Do Push Notifications Work for Abandoned Carts?

Cart abandonment is one of the biggest revenue leaks in ecommerce. 

Industry-wide, mobile cart abandonment rates hover between 70-85%, meaning a large majority of shoppers leave before completing checkout. 

Traditional recovery tactics like email and SMS have been widely adopted, but they aren’t always enough – especially as mobile shopping accelerates.

This is where push notifications enter the conversation. With the rise of mobile commerce, brands are leveraging push notifications to drive urgency and recapture lost revenue in real-time. 

But do they actually work? 

In this article, we’ll explore the data, real-world case studies, and best practices that make push notifications an effective (or ineffective) tool for abandoned cart recovery.

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The Scale of Cart Abandonment in Mobile Commerce

A lot of brands don’t realize just how big of a problem – or opportunity – cart abandonment is.

Mobile commerce is consistently growing; more than half of all global ecommerce sales come on mobile.

This is important because the average cart abandonment rate is significantly higher on mobile than desktop.

The Stats: Just How Bad is Cart Abandonment?

• Overall cart abandonment rates average around 70% (all devices)
• Mobile abandonment rates can be up to 85% – significantly higher than desktop
• Customers abandon carts because of:
  
  • Unexpected costs (shipping/taxes)
  • Complicated checkout
  • Required account creation
  • Distractions (multi-tasking, social media interruptions)
  • Lack of urgency or price sensitivity

What Makes Mobile Different?

Why are cart abandonment rates so much higher than desktop?

The mobile shopping experience presents unique challenges that contribute to higher abandonment rates. 

Mobile users typically browse while multitasking, leading to frequent interruptions from notifications, calls, or simply switching between apps. 

Session times are notably shorter than on desktop, giving brands a smaller window to capture the sale.

Since mobile commerce isn’t going away any time soon, brands will need to work with these issues and build mobile-first strategies to reduce (and recover) abandoned carts.

How Push Notifications Work for Cart Recovery

Push notifications are a high-impact, low-friction tool for cart recovery. 

Unlike emails that can get buried or SMS that might feel intrusive, push notifications hit the sweet spot – instant, visible, but not disruptive. 

The moment a customer abandons their cart, a well-timed push notification can nudge them back to buy within minutes, while their intent is still hot. 

This isn’t just theory. Brands using push notifications effectively see faster conversions and higher recovery rates than those relying solely on email or SMS.

The Mechanics of Abandoned Cart Push Notifications

Here’s a breakdown of how an abandoned cart sequence works with push notifications.

Spoiler alert: it’s extremely straightforward.

• The sequence is triggered when a user adds an item to cart but doesn’t complete checkout.
• Notification gets sent via mobile app notifications (or browser push, but app push sees better engagement).
• There is typically a multi-step recovery sequence (which may also include email/SMS, and sometimes a laddered discount strategy).

Types of Push Notifications Used for Cart Recovery

Here are a few ideas for crafting your abandoned cart notifications:

1. Simple Reminder
   
   • Example: "Oops! You left something behind. Complete your purchase now."
2. Urgency-Based Message
   
   • Example: "Your cart is about to expire! Check out before items sell out."
3. Incentive-Based Push
   
   • Example: "Get 10% off your order if you complete checkout in the next hour!"
4. Personalized Recommendations
   
   • Example: "Still thinking about those sneakers? Pair them with our best-selling socks!"

Real Examples of Abandoned Cart Notifications

Here are a few examples to see how these notifications appear on your customer's phone.

Tobi:

Muscle Republic:

Sleefs:

Shein:

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How Effective Are Push Notifications for Abandoned Carts?

Push notifications deliver where it matters – engagement and conversion. 

With 30-40% open rates, they double email’s performance (15-25%) while avoiding the cost and fatigue risks of SMS (despite its 90%+ open rates). 

But the real kicker? Push drives 8-12% conversion rates, outperforming email’s 5-8%. Lower cost, higher impact, faster action… that’s why smart brands are leaning into push for cart recovery and beyond.

Push vs. Email vs. SMS: Performance Benchmarks

• Push Notification Open Rate: 30-40%
• Email Open Rate: 15-25%
• SMS Open Rate: 90%+ (but costly and intrusive)
• Conversion Rates:
  
  • Push: ~8-12%
  • Email: ~5-8%
  • SMS: ~15-20%

Sources: Klaviyo, Dotdigital

Real-World Case Studies & Data

A number of case studies show that push notifications are extremely effective for abandoned carts.

