Cart recovery feature explained
The cart recovery feature automatically sends follow-up emails to booking engine visitors who add a room to their cart but do not complete their reservation. This automation helps recover abandoned bookings, increases conversions, and grows your marketing database while following consent requirements and CRM communication preferences.
This article explains how cart recovery works, how to configure CRM rules and templates, and how to monitor performance.
Before you start to learn about cart recovery
Cart recovery requires the following to be in place:
The cart recovery module must be activated in your agreement. Contact your SHR account representative if this feature is not yet enabled.
Email templates must be created for all supported languages before configuring recovery rules.
Loyalty members must have marketing consent in their CRM profile for recovery emails to send.
Non-loyalty visitors must provide explicit consent via the booking engine popup this is configured by SHR.
📌Note: Cart recovery requires consent collection via the CRS booking engine popup for non-loyalty visitors. This popup is configured by the SHR team during initial setup.
How cart recovery works
Outlined below are two scenarios of how the cart recovery works.
Scenario one: Non-loyalty visitor
Outlined below are the details of scenario one which covers how the cart recovery works for non-loyalty visitors.
A visitor enters the CRS booking engine.
A popup appears after a configured delay, asking the visitor to enter an email address and provide explicit marketing consent.
The visitor adds a room to the cart but leaves without booking.
If consent was provided, the CRM schedules cart recovery emails based on configured rules.
Recovery emails stop if:
The visitor removes the room from the cart.
The visitor returns and completes a booking.
Consent was never provided.
Recovery emails include a return-to-cart link generated by the {CartRecoveryUrl} personalization tag. If inventory is no longer available, the link redirects to the availability search page.
Scenario two: Loyalty member
Outlined below are the details of scenario two which covers how the cart recovery works for loyalty members.
A loyalty member logs in to the booking engine.
No consent popup displays because consent comes from the member's CRM profile.
If the member abandons a cart and has opted into marketing email, recovery emails trigger following the same CRM rules.
Automatic profile handling
When a non-loyalty visitor submits consent in the booking engine, the CRM automatically creates a marketing profile:
The new profile is added to the system-generated cart recovery segment.
Match and merge rules are not applied because only an email address is passed from the booking engine.
Even if the cart is cleared or a booking is completed, the profile remains available for future marketing communications.
⚠️Warning: Do not modify or delete the system-generated cart recovery segment. This segment is required for the feature to function correctly.
Configure cart recovery rules
Cart recovery rules define when recovery emails are sent after a visitor abandons their cart. You can create multiple rules to send a series of recovery emails at different intervals.
Follow the steps below to create and activate recovery rules.
From the left navigation menu, click CRM Setup.
Click Cart Notification Email.
Click Add Rule to create a new recovery step.
Enter an Order value to control when this rule sends relative to other rules. Lower numbers send earlier.
Select an Interval to define how long after cart abandonment the email should send either hours or days.
Choose an Email Template for the recovery message. Use the language dropdown if multiple languages are available.
Click Activate to enable the rule.
Click Save and Close.
🤓Tip: Use escalating messaging with multiple intervals. For example, send the first email three hours after abandonment, the second after 24 hours, and the third after 48 hours.
Configure cart recovery email templates
Cart Recovery email templates must include the {CartRecoveryUrl} personalization tag to generate the unique link that returns the guest to their abandoned cart.
Follow the steps below to configure recovery email templates.
From the left navigation menu, click CRM Setup.
Click Cart Notification Email.
Open the Language dropdown and select the language for the template you want to edit.
Click the name of the email template and click Edit.
dd your content and include the required personalization tag: {CartRecoveryUrl}. This inserts the unique link that sends the guest back to their abandoned cart.
Click Save.
📌Note: Templates must be active to be used by recovery rules. Verify template status before activating rules.
Monitoring cart recovery performance
The CRM provides reporting to track cart recovery performance, including sends, opens, clicks, revenue attribution, and completed reservations.
Follow the steps below to view a cart recovery reporting.
From the left navigation menu, click CRM Reports.
Click Campaign Reports.
Select Cart Recovery Summary or Cart Recovery Detail.
Review performance metrics:
Sends.
Opens.
Clicks.
Revenue attribution.
Completed reservations.
Export to PDF or Excel.
Dashboard widgets also show high-level recovery performance.
Troubleshooting cart recovery
Outlined below are troubleshooting scenarios and what to do in each instant.
Recovery emails are not sending:
Verify that loyalty guests have marketing consent in their CRM profile.
Verify that non-loyalty visitors submitted consent in the booking engine popup.
Check that the configured interval has passed since cart abandonment.
Confirm that recovery rules and email templates are active.
Verifying system configuration:
Ensure all recovery rules are activated. This can be checked by clicking CRM setup and cart notification email.
Verify templates contain the {CartRecoveryUrl} personalization tag.
Confirm the consent popup script is installed in CRS.
Contact CRM support if required [email protected]
Visitor returns later:
If recognized via cookies, the popup may not display again.
If not recognized, the popup will display and request consent again.
Frequently asked questions
Outlined below are the some of the most frequently asked questions.
Can Cart Recovery operate without other CRM modules?
Yes. Cart Recovery can function even if no other CRM modules are enabled.
What happens if the visitor's cart inventory is no longer available?
The {CartRecoveryUrl} link will redirect to the availability search page instead of the cart.
How many recovery intervals should I use?
Most properties use two to three staged recovery intervals to improve conversion without overwhelming visitors.
What other automations should I consider?
Room upsell automation.
Cancellation recovery.
Pre-stay and post-stay automations.