Abandoned cart emails for digital products: a 3-email template that works
How to write abandoned cart emails for courses and digital products: when to send, what to say, whether to discount, plus a copy-ready 3-email template.
For a course or digital product, send two or three abandoned cart emails. Send the first about an hour after someone leaves checkout, with no discount: ask if something went wrong and give them a link back. Send the second the next day to answer the most common doubt. If you add a discount at all, save it for a third and final email two or three days later, and give it a real end time. Keep every email short, personal, and about one thing.
Full disclosure: we make Eden, a creator store with checkout recovery emails built in. We show how to set it up on Eden at the end, and the template works with any email tool. Prices and plan facts were checked on each company's site in October 2026.
What an abandoned cart email is (for digital products)
An abandoned cart email, also called a checkout recovery email, goes to someone who started buying and then stopped. They typed their email at checkout, then closed the tab.
With physical products, people abandon carts full of items. With a course or a template, it's usually one product and one moment of doubt. That changes the email. You are not reminding someone about a pair of shoes. You are answering a question they didn't ask out loud.
The gap is big. Baymard Institute puts the average documented online cart abandonment rate at 70.22%, based on 50 studies (from its page, updated September 2025). That number covers all online shopping, not just digital products. But the lesson holds: most people who start checking out leave without paying, and a few short emails bring some of them back.
Why people leave a digital checkout
Know the reason and the email writes itself. The usual ones:
- Something broke. A card got declined, a bank asked for a code, the page timed out on a phone.
- They got pulled away. A notification, a kid, a meeting. They meant to come back.
- They had a question. "Is this for beginners?" "How long do I have access?" "Can I get a refund?"
- The price felt big in the moment. They wanted it, then saw the total and paused.
- They weren't sure it would work for them. This is the most common one for courses and coaching.
Notice that only one of these is about price. That's why a discount in the first email is usually a mistake.
When to send each email
| When | Job | Discount? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | About 1 hour after they left | Fix a problem, give a link back | No |
| 2 | About 1 day after | Answer the biggest doubt, show proof | No |
| 3 | 2 to 3 days after (optional) | Last note, optional small offer | Maybe, with a deadline |
Why an hour? It's soon enough that they still remember the page, and late enough that you're not chasing someone who is still typing their card number. After about three days, most people have moved on, so stop.
The 3-email template (copy and edit)
Swap in your own name, product, and the real doubt your buyers have. Keep each one under 120 words.
Email 1: about 1 hour after
Subject: Did something go wrong?
Preview: Your checkout is still open.
Hi [first name],
You started checking out [product] but didn't finish. Sometimes a card gets declined or a page times out.
If that's what happened, you can pick up right where you left off.
And if you have a question before you buy, just reply. I'll answer it.
[your name]
Button: Finish checking out
Email 2: about 1 day after
Subject: The question I get most about [product]
Preview: Short answer: yes, if this sounds like you.
Hi [first name],
The question I hear most before people buy [product] is "[the common doubt, like: will this work if I'm a beginner?]"
Here's the honest answer: [two or three sentences].
[one short line from a buyer, like: "I finished it in a weekend and launched my first offer the next week." Sam R.]
If it's right for you, it's here.
[your name]
Button: Get [product]
Email 3: 2 to 3 days after (optional)
Subject: Last note about [product]
Preview: Then I'll leave you alone.
Hi [first name],
This is my last email about [product], so I'll keep it short.
If you've been on the fence, here's [10% off / a bonus], good until [day and time]. Code: [CODE].
If now isn't the time, no problem. You'll still get my regular emails.
[your name]
Button: Get [product]
A few notes on the template:
- Email 1 sounds like a person, not a store. "Did something go wrong?" gets replies. "You left something in your cart!" gets ignored.
- Email 2 does the selling. Pick the one doubt you hear most. If you don't know it, read your DMs and the questions people ask on your sales page. Our guide to writing a sales page has more on finding it.
- Email 3 is optional. If you never discount, replace the code with a bonus or just a friendly last note.
Should you offer a discount?
Usually not in the first two emails. Here's the trade-off:
- A discount can win back price-sensitive buyers. Some people really did stop because of the total.
- It also teaches people to wait. If your followers learn that leaving checkout earns a code, some will leave on purpose.
- It cheapens a course that sells on trust. A course is a promise. A quick discount can make the promise look smaller.
If you do offer one, keep it small (10% to 15%), put it only in the last email, and give it a real deadline that you actually enforce. A better option for many creators is a bonus instead of a cut: a template, a short call, or an extra lesson.
What not to do
- Don't send more than three. After that it feels like chasing.
- Don't fake a deadline. "Your cart expires in 10 minutes" is false for a digital product, and people know it.
