Understanding US guidelines for SMS cart abandonment flows
You will learn
Learn about compliance best practices for SMS in shopping cart abandonment flows. Shopping cart abandonment flows include abandoned cart, abandoned checkout, and added to cart flows.
Cart abandonment flows remind SMS subscribers about items they left behind and encourage them to complete their purchase. Certain carriers enforce a strict limit on how many SMS messages a brand can send in these flows. Before sending these reminders, collect consent and meet the requirements below.
This information is intended solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as legal advice. The content provided is general in nature and may not reflect the most up-to-date information. Klaviyo strongly advises consulting with a qualified legal counsel to ensure your compliance with applicable laws and regulations in connection with your use of our services.
Requirements for US SMS cart abandonment flows
The following are all required by the TCPA, CTIA, or carriers in the US:
- Have double opt-in turned on
- Use only 1 SMS per recipient in a cart abandonment flow
- Have the SMS send within 48 hours of the triggering event
- Have express consent for SMS and cart abandonment messages
- Add disclosures to your mobile terms of service and privacy policy
These requirements are for cart abandonment flows specifically, but following them is strongly recommended for other types of abandonment flows, such as browse abandonment.
Consent/opt-in requirements
There are 2 main requirements for consent in connection with cart abandonment messages:
- A recipient must explicitly agree to receive cart abandonment reminders
- The list you use to collect SMS subscribers must have double opt-in enabled, and each recipient must confirm their subscription
For the first, as a part of the SMS opt-in process on your website, mention in the call-to-action that your SMS program includes abandonment reminders. Typically, this mention is part of the disclosure text written on a sign-up form.
In the US, wireless carriers require that all SMS subscribers must go through the double opt-in process if you want to send them cart abandonment messages.
If you collect SMS subscribers through subscribe keywords, make sure those keywords use double opt-in. A keyword's opt-in setting overrides the list's setting.
Flow restrictions
An SMS cart abandonment flow has 2 key restrictions:
- The flow is limited to 1 SMS message per recipient
- The message must be sent within 48 hours of the triggering event
Further, you cannot complete the transaction on behalf of the customer, collect payment information via text, or accept purchase via a keyword confirmation from the customer. The customer must complete the transaction themselves on your online store.
Required disclosures
If you plan to send cart abandonment reminders through your short code SMS program, it needs to be specified within your mobile program terms of service. The language below is an example of such a disclosure.
“If you have opted in, the Service provides alerts, information, promotions, specials, and other marketing offers (e.g., cart reminders) from <Company Name>.”
You must also address your cart abandonment program in your privacy policy. For instance, with abandoned carts, privacy policies must explicitly state how information is captured by the website to determine when a customer cart has been abandoned (website cookies, plugins, etc.). The language below is an example.
“The <website> uses cookies to help keep track of items you put into your shopping cart including when you have abandoned your cart and this information is used to determine when to send cart reminder messages via SMS.”
Additional resources
- How to target contest entrants with flows
Learn about best practices for marketing to contest subscribers as well as tagging contest entrants in order to add them to a welcome series.
- How to create an abandoned cart flow
Learn how to set up an abandoned cart flow in Klaviyo in order to increase your ecommerce revenue and personalize communication to your customers.