Abandoned cart
An abandoned cart (or abandoned checkout) occurs when a shopper adds items to an online store's cart and initiates the checkout process but doesn't complete the purchase. For Shopify stores, Shopify captures the customer's email address at the point of checkout entry — making them identifiable for re-targeting even without a completed order.
How common is cart abandonment?
Cart abandonment rates in e-commerce typically range from 60% to 80% of initiated checkouts. That means for every 10 customers who start the checkout process, 6–8 don't complete it. The revenue impact is significant — cart recovery campaigns are among the highest-ROI campaigns available for Shopify brands.
How postcard cart recovery differs from email and retargeting
Email abandoned cart sequences are the most common recovery mechanism — every Shopify brand runs them. Meta and Google retargeting ads follow customers around the web after abandonment. These channels fight for the same screen real estate the customer was already on when they abandoned.
A postcard arrives 3–5 days later in a completely different environment — the customer's letterbox. By that point, the initial purchase consideration is either cooling or has been interrupted. The postcard acts as a physical reminder and re-invitation, arriving in a space with no competition from other brands at the moment of receipt.
Shopify + TouchDrop abandoned cart flow
TouchDrop monitors your Shopify store for checkout events. When a customer abandons checkout and 24–48 hours pass without a completed order, TouchDrop queues a personalised postcard for print. If the customer completes their order before the postcard prints, the send is automatically cancelled. If the postcard goes out and the customer purchases within 60 days, the order is attributed to the campaign.
Related terms and reading
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