- Don't guilt them. "You're leaving your dreams behind" turns people off fast.
- Don't keep emailing buyers. Anyone who buys must leave the sequence right away. Getting "still thinking about it?" after you paid looks careless.
- Don't add five links. One button, back to checkout or the product page.
- Don't email people who never gave you their email for this. Only people who typed their email at your checkout should get these. Say on your checkout that you may follow up.
- Don't write a long sales letter. They already read your sales page. Short wins.
Which tools can send abandoned cart emails for digital products?
Most email tools were built for online shops, so check how the tool learns that someone left checkout. If your email tool can't see your checkout, it can't send these.
| Tool | Abandoned checkout for digital products? | Plan needed |
|---|---|---|
| Eden | Built into checkout, for every product you sell on Eden | Pro, $79/mo |
| Kit | Pricing page lists abandoned checkout for Shopify, Fourthwall, and Wix stores | Creator, from $33/mo paid monthly |
| Mailchimp | Abandoned cart is a pre-built automation, built for online shops | Paid plans, from $13/mo |
How to read this:
- Eden sends them for its own checkout, so it works for courses, downloads, coaching, and memberships sold on Eden. It does nothing for sales on other platforms.
- Kit lists abandoned checkout on Creator and up, for stores on Shopify, Fourthwall, and Wix. If you sell somewhere else, check with Kit before you count on it.
- Mailchimp is built for online shops and small businesses. Its abandoned cart automation needs a connected store.
- Newsletter tools like beehiiv and Substack are built for publishing, not checkout recovery. If you keep your newsletter there, you can still run recovery emails from your store.
For a wider look, see the best email marketing tools for creators.
How to do it with Eden
On Eden, checkout recovery is part of email marketing, which sits next to your products and checkout. There is nothing to connect.
- 01
Open Email marketing
Go to Your store → Email marketing and finish Settings once (From name, reply address, mailing address).
- 02
Pick the Abandoned checkout template
Click Sequences, then New sequence, and pick Abandoned checkout. It starts as two emails over one day: "Did something go wrong?" about an hour after, and "Still thinking about [product]?" a day later.
- 03
Choose the products
Pick which products it covers. Each email's button goes back to the product they were buying.
- 04
Add a third email if you want
Add an email on day 2 or 3 with your bonus or a small code. Use Send me this one to test each email.
- 05
Turn it on
Flip the switch at the top and click Turn on.
How it works once it's on:
- It starts when someone types their email at checkout and doesn't buy. That happens on the card step, where the buyer enters their email. The card step tells them their email is shared with you and that you may send updates.
- Buying takes them out. Before every email, Eden checks if they bought the product. If they did, they leave the sequence and get nothing more.
- Unsubscribes are handled. Every email has an unsubscribe link, and people who unsubscribe never get another one.
- You see what it earned. Each email shows sent, opened, clicked, and money earned.
Checkout recovery needs Pro ($79 a month) or Max. Pro includes 250 contacts. A bigger list uses the list size add-on, from $15 a month for 1,000 contacts. The full setup is in the email marketing help article.
Where Eden falls short
- It only sees Eden's checkout. If you sell on Gumroad, Kajabi, or Shopify, Eden can't send recovery emails for those sales.
- It only catches people who typed their email. Someone who looks at your product page and leaves before the card step won't get an email, because you don't have their address.
- No A/B tests. You can't test two subject lines against each other.
- No branching. A sequence is a list of timed emails with skip rules, not a visual flow builder.
- Your own domain takes setup. Emails send from Eden's address under your store handle until you add your own domain, about 10 minutes of DNS records.
- It needs Pro. Starter gets broadcasts, but not sequences or checkout recovery.
Frequently asked questions
How many abandoned cart emails should I send?
Two or three. The first about an hour after, the second a day later, and an optional third two or three days after. More than three starts to feel like chasing.
When should I send the first abandoned cart email?
About an hour after they leave checkout. That's soon enough to catch a declined card or a timed-out page, and not so soon that you email someone still typing.
Should abandoned cart emails include a discount?
Not in the first email. Most people leave a digital checkout because of a problem or a question, not the price. If you use a discount, put a small one in the last email with a real deadline.
Do abandoned cart emails work for online courses?
Yes, if they answer the doubt that stopped the sale. For a course, that's usually "will this work for me?" Answer it in plain words, add one line from a past student, and link back to checkout.
Is it legal to send abandoned cart emails?
Rules depend on where you and your buyers live. A safe habit: only email people who typed their email at your checkout, tell them on the checkout that you may follow up, and include an unsubscribe link and your mailing address in every email.
Ready to win back the sales you're missing? Start Eden free, add a product, and turn on the Abandoned checkout sequence on Pro.