Following up abandoned checkouts and new leads on WhatsApp

How the checkout event reaches the workflow

There is no Shopify trigger in Agent Serve and no abandoned-checkout operation in the Shopify block, so the route is a webhook. In Shopify, add a webhook for checkout events and point it at the URL of a workflow’s generic Webhook trigger. Every checkout Shopify reports then starts a run with the cart, the shopper’s phone and email, and the checkout link.

Orders arrive the same way. A second webhook for new orders writes each order into an orders table in Tables. The follow-up workflow can then tell whether a checkout turned into an order, and the Shopify block can look up orders and customers when it needs more detail.

Consent before anything else

The first step in the workflow is a check, not a message. A Condition block reads the contacts table: did this shopper opt in to WhatsApp, and have they ever sent STOP? If either answer is wrong, the run ends and writes why.

WhatsApp’s business rules require opt-in before a business messages someone, and messages a business starts must use templates WhatsApp has approved. Read the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy with whoever owns compliance. In practice that means:

• Ask clearly. A WhatsApp tick box at checkout and on lead forms, not a line buried in the terms.
• Store it. Keep the opt-in, its source and date on the contact row.
• Use approved templates only. Write the reminder, submit it for approval, and use the Send Template operation of the WhatsApp block.

The wait window and one reminder

Next, a Wait block pauses the run. One hour is a common starting point. Short waits run in the workflow; for longer ones switch on Async, which pauses the run and resumes it later, for up to 30 days.

After the wait, the workflow checks the orders table. If the shopper finished the order, the run ends. If not, it sends one approved template with the shopper’s name, the product and the saved checkout link. For brands that offer cash on delivery, saying so in the reminder answers the question many shoppers had when they left.

Send one reminder per checkout. A second message is a decision for the growth lead, not a default, and should come from a different template with a reason, such as an item running low.

New leads get a first touch, and a record

Lead forms work the same way. The form posts to a Webhook trigger with the person’s name, phone, interest and consent choices. If they opted in to WhatsApp, the workflow sends an approved welcome template. If they agreed to SMS only, the Twilio block sends a text instead. Either way, the HubSpot block creates or updates the contact with the source and consent, so sales can see where the lead came from.

STOP has to work, every time

Incoming WhatsApp messages arrive through the WhatsApp webhook trigger in a third workflow. If the reply is STOP, or a close variant, the workflow marks the contact opted out in the contacts table and sends nothing else. Every other workflow checks that column first, so the opt-out holds across carts, leads and any future campaign. Other replies, such as a question about delivery, are written to the table for a person to answer.

Measuring recovery

Every run writes a row: source, opt-in result, message sent, reply, opt-out and whether an order followed. A dashboard on that table in Dashboards shows checkouts received, messages sent, replies, opt-outs and recovered orders. Put "recovered order" into a named metric so it means the same thing on every chart, for example an order from the same phone within 48 hours of a reminder.

Watch the opt-out rate as closely as the recovery rate. A rising opt-out rate means the template, timing or audience needs work. Logs show every run block by block, so when a shopper asks why they got a message, the answer is one click away.

Start with carts only, one template and a one-hour wait. Add lead follow-up once the opt-in data is clean.