed, professionally designed emails that match your store’s branding through the built-in Email Customizer.

Who It’s For

  • Store owners who want to recover lost revenue on autopilot
  • Shops with high cart abandonment rates looking for a simple, no-code solution
  • WooCommerce stores that want recovery emails that match their brand identity

Key Capabilities

  • Track abandoned carts for both logged-in customers and guests
  • Send automated recovery email sequences with customizable timing
  • One-click recovery links that rebuild the customer’s cart and redirect to checkout
  • Built-in unsubscribe handling for compliance
  • Full integration with the Email Customizer for consistent store branding

Requirements #

  • Swift Commerce Free 1.4.0+ (or Pro for premium features)
  • WooCommerce 8.0+
  • WordPress 6.0+

Getting Started #

Step 1: Enable Cart Recovery

  1. Navigate to Dashboard → Swift Commerce → Notifications Cart Recovery
  2. Toggle the Enable Cart Recovery switch at the top of the page
  3. Click Save Changes

Step 2: Configure Tracking Settings

  1. Go to the General tab
  2. Set the Abandonment Threshold — the number of minutes of inactivity before a cart is flagged as abandoned (default: 60 minutes)
  3. Set the Cart Expiration — how many days to keep abandoned cart records before they’re automatically cleaned up (default: 30 days)
  4. Enable or disable Track Guest Carts to capture guest emails from the checkout billing field

Step 3: Set Up Your Recovery Email

  1. Go to the Emails tab
  2. Configure the subject line and delay timing for your first recovery email
  3. Click Customize Email to open the Email Customizer and personalize the heading, body text, product display options, and button text
  4. Use placeholders like {customer_name}{site_name}, and {cart_total} to personalize the message
  5. Click Save Changes

That’s it — Cart Recovery will now automatically track, detect, and email customers who abandon their carts.

Settings Reference #

General Tab

Cart Tracking

SettingDescriptionDefault
Abandonment ThresholdMinutes of inactivity before a cart is flagged as abandoned (15–1,440)60 minutes
Cart ExpirationDays before abandoned cart records are automatically deleted (1–365)30 days

Guest Tracking

SettingDescriptionDefault
Track Guest CartsCapture guest emails from the checkout billing email field to enable recoveryEnabled

Recovery

SettingDescriptionDefault
Delete Cart on RecoveryAutomatically delete the abandoned cart record when the customer completes their order. If disabled, recovered carts are kept for analytics.Disabled

Unpaid Order Recovery (Pro)

SettingDescriptionDefault
Enable Unpaid Order RecoverySend automated payment reminder emails for orders that remain unpaidDisabled
Payment TimeoutMinutes to wait before sending the first payment reminder (15–10,080)60 minutes
Order Statuses to TrackWhich order statuses trigger unpaid recovery: Pending Payment, Failed, On HoldPending, Failed

Admin Recovery Notification (Pro)

SettingDescriptionDefault
Enable Admin NotificationSend an email to the store admin whenever a cart is successfully recoveredDisabled
Notification EmailAdmin email address to notify (defaults to the WordPress admin email if left blank)WordPress admin email

Exclude Roles from Tracking (Pro)

SettingDescriptionDefault
Exclude RolesSelect user roles whose carts should not be tracked. Useful for excluding staff, editors, or other internal users.None

Emails Tab

Recovery Email Sequence

You can configure a sequence of follow-up emails sent to customers who abandon their carts.

  • Free: 1 email
  • Pro: Up to 5 emails with individual timing and subject lines

Each email in the sequence has:

SettingDescriptionDefault (First Email)
EnabledToggle this email step on or offEnabled
Subject LineThe email subject line — supports placeholders“You left something in your cart!”
DelayHow long to wait before sending this email60
Delay UnitMinutes, Hours, or DaysMinutes

The first email’s delay is measured from when the cart is flagged as abandoned. Subsequent emails are timed relative to the previous email in the sequence.

Tip: A common sequence is: 1 hour (first reminder), 24 hours (gentle nudge), 72 hours (final reminder with coupon).

Per-Email Coupon Controls (Pro)

Each email can optionally include an auto-generated coupon:

SettingDescriptionDefault
Include CouponAttach a unique discount coupon to this emailDisabled
Discount TypePercentage (%) or Fixed Amount ($)Percentage
AmountThe discount value10
Expiry (days)How many days the coupon remains valid7

Note: Only the first email with a coupon enabled will generate one. Subsequent emails include the same coupon code to avoid creating multiple discounts for the same cart.

Email Template

Click Customize Email to open the full Email Customizer overlay where you can personalize:

SettingDescriptionDefault
HeadingThe email heading displayed above the body“Your cart is waiting!”
Body TextThe main email message — supports placeholders“Hi {customer_name},\n\nIt looks like you left some items in your cart at {site_name}. Your cart is saved and ready for you.”
Show Product ImageDisplay product thumbnail images in the cart summaryEnabled
Show Product TitleDisplay product names in the cart summaryEnabled
Show Product PriceDisplay prices in the cart summaryEnabled
Button TextThe call-to-action button label“Complete Your Order”

Unpaid Order Email Sequence (Pro)

When Unpaid Order Recovery is enabled, a separate email sequence appears with up to 5 payment reminder emails. These have the same controls (subject, delay, timing, coupon) tailored for payment reminders.

