Abandoned-cart sequences are the highest-ROI email program in DTC ecommerce. Three to four well-paced emails recover 14–22% of carts depending on AOV. The templates below cover the full sequence (1-hour reminder, 24-hour nudge, day-3 discount, day-5 final call), plus specialty variations: high-AOV white-glove, low-AOV jokey, gifting-context, replenishment, restock-notifies, and bundle upsells.
The most common abandon-cart mistakes: leading with a discount in the first email (trains buyers to wait), faking urgency ('only 2 left!' when there aren't), and pretending the cart will expire when it won't. The templates below avoid all three. Use real stock, real deadlines, real discounts.