Whaleal Cart Help Center

How a Shopify store follows an unpaid checkout back to payment

What is Whaleal Cart?

Whaleal Cart follows an unpaid Shopify checkout from inside Shopify Admin. The follow-up is the store’s own email and the store’s own SMS account: the items, a Shopify discount, and a link back to pay.

Our mission is to make cart recovery simple, effective, and affordable for businesses of all sizes. Whether you are running a small boutique or a large e-commerce store, Whaleal Cart helps you recover revenue that would otherwise be lost.

💰 Start Free

100 abandoned carts per month → 200 recovery emails (2 per cart)
No credit card required. No time limit. Upgrade anytime as you grow.

Why Cart Recovery Matters

A shopper fills a cart, reaches the checkout, and then stops. Nothing about that moment is unusual — what decides the outcome is whether something follows up. Whaleal Cart sends that follow-up for you, with the cart contents and a one-tap link back to pay.

📈

Boost Revenue

Win back carts that would otherwise be written off

⏰

Save Time

Fully automated - set it and forget it

🎯

Personalized

Unique discount codes per customer

📊

Track Results

Real-time analytics and reporting

🚀 Quick Start Guide

Get Whaleal Cart running in under 5 minutes:

3 min · Whaleal Cart — 3-minute setup walkthrough

Step 1: Install Whaleal Cart

Go to the install page, enter your store domain (e.g. my-store.myshopify.com), and approve Whaleal Cart

Alternatively, install from Whaleal Cart on Shopify App Store.

Step 2: Configure Your Settings

In , decide whether the channel is on / off and pick a tone: Friendly, Professional, Urgency. Discount rules are percentage or a fixed amount, on the emails you choose.

SMS recovery uses the store’s own SMS account. Connect the provider inside the app, pick a template, and set the send time.

Step 3: Save & Watch Results

Hit Save. Whaleal Cart registers its Shopify webhooks and starts tracking new checkouts. Most stores see their first recovery data within 24-48 hours.

Open the Dashboard to follow recovery rate, recovered revenue, and every email sent.

✨ Features Overview

📊 Dashboard

Real-time metrics: recovery rate, recovered revenue, email performance.

🛒 Abandoned Carts

Every recovered checkout with its items, total, and customer locale.

📧 Email History

A log of every send with open and click tracking.

🌐 Shopper language

Recovery email in English, German, French, Spanish, and Dutch, following the checkout language.

🎨 Three email tones

Friendly, Professional, or Urgency. Each tone has a first email and a follow-up.

📱 SMS on your account

A recovery text on the store’s own SMS account, connected inside the app, with a return link.

🔒 Compliance Ready

GDPR webhooks, one-click unsubscribe, automatic data deletion on uninstall.

💳 Pricing Plans

Free

$0

Forever free

  • 100 carts/month
  • 200 emails/month
  • 2 email sequence
  • Brand, copy, and offer
  • SMS channel (own account)
  • Basic analytics
MOST POPULAR

Growth

$9.90/mo

Per store

  • 500 carts/month
  • 1,000 emails/month
  • 2 email sequence
  • SMS channel (own account)
  • Advanced analytics
  • Priority support

Pro

$29.90/mo

Per store

  • 2,000 carts/month
  • 4,000 emails/month
  • 2 email sequence
  • SMS channel (own account)
  • Advanced analytics
  • Priority support

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How does the free plan work?

Free includes 100 abandoned carts and 200 recovery emails each month, with the same email and SMS follow-up as the paid plans. No credit card. Growth is $9.90/mo (500 carts, 1,000 emails). Pro is $29.90/mo (2,000 carts, 4,000 emails). Shopify bills the plan you choose.

Do I need a separate SMS account for text recovery?

Yes. Connect the provider inside the Shopify app and pick a template. The text goes out on the store’s own account, with its own send time, a return link, and a short link when you turn one on. The provider bills the message. The app adds no second SMS fee. Only shoppers who left a phone number at checkout receive a text, and consent stays with the store.

Is install hard? Do I need to edit my theme?

No theme edits required. Install from our install page or the Shopify App Store, approve checkout / discount permissions, then set tone and discount rules in Settings. Most stores are live in under 15 minutes.

install page

Will I be charged automatically for overages?

Paid plans are a monthly charge through Shopify Billing. There is no extra platform fee on top of the plan you choose.

Full plan comparison: Pricing →

How do discount codes work?

