Jimmy KimCEO & Founder, Commerce Roundtable · Marketer of 17+ Years, 4x Founder. Former DTC/Retailer & SaaS Founder. Newsletter. Host of ASOM & Send it! Podcast. DTC Event: Commerce Roundtable

Why Your Abandoned Cart Flow Is Too Long

25 Jun 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

0:48

In this brief conversational video, Jimmy Kim (Speaker A) explains that many e‑commerce brands send overly long abandoned‑cart email sequences—often 5 to 12 messages about the same one or two items. He cites data showing that the bulk of abandoned‑cart revenue is captured within the first 24–48 hours after a shopper leaves the site. Based on that, he recommends a concise three‑email flow: the first email sent within 1–2 hours, a second around 24 hours, and a third between 48–72 hours. He warns that any additional emails beyond the third provide diminishing returns at best and can damage the brand’s reputation at worst. The dialogue emphasizes a data‑driven, efficiency‑focused approach to cart recovery.

Your abandoned cart flow is probably too long.
Ooh, I like that. What do most brands have, like 5, 6, 7, 8 emails?
Yeah, I'd probably say that's on average, but I've seen upwards of like 12 email abandoned cart flows. And it's 12 emails about the same cart, dude, like the 1 or 2 items, whatever it might be that someone left behind.
I'm pretty sure that's harassment at that point.
That's a good way to put it. And look, here's the data. Most abandoned cart revenue is going to happen within the first 24 to 48-ish hours.
You know, 3 emails in that window does the So email 1 within the first hour or 2, email 2 within that next 24 hours, and then email 3, let's say 48 to 72 hours, and you're done, right?
Exactly. Anything beyond that third email has diminishing returns at best and active brand damage at worst.