In this lesson, you will create and implement the workflow that contains a cart recovery funnel through an email sequence.
A strategy for recovering abandoned carts will help you improve your eCommerce conversion rate and complete unfinished purchases. Take advantage of the knowledge provided by Connectif to create a sequence of personalized emails and remind your contacts of their last added products to the cart to rescue unfinished purchases and increase your sales.
Objective: Conversion.
Elements used: Email.
Implementation time: 3 hours.
We recommend that you follow all the steps and implement this strategy from scratch in your account, but if you need a quick way, you have the template Abandoned Cart Funnel available in the Workflow Template Directory with which you can work.
Lesson Summary
In this lesson you will learn:
- The node "On cart abandonment", to react at the moment a contact abandons the purchase process with products in their cart.
- The "Wait" node, to activate waiting periods in your workflows.
- The "Purchase made" node, to check the purchases a contact has made within a given period.
-
Catalog synchronization in Connectif, to understand how and when products are updated.
At the end of the lesson, you will have created in your account:
An abandoned cart recovery strategy through which you will send your newsletter subscribers a sequence of emails encouraging them to complete their purchase. These emails will be personalized with the products in the cart. The workflow includes waits and checks to avoid sending emails if the contact makes a purchase before the sequence ends.
Preliminary Considerations
As shown in the image, this strategy contains two paths, based on whether the cart has a single type of product (which we will call Branch 1) or if it has two or more (which we will call Branch 2).
Both branches have the same nodes; the only difference will be the content of the emails, so we will do the steps in parallel, specifying each configuration where necessary.
Workflow Configuration
STEP 0. Workflow Creation
How to create the workflow for this strategy
1. In your Connectif account, click "Workflows > Create new Workflow" and then Create blank Workflow.
2. Click on (Edit) and name it "Abandoned Cart Funnel".
3. Click on Apply to save the new name of your workflow.
STEP 1. "Start" Node
How to configure the "Start" node for this strategy
4. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Start” node.
5. In Select a restriction, check "All my list" and select “Contacts with email” from the dropdown.
6. In Select the data source, check "All existing and new".
7. Click on Update.
In this step, we have instructed Connectif to activate the workflow for contacts with known email addresses, both new and existing.
STEP 2. "On cart abandonment" Node
How the "On cart abandonment" node works
This node is used to react at the moment a contact abandons a cart. In the node interface, you can specify the characteristics of the carts that will trigger it, if desired.
How to configure the "On cart abandonment" Node for this strategy
(This node will detect when the contact abandons the cart with products in it, to activate the funnel sequence).
8. In the node selection menu, go to "Triggers > E-commerce", drag the "On cart abandonment" node to the editor, so it connects to the "Start" node.
9. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “On cart abandonment” node.
10. Click on Add filter. In the first dropdown, select “Total price”, in the second dropdown choose “Is greater than” and in the last field add “0 ”.
11. Click on Limitations and uncheck the box "Deactivate after triggering".
12. In Temporarily deactivate after event, add a limitation of “3 ” Days.
13. Click on Update.
In this step, we have instructed Connectif that when a contact abandons the purchase process with a cart whose value is greater than 0, the next action of the workflow is activated. Additionally, with the time limitation, we indicate that the flow cannot start until 3 days have passed, even if the contact abandons another cart during that time.
STEP 3. First "Check value" node
How to configure the "Check value" Node for this strategy
(This node will identify if the number of types of products is equal to 1, to continue through Branch 1).
14. In the node selection menu, go to "Conditions > System", drag the "Check value" node to the editor, so it connects to the "On cart abandonment" node.
15. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Check value” node.
16. Drag the "Number of different products" field from "On cart abandonment" to the left block.
17. In Operator, select "Is equal to".
18. Drag the "Literal" field to the right block and set a "1", to indicate that the cart must contain only one product for contacts to continue through Branch 1.
19. Click on Update.
In this step, we have instructed Connectif to check if the contact's abandoned cart contains exactly one product, to send them through Branch 1. If not, they will go to the second "Check value" node.
