Skip to main content

Abandoned Cart Recovery

Admin

Abandoned cart recovery automatically sends an email to customers who add items to their storefront cart, begin checkout, and then leave without completing their order. The email includes a magic link that restores their cart so they can pick up right where they left off.

How It Works​

  1. A customer visits your storefront and adds products to their cart.
  2. The customer reaches the checkout page and enters their email address.
  3. The customer leaves without completing the order.
  4. After 1 hour, Brother POS sends a recovery email to the customer.
  5. The email contains a magic link that restores the customer's cart with the same items and quantities.
  6. The customer clicks the link, returns to checkout, and completes the order.
Email address required

The recovery email can only be sent if the customer entered their email address during checkout. Anonymous cart abandonments (where no email was captured) cannot be recovered.

Enabling Abandoned Cart Recovery​

Abandoned cart recovery is controlled by the enable_abandoned_cart_recovery feature flag in the store's feature_flags JSONB field. This flag is not currently exposed in the settings UI — it must be enabled by Brother POS support or via the platform admin panel.

Once enabled, the background job AbandonedCartNotificationJob runs periodically and sends recovery emails for carts that have been abandoned for over 1 hour.

Viewing the Abandoned Carts Dashboard​

  1. Navigate to /admin/abandoned_carts (this page is accessible by direct URL; it is not in the main admin navigation).
  2. The dashboard displays:
MetricDescription
Total Abandoned CartsNumber of carts abandoned in the selected time period.
Recovery Emails SentNumber of recovery emails dispatched.
Recovered OrdersNumber of abandoned carts that converted to completed orders.
Recovery RatePercentage of abandoned carts that were recovered.

Below the summary metrics, a list of individual abandoned carts shows the customer email, cart value, number of items, time of abandonment, and current status (pending, email sent, recovered, or expired).

Recovery Email​

The recovery email includes:

  • Your store name and branding.
  • A summary of the items left in the cart.
  • A magic link that restores the cart in a single click.
  • The link expires after 7 days (the default set at cart creation: expires_at ||= 7.days.from_now).
Cart contents may change

If a product in the abandoned cart goes out of stock or is deactivated before the customer returns, that item is removed from the restored cart and the customer is notified.

Tips for Improving Recovery Rates​

  1. Offer a promo code. Mention a discount code in your storefront announcement bar (e.g., "Complete your order with code SAVE10 for 10% off"). Customers who see a deal are more likely to return.
  2. Keep checkout simple. The fewer fields a customer has to fill out, the less likely they are to abandon. Brother POS checkout is already streamlined -- avoid adding unnecessary steps.
  3. Ensure fast page loads. Slow storefronts increase abandonment. Optimize your product images and keep hero images under 1 MB.
  4. Display clear pricing. Show delivery fees and tax estimates before the final checkout step so customers are not surprised by the total.

What's Next?​

  • Promo Codes -- Create discount codes to incentivize purchases.
  • Storefront -- Overview of storefront setup and configuration.
  • Online Orders -- Managing orders placed through the storefront.