Why does my Checkout flow get more volume than my Cart flow?
Cart and checkout abandonment are usually run as two separate flows. The cart flow is triggered when a shopper adds a product to their cart, and the checkout flow is triggered when a shopper starts checkout.
Instant AI also runs these as two separate flows, Abandoned Cart and Abandoned Checkout, so you capture revenue from shoppers at both stages. How volume splits between the two flows depends on which shopper actions can be seen and which shoppers can be identified.
When you move to Instant AI, it is common to see a large share of that volume move from your Abandoned Cart flow to your Abandoned Checkout flow. Your Checkout flow can end up far bigger than your Cart flow. This is expected, and it comes from three things:
- Instant identifies more of your shoppers, so it sees more of their higher-intent actions.
- Instant receives more of your store events from Shopify, including cart and checkout updates.
- Each shopper only receives one abandonment flow, and it is always the highest-intent one.
Instant identifies more shoppers
A shopper can only enter a flow once they have been identified, which means Instant has attached an email address or phone number to them. Instant identifies a larger share of your site visitors than most other platforms.
Identifying more shoppers means Instant also sees more of what those shoppers do next. Many shoppers who add a product to their cart also view their cart or start checkout in the same visit. Instant picks up those later actions and treats the shopper as a checkout abandoner, not a cart abandoner.
Instant receives more events from Shopify
Instant collects shopper activity in two ways:
- Website Events from the Instant pixel on your storefront, such as Product Viewed, Added to Cart and Checkout Started.
- Webhook Events sent directly from Shopify’s servers when a cart or checkout is created or updated.
Instant uses more of Shopify’s webhook events than many other platforms. This includes checkout webhook events, such as checkouts through Shop Pay.
A checkout event is a higher-intent action than an add to cart, because the shopper has gone further towards buying. If a shopper adds to cart and then starts a checkout, Instant sends them the Abandoned Checkout flow and does not send the Abandoned Cart flow.
To see these events for your store, read Understanding your Shopify integration events in Instant AI.
How flow prioritisation works
Which events trigger which flow
- Added to Cart triggers the Abandoned Cart flow.
- Cart Viewed triggers the Abandoned Checkout flow. Viewing the full cart page is the last step a shopper can take on your storefront before checkout.
- Checkout Started triggers the Abandoned Checkout flow.
Which cart events fire depends on how your store is built. Stores with a slide-out cart drawer usually fire more Added to Cart events. Stores that send shoppers to a full cart page after they add a product usually fire more Cart Viewed events, which go to the Checkout flow.
Shoppers move up to the highest-intent flow
A shopper is only ever in one flow at a time. If they take a higher-intent action, Instant cancels their current flow and starts the higher-intent one from the beginning. Abandoned Checkout is the highest-intent abandonment flow, followed by Abandoned Cart, then Abandoned Browse.
The first Abandoned Cart email sends 1 hour after the shopper adds to cart. Shoppers often view their cart or start checkout within seconds of adding a product. By the time the first Cart email is due, most of these shoppers have already moved into the Checkout flow.
What is left in your Cart flow is the smaller group of shoppers who added to cart and did not go any further. A low Cart flow means those shoppers are being handled by your Checkout flow. It does not mean events are missing or emails are not sending.
How to assess your abandonment flows
Because shoppers move between flows, the split between Browse, Cart and Checkout will not match the split you had on your previous platform. Compare your abandonment flows as a group.
- Add together the revenue from all your abandonment flows in Instant AI: Abandoned Checkout, Abandoned Cart, Abandoned Browse, and Abandoned Collection if you have it turned on.
- Add together the revenue from the abandonment flows you ran on your previous platform. To pull these from Klaviyo, read How do I determine my abandonment flow revenue?
- Compare the two totals over periods of the same length.
For example, a brand compares 30 days on its previous platform with its first 30 days on Instant AI:
| Flow | Previous platform | Instant AI |
|---|---|---|
| Abandoned Checkout | $5,000 | $9,000 |
| Abandoned Cart | $3,000 | $1,000 |
| Abandoned Browse | $4,000 | $7,000 |
| Total | $12,000 | $17,000 |
The Cart flow earns less, because most of those shoppers now go to the Checkout flow. The total is higher.
It is normal and healthy for your Checkout flow to be far bigger than your Cart flow.
When to look further
A small Cart flow on its own is not a problem. Contact your Customer Success Manager if you see any of these:
- Your total abandonment flow revenue is lower than it was on your previous platform over the same length of time.
- Your Abandoned Cart flow stops sending completely for several days.
- Added to Cart or Checkout Started events drop or disappear on your Shopify integration page.
FAQ
Is my Abandoned Cart flow broken? Probably not. If your events are coming through and your Cart flow is still sending some emails, it is working. The shoppers it is not sending to have moved into your Checkout flow.
Why was my cart flow bigger on my previous platform? Your previous platform identified fewer shoppers and received fewer cart and checkout events, so more shoppers stayed at the add to cart stage. Instant sees more of those shoppers go on to view their cart or start checkout.
Will shoppers get both a Cart email and a Checkout email? No. A shopper only receives one abandonment flow at a time. Moving them to the Checkout flow stops the Cart flow.
Should I change my store so more shoppers go to the Cart flow? No. Shoppers who reach checkout have shown higher intent, and the Checkout flow is built for that stage. There is nothing to change.
For more on how flows are prioritised, see Understanding Instant AI Flows.