STEP 4. Second "Check value" node
How to configure the "Check value" Node for this strategy
(This node will check if the number of products is greater than 1, to continue through Branch 2. If this number is less than 1, the contact will not continue through any of the workflow branches).
20. In the node selection menu, go to "Conditions > System" and drag the "Check value" node to the editor, so it connects to the previous "Check Value" node.
21. In the connection between this node and the previous one, click on the circle until "No" appears.
22. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Check value” node.
23. Drag the "Number of different products" field from "On cart abandonment" to the left block.
24. In Operator, select "Is greater than or equal to".
25. Drag the "Literal" field to the right block and set a "2".
26. Click on Update.
In this step, we have instructed Connectif to check if the contact's abandoned cart contains 2 or more products, to send them through Branch 2. If the cart contains no products, the strategy will stop for that contact.
STEP 5 Branch 1. First "Send email" node
How to configure the email for this strategy
(In this step, you will create the first abandoned cart email for Branch 1, where dynamic content will be included with the product in the contact's cart).
27. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > Email" and drag the "Send email" node to the editor, so it connects to the first "Check value" node.
28. In the connection between this node and the previous one, click on the circle until "Yes" appears. This way, only contacts with one product in the cart will continue through the workflow.
29. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Send email” node. Click on Create new content to create a new email.
30. In the Tools panel, click on the General tab to edit the general appearance parameters of your email.
31. In the Components tab, configure the composition and add the elements you want to your email by clicking on them and dragging them to the editor.
If you need it, you have all the steps to create an email in this lesson.
32. Once you have configured the text and images of your email, add a Product element.
33. Click on Edit element on the Product element.
34. In Template, select the first option.
35. In Structure, indicate "1", both in rows and columns and keep the box Show incomplete rows active.
36. Add a Button element and edit it to lead to the cart page:
- Edit the text and design as desired.
- In Button link, you have two options: you can add your cart URL or create a cart variable, as shown in the image, to configure the URL in the variable assignment.
37. Click on Save and Back to content list to complete the node configuration.
How to configure the "Send email" Node for this strategy
(This node will send the first abandoned cart email for Branch 1).
38. Select the email you just created and click on Next .
39. In the Send to section, select "Contact".
40. Indicate the type of email "Transactional". The emails for this strategy have been marked as transactional because they respond to an action performed by the contact, without any promotion or additional consideration.
41. Configure the Send to contact parameters section.
42. In Google Analytics, click "Enable Google Analytics" and then Next .
43. Link the Connectif fields (left column) with the variables of your email (right column) to personalize the contact and product information:
- Drag the Literal field to match the {{cartUrl}} variable and enter your eCommerce cart URL in it. This way, this variable will include the address of your cart page (this value is fixed and will be the same for all contacts).
- Drag the contact Name field to match the {{name}} variable. This way, the registered contact's name will appear in the email.
- Drag the product information available in the Dynamic Content area. This information is collected by Connectif in the "On cart abandonment" node and updated in the product sheet you have available in your account, so you can personalize your email with the information of the products in each contact's cart.
- Drag the product Name field to match the {{title}} variable. This way, the name of the product that the contact added to the cart will appear in the email.
- Drag the product Image URL field to match the {{imageURL}} variable. This way, the image appearing in the product sheet will appear in the email.
- Drag the product Unit price field to match the {{price}} variable. This way, the price collected in the product sheet will appear in the email.
44. Click on Finish .
In this step, we have sent an email to contacts who have left a product in their cart. This email will be personalized with that item, plus a link to the cart. This URL is generic and cannot be personalized, but it must be entered, as we have seen in the configuration, in the email variables.
STEP 5 Branch 2. First "Send email" node
How to configure the email for this strategy
(In this step, you will create the first abandoned cart email for Branch 2, where dynamic content will be included with the products in the contact's cart).
45. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > Email" and drag the "Send email" node to the editor, so it connects to the second "Check value" node.
46. In the connection between this node and the previous one, click on the circle until "Yes" appears.
47. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Send email” node and click on Create new content.