Whaleal Cart automatically creates unique one-time discount codes in your Shopify store for each customer when a recovery email is sent. You do not need to pre-create any codes - just set the discount type (percentage or fixed amount) and value in Settings. The app handles everything via the Shopify API.

When are recovery emails sent?

By default:

  • First email: 1 hour after cart abandonment
  • Second email: 24 hours after first email (if enabled)

You can customize these intervals in Settings. Some merchants prefer 2 hours + 48 hours, or other combinations.

Can I send emails manually?

Yes! Go to the Abandoned Carts page, find any cart, click "View Details", then click "Send Email" to manually trigger a recovery email at any time. This is useful for following up with high-value customers.

How do I track performance?

The Dashboard shows real-time metrics including:

  • Recovery rate (%)
  • Revenue recovered ($)
  • Emails sent / opened / clicked
  • Conversion rate
  • Recent activity timeline

The Email History page shows detailed logs of every email sent.

What happens if a customer unsubscribes?

Whaleal Cart automatically respects unsubscribe preferences. When a customer clicks the unsubscribe link in any email, they will not receive any further emails from Whaleal Cart. This ensures compliance with CAN-SPAM (US) and GDPR (EU) regulations.

Do you support multiple languages?

Recovery email follows the shopper’s checkout language in English, German, French, Spanish, and Dutch. The app inside Shopify is available in English and Simplified Chinese.

Is my data secure?

Absolutely. Whaleal Cart follows industry best practices for data security:

  • All traffic encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS); data at rest on encrypted cloud storage
  • Customer data used only for cart recovery — not sold or shared for advertising
  • One-click unsubscribe honored on every email
  • Automatic data deletion on uninstall and after a maximum 180-day retention period
  • GDPR webhooks implemented (customers/redact, customers/data_request, shop/redact)
How do I cancel?

Simply uninstall the app from Shopify Admin → Apps. Your data will be automatically deleted within 30 days. There are no cancellation fees, contracts, or minimum commitments.

💡 Best Practices

Get the most out of Whaleal Cart with these practical strategies:

🎯 Optimize Your Discounts

  • First email: 10% off is a good starting point
  • Second email: Increase to 15-20% for stronger incentive
  • High-value carts: Consider fixed amounts (e.g., $10 off orders over $100)
  • Test: A/B test different discount values to find your optimal rate

⏰ Timing is Everything

  • 1 hour + 24 hours: Classic sequence that works well for most stores
  • 2 hours + 48 hours: Gives customers more time to decide
  • Urgent segments: Consider 30 min + 4 hours for time-sensitive offers
  • Don't over-email: More than 2-3 emails can hurt brand perception

📧 Write Better Emails

  • Personalize: Use customer's name in subject line
  • Be clear: Show the discount code prominently
  • Show products: Include cart items in the email
  • Create urgency: "Only valid for 24 hours" drives action
  • Mobile-first: Check the phone layout before the desktop one

📊 Monitor and Optimize

  • Check your Dashboard weekly for trends
  • Recovery rate: Read the trend over weeks, not day to day
  • Open rate: Compare your own sequence stages against each other
  • Click rate: A drop here usually points at the offer or the timing
  • Conversion: Track how many codes are actually used

🔧 Troubleshooting

Emails not being sent?

  1. Verify Whaleal Cart is enabled in Settings
  2. Check that email permissions are granted during app install
  3. Ensure the cart has a valid customer email (not all checkouts have emails)
  4. Check Email History for failed sends - look for error messages
  5. Verify your Shopify store is in active status

Discount codes not working?

  1. Verify discount/price-rule permissions are granted
  2. Check that the code has not expired (default: 24 hours)
  3. Ensure the code has not already been used (one-time use)
  4. Verify discount value matches your Settings configuration
  5. Check if there are usage limits on the code

Dashboard shows no data?

  1. Wait 24-48 hours - data needs time to accumulate
  2. Verify you have abandoned carts in your store
  3. Check that Shopify webhooks are properly registered
  4. Ensure Whaleal Cart is connected to your store

SMS not arriving?

  1. Confirm Enable SMS recovery is on and SMS is in your recovery channel list
  2. Click Verify key — an invalid or revoked API key stops sends
  3. Check the cart actually has a phone number (texts only go to customers who left one)
  4. Remember the delay: texts go out after your configured delay, and the scan runs every 15 minutes
  5. Message costs are on your own SMS plan — verify that account has credit

📞 Need More Help?

Our support team is here to help you succeed!

Email: support@mail.whaleal.com

Response Time: Within 24 hours (business days)

Shopify App Store: Whaleal Cart