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Abandoned-cart recovery is where a lot of already-earned demand goes to die. The shopper wanted the product enough to reach checkout — then something interrupted them. The job isn't to convince a stranger; it's to reach a warm buyer on a channel they'll actually see, at a moment they'll actually act.
Why WhatsApp beats email in India
Marketing email open rates in India are low, and getting lower. WhatsApp gets read. Recovering on WhatsApp first — then falling back to SMS and email for anyone you can't reach there — puts the reminder in front of the shopper on the channel they answer. That single channel choice is usually the biggest lever in the whole flow.
Recover to verified numbers, not a scraped list
A recovery message is only welcome if it goes to a real number the shopper gave you. When checkout is phone-first and OTP-verified, every abandoned cart already carries a genuine, reachable number the buyer entered themselves — so you're re-contacting a warm lead, not spamming. That also keeps you on the right side of WhatsApp's own rules.
Timing: a sequence, not a single blast
One message an hour later is easy to miss; five in a day is a block-and-report. What works is a short, spaced sequence — a first nudge soon after abandonment while intent is fresh, then a reminder or two after that, stopping the moment the order completes. Space it to when shoppers actually come back, not to your own convenience.
When to attach an offer
Not every recovery needs a discount — sometimes the reminder is enough, and a reflexive coupon just trains shoppers to abandon on purpose. Reserve the offer for carts that need a reason: attach your best eligible coupon or a prepaid incentive when the value justifies it. The mechanics — sequence, channels, offers — are on the WhatsApp cart recovery page, and the event itself fires as an abandoned_checkout webhook if you'd rather drive your own flow.
See it live on a private preview of your checkout.