Customers who reach your booking page and enter their details are your warmest leads. When they leave without paying, that revenue need not be lost for good. Checkout recovery captures those incomplete checkouts and sends follow-up emails to bring customers back, without any manual work from your team.
Checkout recovery works with the existing checkout flow and activates only for customers who have given their consent to receive booking-related emails.
In this article:
Understand how checkout recovery works and who it applies to.
Set up your recovery email sequence with timing and content.
Verify consent and compliance settings are correctly in place.
Review best practices for keeping recovery emails effective over time.
Overview
Checkout recovery tracks customers who enter their email during checkout but leave before completing payment. If the customer selected the Get Offers and Discounts checkbox, they are eligible for a recovery email sequence of up to 3 emails, each with configurable timing and content.
Each email links directly back to the customer's incomplete checkout with their email address pre-filled. The sequence stops as soon as the customer completes their booking or unsubscribes.
How it works:
Customer enters email.
Selects the consent checkbox.
Leaves without paying.
Recovery emails sent.
Customer returns and pays.
Glossary
Key concepts to understand before configuring:
Abandoned Checkout – A checkout record created when a customer enters their email but does not complete payment. All abandoned checkouts are stored anonymously for reporting purposes. A checkout becomes eligible for a recovery email only if the customer also selected the 'Get Offers and Discounts' checkbox.
Consent gate – The point at which an abandoned checkout becomes eligible for a recovery email. A customer must have selected the 'Get Offers and Discounts' checkbox during checkout to pass the consent gate.
Recovery sequence – Up to 3 emails are sent at configurable intervals after abandonment. Each email is sent only if the booking remains incomplete.
Recovered checkout – A checkout is marked as successful when the customer returns and completes payment, regardless of whether a recovery email was sent.
Activate checkout recovery
To start capturing abandoned checkouts at your location:
Open the Flex Admin Portal and go to Growth Hub > Marketing > Abandoned Checkouts.
Click Configure Recovery Emails.
Set up to 3 reminder emails.
For each email:
Select how long after abandonment before this email goes out. Set in hours.
Update the template for the subject line. This is what the customer sees in their inbox. You can use dynamic properties, such as
{{ productName }}.Update the email body template. Growth Hub automatically adds the customer's booking details and a return link. You can use dynamic properties, such as
{{ locationName }}and{{ amount }}.
Click Save Reminder Emails.
Click Activate Reminders to start sending reminder emails to customers who leave checkout.
Activating checkout recovery does not send any emails immediately. Emails are sent only after a checkout is abandoned and the configured delay has passed.
Suggested delay | Focus | |
Email 1 | 1 hour after abandonment | Simple reminder: their booking details are saved, and they can finish now |
Email 2 | 24 hours after abandonment | Check in: ask if they have questions or need help completing the booking |
Email 3 | 72 hours after abandonment | Final nudge: let them know the space is still available if they need it |
Consent and compliance settings
Before going live, confirm that the consent and compliance settings are correctly in place. This is what controls who receives recovery emails and protects you from sending to customers who did not opt in.
Consent checkbox
The 'Get Offers and Discounts' checkbox appears in the personal details step of checkout when you activate at least one reminder email. Customers must manually select the checkbox to become eligible for recovery emails. This checkbox is added to meet email marketing requirements in the EU, UK, US, and Australia.
If a customer does not select the checkbox, no recovery email is sent, regardless of how far they got in checkout.
Email field disclosure
The text below the email field in checkout tells customers their email may be used for booking-related follow-up, including recovering an incomplete checkout. This gives customers a clear heads-up before they reach the consent checkbox.
Unsubscribing from emails
Every recovery email includes an unsubscribe link. Once a customer unsubscribes, the system will not send further recovery emails to that address from your location.
What can break
The system only sends recovery emails when consent is present. The risk area is manual outreach: if your team copies emails from the Abandoned Checkouts grid and contacts customers directly, your standard marketing consent rules apply. Use the built-in recovery sequence to stay within the consent framework.
Your responsibility: Growth Hub manages the consent gate and unsubscribe mechanism. As the operator, you are responsible for ensuring your use of customer data complies with the laws in your market. If you are unsure, consult a legal advisor before activating.
Best practices
Use these guidelines to keep your Checkout Recovery setup effective and low-maintenance.
Start with 1 email, then expand. If you are new to recovery emails, start with Email 1 only. Review recovery rates after 30 days before adding Email 2 and Email 3. Adding all 3 at once, without a baseline, makes it harder to see what is working.
Match delay timing to your booking lead time. If most bookings are same-day, a 1-hour delay for Email 1 is critical. If customers typically book days in advance, a 24-hour first email may convert better. Adjust based on what you know about your customers.
Keep subject lines specific to the booking. Subject lines that reference the product name or location outperform generic ones. For example, "Your meeting room booking is still waiting" is more likely to be opened than "Did you forget something?"
Audit the Abandoned Checkouts grid monthly. Check for patterns in drop-off: if a large proportion of abandoned checkouts have no consent checkbox selected, that may indicate a checkout UX issue worth addressing separately.
If you manage multiple locations, review each location separately. Checkout Recovery settings apply per location. Recovery rates and timing that work for one location may not suit another with a different customer profile.
Frequently asked questions
A customer abandoned checkout, but they are not in my Abandoned Checkouts list. Why?
They did not select the 'Get Offers and Discounts' checkbox before leaving. Only customers who selected that checkbox and then left at the billing step appear in the recovery list. Customers who exited before reaching billing are not captured.
Can I run just 1 recovery email instead of 3?
Yes. Configure only Email 1 and leave Email 2 and Email 3 inactive. You are not required to use the full sequence.
Can I edit the email content after it has been set up?
Yes. Go to Abandoned Checkouts, open the email settings, and update the subject line or body. Changes apply only to checkouts stored after the update is saved. Scheduled emails for existing abandoned checkouts will be sent using the previous settings.
Which product types show up in Abandoned Checkouts?
Any booking or purchase started through the Growth Hub checkout widget is eligible, including meeting rooms, day offices, and other bookable services.
How long are abandoned checkout records kept?
Records are kept in the Abandoned Checkouts grid for 30 days, regardless of status.
Can I send a recovery email manually for a specific checkout?
Yes. In the Abandoned Checkouts grid, select the relevant record and use the Send Recovery Email option. Manual sends follow the same consent rules: the customer must have selected the consent checkbox to be eligible.