How to Set Up Abandoned Checkout Recovery on Shopify (Step by Step)

This walkthrough takes a Shopify store from no recovery flow to a tested, measured abandoned checkout series. The steps apply to most email apps; where it helps, we show how it works in EmailSync, the Shopify version of WhopMail.

Step 1: Decide which recovery emails should run

Shopify can send its own abandoned checkout email, and many apps can too. Running both means shoppers may get two reminders for one cart. Decide which tool owns recovery and turn the other off.

Also confirm how you collect email marketing consent at checkout, so the flow only emails shoppers you are allowed to contact.

Step 2: Install the app from the Shopify App Store

Install EmailSync from the Shopify App Store. It opens inside your Shopify admin and reads your store's customers, orders, and abandoned checkouts, so there is no list to upload. Paid usage is billed through Shopify.

Step 3: Connect a sending domain

Recovery emails sent from your own domain look more trustworthy and give you control of your sender reputation. Use a subdomain such as mail.yourstore.com or send.yourstore.com rather than your root domain, and add the DNS records your email app gives you (SPF, DKIM, and a DMARC record).

EmailSync includes a domain setup screen that lists the records to add and checks them. For the reasoning behind each record, read deliverability for Shopify recovery emails.

Step 4: Turn on the recovery series

In EmailSync, the abandoned checkout recovery series is pre-built with three emails:

1. 1 hour after the checkout is abandoned
2. 1 day after
3. 3 days after

Each email pulls in the shopper's actual cart items (image, title, variant, price) and a button back to their checkout. The series exits automatically when the shopper places an order, so paying customers do not get reminders. Review it, then turn it on with one click.

Step 5: Edit the copy and design

Make the emails sound like your store:

• Use your logo and brand colors.
• Replace generic lines with real answers about shipping, returns, or sizing in email 2.
• Decide whether email 3 includes an incentive. See discounts in recovery emails.

If you prefer, you can connect an AI agent (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client) with an EmailSync MCP key and ask it to draft or revise the flow for you.

Step 6: Test with a real checkout

Before you rely on it:

1. Start a checkout on your store with a test email address and leave without paying.
2. Confirm the first email arrives and shows the right products and prices.
3. Click the return button on mobile and desktop and confirm it opens the checkout.
4. Complete the purchase and confirm no further reminders arrive.

Step 7: Measure and improve

Watch recovered orders and revenue, not just opens. EmailSync attributes paid Shopify orders to the email that drove them, so you can see which step earns its place. Once you have steady volume, A/B test a second version of one email, such as a new subject line for step 2, and keep the winner.

Checklist

• One recovery flow running, not two
• Sending subdomain verified with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
• Cart items and checkout link tested
• Exit on purchase confirmed
• Revenue attribution reviewed weekly

Next, read Shopify abandoned cart email best practices for timing and content guidance.