How to reduce abandoned carts with WhatsApp automation

In this article, you will learn how to reduce the number of abandoned carts in your e-commerce shop using a WhatsApp automation
  • Nils Hagendorn
  • 11/26/2024
  • 3 min reading time
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This guide will quickly walk you through the process of setting up an automation to send reminders, such as discount codes, to customers with abandoned carts.

What does it do?

Customers who leave the checkout before submitting an order are retargeted to encourage them to complete their purchase, thus reducing abandoned cart checkouts. This automation automatically sends messages to customers with abandoned carts, including a link to their specific unfinished checkout and a discount code that is automatically applied.

In this guide, we will quickly walk you through the process of setting up an automation that allows you to send out reminders with discount codes to customers with abandoned cart checkouts:

  1. Create WhatsApp template
  2. Build Zapier automation

1. Create Whatsapp template

Step 1.1: Create new WhatsApp Template

Log in to your Superchat account and navigate to Settings > Templates > WhatsApp Templates > New Template. Here, you can either create your own template or explore popular templates.

Example Message:

Hi,

we noticed you left something in your cart so we wanted to give you a small gift! 🎁🙂 Complete your purchase within 24h and use the code SUMMER10 to enjoy a 10% discount on your order.

Click below to get back to your cart! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out – we’re happy to help! 😊

Your Superchat Team 🚀

Create a dynamic link that includes your base URL. The URL extension will later include your discount code.

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2. Build Zapier automation

This automation is triggered when a new abandoned cart checkout is detected. It extracts the customer’s abandoned cart URL, adds the discount code, and ensures the phone number is correctly formatted before sending a WhatsApp template via Superchat.

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Step 2.1: Define trigger

Choose a trigger that detects abandoned cart checkouts.

Step 2.2: Run python

Select a “Code by Zapier” Element as your next step and choose 'Run python' as the option. Ensure the InputData matches “data” as shown in the code.

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Copy this python code snippet and paste it into Zapier

data = input_data.get('data', '')

modified_data = data[WRITE THE NUMBER OF LETTERS THAT HAVE TO BE REMOVED HERE:]

output = {'modified_data': modified_data}

Step 2.2 a: Remove URL

This code removes the front part of the abandoned checkout URL, for example, removing "https://superchat.de/" from the abandoned cart URL: "https://superchat.de/32646237878/checkouts/az". Therefore, you need to count how many leading characters come before the custom string relevant to the abandoned cart URL.

Step 2.2 b: Count characters

Count how many characters your main website URL contains. Typically, your website URL should be in this format: "https://yourwebsite.com/". You only need the trailing part of the URL (e.g., from "https://yourwebsite.com/32646237878/checkouts/az", you only need the trailing part "32646237878/checkouts/az"). The number of characters before this part of the URL will be removed by the code.

Step 2.3: Run python

Add another “Code by Zapier” Element and run it as 'Run Python' action. Then choose the output of the previous Python step as your input data.

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  • If you haven't created a discount code for your e-commerce store yet, now is the perfect time to do so. Once you've created it, you can change the label in the code. Instead of "SUMMER10," you simply enter your code.
Copy this python code snippet and paste it into Zapier

url = input_data.get('Abandoned Cart String', '')

if '?' in url:

modified_url = f"{url}&discount=SUMMER10"

else:

modified_url = f"{url}?discount=SUMMER10"

output = {'modified_url': modified_url}

Step 2.4: Phone numbers for different country codes

Use a “Formatter by Zapier” Element to format for different country codes.

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Step 2.4: Two paths

Now, the automation is split into two different paths to handle various phone number formats (e.g., numbers starting with 0, 00, or +). Select the 'Paths' element to divide the automation into two paths.

Path A:

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Step 2.6: Run python

Continue Path A by selecting a “Code by Zapier” Element and run it as 'Run Python' action as your next step.

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Copy this python code snippet and paste it into Zapier

input_string = inputData['phone']

if input_string.startswith("00"):

output_string = input_string[2:]

elif input_string.startswith("0"):

output_string = input_string[1:]

else:

output_string = input_string

return {"output": output_string}

2.6 a: Choose phone number

Select the phone number as your input data

2.6 b: Inputdata variable

Enter the code and make sure the inputData is “phone”.

2.7: Run python

Add another “Code by Zapier” Element and run it as 'Run Python' as your next step**

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Copy this python code snippet and paste it into Zapier

input_text = input_data.get('rp', '')

utilities_output = input_data.get('utilities_node_output', '')

if input_text.startswith('+'):

output = input_text

else:

output = utilities_output + input_text

return {"output": output}

Step 2.7 a: Output

Select the output from the 5th Python step and the output of step 2 as your input data.

Step 2.7 b: InputData

Ensure the InputData names match those used in the code.

Step 2.8: Send WhatsApp template

Select a “Send WhatsApp Template” Superchat action as your next step

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Path B:

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Step 2.9: Send WhatsApp template

Continue Path B by selecting a “Send WhatsApp Template” Superchat action.

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Once you’ve completed these steps, your automation is ready. Keep in mind there may be a delay between the abandoned cart detection and when the message is sent.

With this automation, you can now automatically win back lost customers and boost your conversion rate.

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Nils Hagendorn
Nils Hagendorn
Founders Associate, Superchat
Product specialist at Superchat