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Use abandoned cart with BigCommerce

Convert your uncompleted orders and drive up your revenue.

Gareth Burroughes avatar
Written by Gareth Burroughes
Updated over a week ago

The BigCommerce abandoned cart module combines some of the platform's most powerful features, including:

  • Web behavior tracking

  • CartInsight

  • Automated programs


Before you start

Things you need to know:

  • Only customers who are logged in to your store can be enrolled in an abandoned cart program.

  • You need to:

    • Create at least one abandoned cart campaign.

      For newer installations of the Dotdigital for BigCommerce connector, the design of an abandoned cart campaign can be configured through the installation wizard. Learn more in Set up BigCommerce with Dotdigital.

    • Create an abandoned cart program.

      For newer installations of the Dotdigital for BigCommerce connector, an Abandoned cart program (as well as a Welcome program) is created for you automatically by the installation wizard. Learn more in Set up BigCommerce with Dotdigital.

    • Enable two settings in your BigCommerce store: the Optimize one page checkout option needs to be selected (if not, you need to manually create the script) and your store needs to be Stencil themed (for compatibility reasons). Your developers or agency can help you with this.

  • You may need to update the connector through the banner in the BigCommerce store settings area; to find this, go to Connect and select the BigCommerce tile in your Dotdigital account.

  • Abandoned cart relies on web behavior tracking to trigger and import cartInsight data. When adding products to a cart for testing, you must refresh the page or browse to another page for web behavior tracking to trigger, otherwise you cart might appear empty and not sent abandoned cart emails.


1. Create an abandoned cart campaign

Abandoned cart functionality uses triggered campaigns that are added to a program. The email should contain the latest contents of a visitor’s cart. This is done by using the abandoned cart building block.

Learn more about how to edit or create an abandoned cart campaign in Create an abandoned cart email.


Create an abandoned cart program

For newer installations of the Dotdigital for BigCommerce connector, an abandoned cart program (as well as a welcome program) is created for you automatically by the installation wizard.

To view and edit this program, go to Automation > Programs. The abandoned cart program will be inside a folder with your BigCommerce store name.

Contacts are enrolled into an abandoned cart program when they abandon items in their shopping cart while browsing your site. Enrolment begins according to the delay you set when you map the abandoned cart program. For example, if you select a delay of 30 minutes, this would enrol contacts into your program half an hour after they abandon a cart.

Learn more about how to edit or create an abandoned cart program in Create an abandoned cart program article.


Install the abandoned cart module

Once you have created an abandoned cart program, you can map this in your store settings so that customers who start but do not complete a purchase are enrolled on to your program. Once you complete this step, the set up of the abandoned cart module is completed automatically.

  1. In Dotdigital, go to Connect and select the BigCommerce tile under Installed integrations and extensions.

  2. Under the heading Abandoned cart, expand the Enrol abandoned carts to drop-down menu to select the abandoned cart program you created.

  3. Expand the Enrol abandoned carts after drop-down menu to set your cartDelay. This is the amount of time that we wait after a cart is abandoned to enrol the contact in the program.


Remove the integration

Removing the integration removes the script and disables any program enrolments.

To remove the BigCommerce integration:

  1. In Dotdigital, go to Connect and select the BigCommerce tile.

  2. Under the Store access heading, select REMOVE BIGCOMMERCE CONNECTION.

To simply deactivate or disable an abandoned cart program:

  1. In Dotdigital, go to Automation > Programs.

  2. Select the checkbox for the abandoned cart program you want to deactivate.

  3. Expand the MORE ACTIONS drop-down menu and select Disable contact enrolment or Disable program.


    Disable contact enrolment means no new contacts are enrolled into the program, but those already inside it complete their journey.


    Disable program stops all program activity, including for currently enrolled contacts.

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