48. In the Tools panel, click on the General tab to edit the general appearance parameters of your email and, in the Components tab, configure the composition and add the elements you want to your email by clicking on them and dragging them to the editor.
If you need it, you have all the steps to create an email in this lesson.
49. Once you have configured the text and images of your email, add a Product element.
50. Click on Edit element on the Product element.
51. In Template, select the first option.
52. In Structure, choose the number of rows and columns to display and activate the box Show incomplete rows.
53. Add a Button element and edit it to lead to the cart page:
- Edit the text and design as desired.
- In Button link, you have two options: you can add your cart URL, or create a cart variable, as shown in the image, to configure the URL in the variable assignment (as we will see in point 60).
54. Click on Save and Back to content list to complete the node configuration.
How to configure the "Send email" Node for this strategy
(This node will send the first abandoned cart email for Branch 2).
55. Select the email you just created and click on Next .
56. In the Send to section, select "Contact".
57. Indicate the type of email "Transactional".
58. Configure the Send to contact parameters section.
59. In Google Analytics, click "Enable Google Analytics" and then Next .
60. Link the Connectif fields (left column) with the variables of your email (right column) to personalize the contact and product information:
- Drag the Literal field to match the {{cartUrl}} variable and enter your eCommerce cart URL in it. This way, this variable will include the address of your cart page (this value fixed and will be the same for all contacts).
- Drag the contact Name field to match the {{name}} variable. This way, the registered contact's name will appear in the email.
- Drag the product information available in the Dynamic Content area. This information is collected by Connectif in the "On cart abandonment" node and updated in the product sheet you have available in your account, so you can personalize your email with the information of the products in each contact's cart.
- Drag the product Name field to match the {{title}} variable. This way, the name of the product that the contact added to the cart will appear in the email.
- Drag the product Image URL field to match the {{imageURL}} variable. This way, the image appearing in the product sheet will appear in the email.
- Drag the product Unit price field to match the {{price}} variable. This way, the price appearing in the product sheet will appear in the email.
61. Click on Finish .
In this step, we have sent an email to contacts who have left two or more products in their cart. This email will be personalized with those items, plus a link to the cart.
STEP 6. First "Wait" node
How the "Wait" Node works
This node is used to activate a specific waiting period between the previous and next nodes. In the node interface, the parameters that determine the wait are configured:
- A period of time. For example: 1 day and 15 hours.
- Until a specific date and time. For example: until July 23, 2023, at 2 pm.
- Until a date from an imported data. For example: 3 days after the last purchase made.
How to configure the "Wait" Node for this strategy
(This node will perform a wait before continuing through the workflow. You need to add and configure this node for both Branch 1 and Branch 2).
62. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > System" and drag the "Wait" node to the editor, so it connects to the first "Send email" node.
63. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Wait” node.
64. In Define the waiting time, select "A period of time" and indicate "1" in the Days field.
65. Click on Update.
In this step, we have instructed Connectif to wait one day before continuing the flow.
STEP 7. First "Has made purchase" node
How the "Has made purchase" Node works
This node is used to check whether the contact has made a recent purchase and the purchases made by the contact up to that time.
In the node interface, the number of purchases, specific dates, and intervals, and the necessary attributes of the purchases are configured, which will serve as a condition to distribute the contacts.
How to configure the "Has made purchase" Node for this strategy
(This node will identify if the contact has purchased during the waiting time. You need to add and configure this node for both Branch 1 and Branch 2).
66. In the node selection menu, go to "Conditions > E-commerce" and drag the "Has made purchase" node to the editor, so it connects to the first "Wait" node.
67. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Has made purchase” node.
68. In The number of purchases made select "Is greater than" and set "0" purchases, to detect those contacts who have made at least one purchase.
69. In Configure the conditions to define a specific set of purchases, click on the dropdown and select In the last time interval. In the configuration options, set "1" in the Days field, to detect that the contact's purchases are within the last day.
70. Click on Update.
In this step, we have instructed Connectif to check if the contact has made a purchase in the last day. If they meet the condition, the flow will stop; if they have not purchased, the strategy will continue.