SettingDefault (First Email)
Subject“Complete your payment for order #{order_number}”
Heading“Your order is waiting for payment”
Body Text“Hi {customer_name},\n\nYour order #{order_number} at {site_name} is awaiting payment…”
Button Text“Pay Now”

Abandoned Carts Tab

View and manage all tracked abandoned carts in a searchable table.

Filters

  • Status: All Statuses, Abandoned, Recovered, Unsubscribed
  • Refresh: Reload the cart list

Table Columns

ColumnDescription
CustomerCustomer name (if logged in) and email address
ItemsNumber of items in the cart
TotalCart total formatted with currency
StatusAbandoned (red), Recovered (green), Unsubscribed (gray), or Active (outline)
EmailsNumber of recovery emails sent
DateWhen the cart was created
ActionsDelete the cart record (with confirmation)

Coupons Tab (Pro)

Configure global settings for auto-generated recovery coupons.

Coupon Code Settings

SettingDescriptionDefault
Coupon Code PrefixPrefix for generated coupon codes (e.g., recover-a1b2c3d4). Only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens.“recover”
Individual Use OnlyPrevent the coupon from being combined with other couponsEnabled
Exclude Sale ItemsCoupon won’t apply to items already on saleDisabled

Coupon Restrictions

SettingDescriptionDefault
Minimum SpendMinimum cart total required to use the coupon (0 = no minimum)$0
Allow Free ShippingGrant free shipping when the coupon is appliedDisabled

Auto-Managed Properties

These are automatically set by the system and cannot be changed:

  • Usage limit: 1 per coupon (single-use)
  • Email restriction: Locked to the recipient’s email address
  • Expiry: Set per email in the Emails tab
  • Discount type & amount: Set per email in the Emails tab

Coupon Display in Emails

Customize how the coupon appears inside recovery emails:

SettingDescriptionDefault
Box Background ColorBackground color of the coupon callout box#f0fdf4
Box Border ColorBorder color of the coupon callout box#bbf7d0
Box Text ColorText color inside the coupon callout box#166534
Code Background ColorBackground color behind the coupon code itself#dcfce7
Message TextThe coupon message template (use {coupon_code} placeholder)“Use code {coupon_code} at checkout for a special discount!”

Analytics Tab (Pro)

Track your recovery performance with a real-time analytics dashboard.

Summary Cards

MetricDescription
Total AbandonedNumber of carts flagged as abandoned
Total RecoveredNumber of carts successfully recovered
Recovery RatePercentage of abandoned carts that were recovered
Revenue RecoveredTotal monetary value of all recovered carts

Email Performance

MetricDescription
Emails SentTotal recovery emails sent
Emails OpenedNumber of emails opened by recipients
Links ClickedNumber of recovery links clicked
Open RatePercentage of emails opened
Click RatePercentage of emails where the recovery link was clicked

Email Placeholders #

Use these placeholders in your email subject lines and body text. They are automatically replaced with real data when the email is sent.

Cart Recovery Emails

PlaceholderDescriptionExample
{customer_name}Customer’s first name (or “there” for guests)John
{customer_email}Customer’s email addressjohn@example.com
{cart_total}Cart total with currency symbol$149.99
{recovery_link}Unique one-click cart recovery URLhttps://store.com/?recover=abc123
{unsubscribe_link}Opt-out link for recovery emailshttps://store.com/?unsubscribe=abc123
{site_name}Your website nameMy Store
{site_url}Your website URLhttps://mystore.com

Unpaid Order Emails (Pro)

PlaceholderDescriptionExample
{customer_name}Customer’s first nameJohn
{customer_email}Customer’s email addressjohn@example.com
{order_number}WooCommerce order number#1042
{order_total}Order total with currency$149.99
{order_date}Date the order was placedFeb 24, 2026
{payment_link}Direct link to the payment pagehttps://store.com/checkout/pay/1042/
{site_name}Your website nameMy Store
{site_url}Your website URLhttps://mystore.com

How Recovery Links Work #

Each abandoned cart is assigned a unique recovery token. When a customer clicks the recovery link in their email:

  1. Their current cart is cleared
  2. The abandoned cart contents are restored (products, quantities, variations)
  3. If a coupon was included, it’s automatically applied
  4. The customer is redirected to the checkout page
  5. Once they complete the purchase, the cart is marked as Recovered

The entire process is seamless — one click takes the customer straight to a pre-filled checkout ready for payment.


Unsubscribe Handling #

Every recovery email includes an unsubscribe link in the email footer. When a customer clicks it:

  • Their cart status changes to Unsubscribed
  • All future recovery emails for that cart are stopped
  • A confirmation message is displayed to the customer

The unsubscribe link text and visibility can be configured in the Email Customizer under the Footer section:

SettingDescriptionDefault
Unsubscribe LinkToggle the unsubscribe link on or off in the email footerEnabled
Unsubscribe TextCustomize the link text“Unsubscribe from these emails”
Updated on February 26, 2026
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