How to create and target a segment of recent cart abandoners

You will learn

Learn how to identify site visitors who have recently abandoned a cart in order to target them across marketing channels. For example, you can create a recent cart abandoners segment and sync it to Meta custom audiences to drive them back to your site, or you can create an exit-intent popup targeting shoppers as they're about to leave your website. While it's not possible to dynamically display the specific items left in someone's cart as you would in an abandoned cart email, you can still remind them of items left behind with the language and CTA you use.

Create a segment of recent cart abandoners

Before you begin, integrate your ecommerce platform with Klaviyo and make sure checkout and order events are syncing. Select the metrics from that integration when you build the segment. Shopify calls its checkout metric Checkout Started; use that in place of Started Checkout in the example below.

1. Navigate to Audience > Lists & segments from the Klaviyo navigation menu.
2. Click Create.
3. Choose Segment.
4. Name your segment. If the Create segment panel opens first, enter the name there and click Create segment to open the definition builder.
5. Create a segment with the following definition:
   What someone has done (or not done) > Started Checkout > at least once in the last 1 week
   AND
   What someone has done (or not done) > Placed Order > zero times in the last 1 week
   
   

The time constraint within the segment (1 week, in this example) can be adjusted based on your marketing needs. Use the same time window for both conditions. This example includes profiles with a recorded checkout but no recorded order during that window; it does not check whether items are still in their cart.

After adding any Buy with Prime condition you need, click Create segment in the definition builder to save the segment.

Target cart abandoners

With an exit-intent form

Use the sign-up form builder to design the form that you would like to display to shoppers in your recent cart abandoners segment when they are about to navigate away from your site. You will likely want to choose a pop-up, flyout, or full page form so that you can capture shoppers' attention.

Make sure Klaviyo’s onsite JavaScript is installed on your website. This segment-targeted form can appear only when Klaviyo recognizes the visitor as a profile in the segment.

In the Targeting & display behavior section, configure the following settings:

• On the Display tab:
  • Under Timing, configure the form to appear Based on rules > When visitor is exiting the page.
  • Under Frequency, uncheck Don’t show again if form was submitted or if go to URL button was clicked. This allows the form to appear again if the shopper still meets its targeting and display rules. Set If visitor closes form, show again after to a timeframe that prevents repeated displays within the same browsing session. In this example, the form can appear again 30 days after the shopper closes it.

• On the Targeting tab:
  • Under Audience, select Show to specific profiles in a list or segment. Check Include certain lists and segments, then select your recent cart abandoners segment.
  • As a safeguard, under URLs, exclude it from displaying on the order confirmation page. Alternatively, only target the form to certain pages on your site, like your homepage.
    

Additionally, configure a call-to-action (CTA) that either brings shoppers back to their cart or directly to the checkout page. Click on the main CTA button in the form preview, then select Go to URL as the button Action. Then, set your checkout or cart URL as the destination URL.

When the form is ready, click Publish or schedule. Resolve any blocking alerts, then choose Publish now to make it live. Test the form on your site as a recognized profile in the segment, and check that its button opens the intended cart or checkout page.

On Facebook

You can target Facebook users in a similar way using Klaviyo's Meta Ads integration. Before syncing a segment of recent cart abandoners to a Meta custom audience, ensure that you have the Meta Ads integration set up.

Once you have the integration configured, you can sync any segment in Klaviyo to a Meta custom audience. As mentioned above, you may want to extend the timeframe of the segment if you are planning to sync it to Facebook in order to reach a broader audience.

1. Open Integrations > Meta Ads and select the Custom audiences tab. If custom audience syncing is not set up yet, click Get started and select your ad account.
2. Click Add connection. Select your recent cart abandoners segment and the Meta custom audience you want to sync it to. You can select an existing audience or create a new one from the audience selector.
3. Click Save to apply the connection.

Next, in Facebook, build an ad to display to this audience of recent cart abandoners. Update the CTA link in the ad to direct shoppers back to their cart, the checkout page, or your general site. For more information on this process, head to our course on integrating owned marketing with your Facebook ad strategy.

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