STEP 8 Branch 1. Second "Send email" node
How to configure the email for this strategy
(In this step, you will create the second email in the abandoned cart sequence for Branch 1, where dynamic content will be included with the products in the contact's cart).
71. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > Email" and drag the "Send email" node to the editor, so it connects to the first "Has made purchase" node.
72. In the connection between this node and the previous one, click on the circle until "No" appears.
73. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Send email” node and click on Create new content.
74. In the Tools panel, click on the General tab to edit the general appearance parameters of your email and, in the Components tab, configure the composition and add the elements you want to your email by clicking on them and dragging them to the editor.
If you need it, you have all the steps to create an email in this lesson.
75. Once you have configured the text and images of your email, add a Product element and edit it as you did in Step 5 Branch 1.
76. When you finish creating your email with the product content, click on Save and Back to content list.
How to configure the "Send email" Node for this strategy
(This node will send the second abandoned cart email for Branch 1).
77. Select the email you just created and click on Next .
78. In the Send to section, select "Contact".
79. Indicate the type of email "Transactional".
80. Configure the Send to contact parameters section.
81. In Google Analytics, click "Enable Google Analytics" and then Next .
82. Link the Connectif fields (left column) with the variables of your email (right column) to personalize the contact and product information, as you did in Step 5 Branch 1. You can also see the association in the image:
83. Click on Finish .
In this step, we have sent a second email to contacts who have left a product in their cart. This email will be personalized with that item, plus a link to the cart.
STEP 8 Branch 2. Second "Send email" node
How to configure the email for this strategy
(In this step, you will create the second email in the abandoned cart sequence for Branch 2, where dynamic content will be included with the products in the contact's cart).
84. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > Email" and drag the "Send email" node to the editor, so it connects to the first "Has made purchase" node.
85. In the connection between this node and the previous one, click on the circle until "No" appears.
86. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Send email” node and click on Create new content.
87. In the Tools panel, click on the General tab to edit the general appearance parameters of your email.
88. In the Components tab, configure the composition and add the elements you want to your email by clicking on them and dragging them to the editor.
If you need it, you have all the steps to create an email in this lesson.
89. Once you have configured the text and images of your email, add a Product element and edit it as you did in Step 5 Branch 2.
90. When you finish creating your email with the product content, click on Save and Back to content list.
How to configure the "Send email" Node for this strategy
(This node will send the second abandoned cart email for Branch 2).
91. Select the email you just created and click on Next .
92. In the Send to section, select "Contact".
93. Indicate the type of email "Transactional".
94. Configure the Send to contact parameters section.
95. In Google Analytics, click "Enable Google Analytics" and then Next .
96. Link the Connectif fields (left column) with the variables of your email (right column) to personalize the contact and product information, as you did in Step 5 Branch 2. You can also see the association in the image:
97. Click on Finish .
In this step, we have sent a second email to contacts who have left two or more products in their cart. This email will be personalized with those items, plus a link to the cart.
STEP 9. Second "Wait" node
How to configure the "Wait" Node for this strategy
(This node will perform a wait before continuing through the workflow. You need to add and configure this node for both Branch 1 and Branch 2).
98. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > System" and drag the "Wait" node to the editor, so it connects to the second "Send email" node.
99. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Wait” node.
100. In Define the waiting time, select "A period of time" and indicate "2" Days.
101. Click on Update.
In this step, we have instructed Connectif to wait two days before continuing the flow.
STEP 10. Second "Has made purchase" node
How to configure the "Has made purchase" Node for this strategy
(This node will identify if the contact has purchased during the waiting time. You need to add and configure this node for both Branch 1 and Branch 2).
102. In the node selection menu, go to "Conditions > E-commerce" and drag the "Has made purchase" node to the editor, so it connects to the second "Wait" node.
103. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Has made purchase” node.
104. In The number of purchases made select "Is greater than" and set "0" purchases, to detect those contacts who have made at least one purchase.
105. In Configure the conditions to define a specific set of purchases, click on the dropdown and select In the last time interval. In the configuration options, set "2" in the Days field, to detect that the contact's purchases are within that time period.