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Pura Vida Bracelets, through their web push abandoned cart campaigns, generated:

• 7% click-through rate and a 22% click to conversion rate
• Over $540,000 total revenue over 2.5 years (roughly $18k per month from abandoned carts)
• 10:1 return on investment 

They used a three-message sequence, with roughly 62% of revenue from the first message, 25% from the second, and the rest from the third.

Source: Firepush

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Ivory Ella achieved:

• Over $290,000 total revenue over 1.5 years
• 7% click-through rate, 19% click to conversion rate

Source: Firepush

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SuperJeweler got the following results:

• 8.2% increase in revenue from abandoned cart notifications
• 14.68% CTR

Source: PushEngage

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Samsung used web push as part of a strategy that increased cart recovery rates by 24%.

Source: Insider

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These stats largely focus on web push notifications – and mobile app push notifications have been shown to be even more effective, with higher opt-in rates and engagement rates.

In fact, some of our users have achieved incredible results with push.

Three brands we worked with each generated between $10,000 to $200,000 in new sales from abandoned cart notifications, over a period of just 30 days.

That just gives you an idea of the potential waiting for you with a mobile app and push notifications.

Best Practices for High-Converting Cart Abandonment Push Notifications

The key to success lies in the execution. Based on our experience working with numerous DTC brands, here's what works:

Timing Strategies

• Immediate Reminder: Within 5-10 minutes after abandonment.
• Second Push: After 3-6 hours with an incentive.
• Final Push: 24 hours later, reinforcing urgency.

Messaging Strategies

• Keep it short & compelling (Under 100 characters)
• Use Emojis (🔥 Limited Stock!)
• Add Personalization ("Hey [Name], don’t forget your [Product] in your cart!")

A/B Testing Framework

• Headline Variations ("Complete Your Order" vs. "Oops, You Forgot Something!")
• Discount vs. No Discount
• CTA Buttons ("Shop Now" vs. "Claim Discount")

Read more: Are Free Shipping & Discounts the Silver Bullet for Cart Abandonment?

The Challenges & Downsides of Push Notifications

If push notifications are so effective for abandoned carts, why is the average abandonment rate still 70%+?

First, because most brands aren’t using push effectively (or at all).

Many just don’t realize how powerful push is for cart recovery—so they stick to email and SMS.

There are also some built-in limitations with push.

• App required – You can only send push to customers who’ve downloaded your app and enabled notifications.
• Lower reach than email/SMS – Push won’t hit your entire audience unless you actively drive more app adoption.
• Opt-ins matter – Low push opt-in rates = weak results.

Take the following steps to manage these issues, and increase the ROI from your abandoned cart campaigns:

• Go multi-channel. Use push for app users, but email & SMS for everyone else.
• Drive app adoption. Push more customers to shop in-app with exclusive discounts & incentives.
• Optimize opt-ins. Make the push notification prompt compelling—explain the value (early access, order updates, exclusive drops).
• Re-engage non-opt-ins. Nudge users after they’ve installed the app to turn on push (don’t just rely on the default iOS/Android prompt).

Bottom line: Push is a high-impact channel for abandoned carts, but it works best when you’re proactively growing your push audience.

Make sure you invest in growing your app and getting more users subscribed to push, and at the same time, don’t ignore email and SMS – use them together with push for a synergistic approach to recovering abandoned carts.

Further reading: Optimizing the Checkout Process to Reduce Abandoned Carts

Should Your Brand Use Push for Abandoned Carts?

Do push notifications make sense for your brand’s abandoned cart strategy?

Short answer: Yes… in most cases.

Push notifications work best if you have a lot of mobile traffic, and your products thrive on impulse buys (fashion, beauty, lifestyle).

Honestly, every single shopping app should be sending automated abandoned cart notifications.

There’s no downside. They’re essentially free to send, and they’re effective.

The only challenge is getting enough people into your app, and subscribed to push.

But a smart acquisition strategy will pay off big time, in the form of significant revenue recovered from abandoned cart notifications.

Your brand might get more overall revenue from email or SMS, just due to wider reach, but there’s no reason to ignore push in your abandoned cart strategy.

Next Steps

Push notifications are a highly effective tool for cart recovery when done right. 

Focus on timing, personalization, and urgency to improve engagement rates, while a multi-channel approach (push + email + SMS) is the best way to maximize checkout recovery and LTV.

If you don’t have an app yet, or you do, and you’re not sending push notifications, this is the place to start.

For brands without an app, check out MobiLoud.

MobiLoud converts your existing web store into native apps, giving you the ability to send push notifications to your engaged app users.

It’s zero effort, a low cost, and comes with little to no overhead or maintenance required.

It’s the easiest way to start driving incremental revenue on autopilot with push notifications.