Write abandoned cart emails with Claude

What you'll make

A 3-email abandoned cart sequence for your Shopify store — timed across 3 days, each email with a different angle and tone. Ready to paste into Shopify's built-in automation or any email marketing tool.

What you need

• A Claude account
• Your store name and product type
• Knowing your margin (so you know whether you can offer a discount in the final email)
• 25 minutes

Steps

1. Tell Claude about your store and ask for the sequence:

I run a Shopify store called [store name] selling [product type]. My average order value is [amount]. I want a 3-email abandoned cart recovery sequence.

Email 1 (sent 2 hours after abandonment):
- Subject line: short and casual, not "You left something in your cart"
- Body: remind them what they were looking at, make it easy to get back to their cart, no discount
- Tone: helpful, like a shop assistant who noticed you wandering off
- Under 80 words

Email 2 (sent 24 hours after abandonment):
- Subject line: asks a question or addresses a common concern (shipping time, sizing, etc.)
- Body: answer that concern, mention one product benefit, link back to cart
- Tone: informative and reassuring
- Under 100 words

Email 3 (sent 72 hours after abandonment):
- Subject line: final nudge, not guilt-tripping
- Body: offer a small discount (X% off) if my margin allows it — otherwise, offer free shipping or a bonus
- Tone: warm, last-chance, no pressure
- Under 100 words

For each email, give me: subject line, preview text (under 90 characters), full body, and the call-to-action button text.

2. Tell Claude your margin situation so the third email is realistic:

My product costs [supplier cost] and sells for [price]. Can I afford to offer a 10% discount in Email 3 and still make profit? Calculate the margin with and without the discount. If 10% is too much, suggest a smaller percentage or a non-discount incentive (free shipping, a small bonus item).

3. Ask Claude for two subject line variants for each email so you can A/B test:

Give me 2 alternative subject lines for each of the 3 emails. Make each variant a different style:
- Style A: direct and factual
- Style B: curious or playful

Keep all subject lines under 50 characters and avoid spam trigger words (free, urgent, act now, last chance).

4. Set up the sequence in Shopify. Go to Settings > Notifications > Abandoned cart recovery, or use an email app like Klaviyo if you have one installed. Paste the emails, set the timing (2 hours, 24 hours, 72 hours), and enable.

Check your result

• Email 1 sends within 2 hours and doesn't mention a discount
• Email 2 addresses a real concern (not a made-up one — pick something your customers actually ask about)
• Email 3's discount or incentive is one you can afford based on the margin calculation
• No subject line uses spam-trigger words
• Each email is short enough to read on a phone without scrolling

If you can't afford any discount in Email 3, that's fine — a well-written "we saved your cart, here's why people love this product" email can work just as well. The third email doesn't need a discount to convert; it needs a reason to act now.