106. Click on Update.
In this step, we have instructed Connectif to check if the contact has made a purchase in the last two days, to stop the flow in case they have completed a purchase, or continue through it to recover the abandoned cart.
STEP 11 Branch 1. Third "Send email" node
How to configure the email for this strategy
(In this step, you will create the third email in the abandoned cart sequence for Branch 1, where dynamic content will be included with the products in the contact's cart).
107. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > Email" and drag the "Send email" node to the editor, so it connects to the second "Has made purchase" node.
108. In the connection between this node and the previous one, click on the circle until "No" appears.
109. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Send email” node and click on Create new content.
110. In the Tools panel, click on the General tab to edit the general appearance parameters of your email.
111. In the Components tab, configure the composition and add the elements you want to your email by clicking on them and dragging them to the editor.
If you need it, you have all the steps to create an email in this lesson.
112. Once you have configured the text and images of your email, add a Product element and edit it as you did in Step 5 Branch 1.
113. When you finish creating your email with the product content, click on Save and Back to content list.
How to configure the "Send email" Node for this strategy
(This node will send the third abandoned cart email for Branch 1).
114. Select the email you just created and click on Next .
115. In the Send to section, select "Contact".
116. Indicate the type of email "Transactional".
117. Configure the Send to contact parameters section.
118. In Google Analytics, click "Enable Google Analytics" and then Next .
119. Link the Connectif fields with the variables of your email to personalize the contact and product information, as you did in Step 5 Branch 1.
120. Click on Finish .
In this step, we will send a third email to contacts who have left a product in their cart. This email will be personalized with that item, plus a link to the cart.
STEP 11 Branch 2. Third "Send email" node
How to configure the email for this strategy
(In this step, you will create the third email in the abandoned cart sequence for Branch 2, where dynamic content will be included with the products in the contact's cart).
121. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > Email" and drag the "Send email" node to the editor, so it connects to the second "Has made purchase" node.
122. In the connection between this node and the previous one, click on the circle until "No" appears.
123. Click on (Edit node settings) of the “Send email” node and click on Create new content.
124. In the Tools panel, click on the General tab to edit the general appearance parameters of your email.
125. In the Components tab, configure the composition and add the elements you want to your email by clicking on them and dragging them to the editor.
If you need it, you have all the steps to create an email in this lesson.
126. Once you have configured the text and images of your email, add a Dynamic Content element and edit it as you did in Step 5 Branch 2.
127. When you finish creating your email with the dynamic content of the product, click on Save and Back to content list.
How to configure the "Send email" Node for this strategy
(This node will send the third abandoned cart email for Branch 2).
128. Select the email you just created and click on Next .
129. In the Send to section, select "Contact".
130. Indicate the type of email "Transactional".
131. Configure the Send to contact parameters section.
132. In Google Analytics, click "Enable Google Analytics" and then Next .
133. Link the Connectif fields (left column) with the variables of your email (right column) to personalize the contact and product information, as you did in Step 5 Branch 2.
134. Click on Finish .
In this step, we will send a third email to contacts who have left two or more products in their cart. This email will be personalized with those items, plus a link to the cart.
Result
After completing the steps, you will have created your abandoned cart funnel and will have a sequence of emails to recover incomplete purchases.
Continue your journey
Now that you have completed this lesson, continue with the next one, where you will add an inline recommender to your product sheets.
Congratulations!
You have reached the end of the lesson.
Return to course
Access the complete course index and the explanation of each lesson in this link.
Related readings
If you want to deepen any of the lessons learned in this lesson, you can access the guide documentation:
- Types of A/B/X tests and configuration, to learn about the nodes to create an A/B/X test that allows you to evaluate strategies with different flows, like the one you just implemented.
- A/B/X test for cart recovery, where you will find an example of an advanced strategy to optimize your cart funnel.
- Synchronization and verification of products, to understand how Connectif synchronizes and verifies your products automatically and safely to update and offer recommendations, purchase details, and carts and show the products.