Understanding the Workflow of the Abandoned Cart Reminder Module

This article will help you understand the complete workflow of the Abandoned Cart Reminder module. By explaining key features like cronjobs and using examples, you'll gain insight into how the module operates and how you can configure it for the best results.

1. What Does the Cronjob Do?

Cronjobs in the Abandoned Cart Reminder module handle several automated tasks to ensure smooth operation and timely email reminders. Here’s what the cronjob is responsible for:

1.1. Automatically Move Indexed Carts to Mail Queue for Reminder Emails

The cronjob automatically transfers all abandoned carts that meet the campaign’s conditions from the indexed cart into the mail queue, preparing them for reminder emails. This ensures timely processing and allows the module to send reminders based on the schedule you've set.

1.2. Automatically Send Emails

Once the carts are in the mail queue, the cronjob is also responsible for sending the reminder emails according to the configured timing. Whether it’s the first reminder after a day of inactivity or a follow-up after several days, the cronjob ensures that all reminders are sent on time without manual intervention. This automation helps you stay in touch with customers and recover abandoned carts effectively.

1.3. Mail Tracking

Cronjobs are responsible for tracking whether reminder emails were successfully sent. By monitoring this, the module ensures no email goes untracked, helping you analyze the performance of your campaigns.

1.4. Mail Log:

The cronjob also updates the mail log, providing a history of sent reminders. This way, you can view details about which customers received reminder emails and when.

In this section, we will explain the operational workflow of the Abandoned Cart Reminder module, including how indexed carts are managed and how reminders are sent. Understanding this process will help you configure the module more effectively.

2. Abandoned Cart Reminder Module Workflow

2.1. Indexed Cart

When a customer adds products to their cart or makes updates—such as adding or removing products or applying discounts—the module will automatically check whether the cart meets the conditions set for an ongoing campaign. If the cart qualifies, it will be added to the indexed cart for future reminders. Conversely, if the customer updates the cart in a way that disqualifies it from the campaign (e.g., by removing products so that the total value falls below the campaign threshold), the module will automatically remove the cart from the indexed cart.

Example: You have set up a campaign targeting carts with a total value between $200 and $500. The campaign includes two reminders:

• Reminder 1: Sent after 1 day if the customer hasn’t completed the purchase, offering a 20% discount.
• Reminder 2: Sent after 3 days, offering a 30% discount.

Shaun adds products to his cart, bringing the total to $250. The module will automatically add his cart to the indexed cart. However, if Shaun later removes items and the cart total drops to $190, the module will automatically remove the cart from the indexed cart since it no longer qualifies for the campaign conditions.

2.2. Transition from Indexed Cart to Mail Queue for Reminder Emails

Once a cart in the indexed cart satisfies the conditions of a reminder, the cronjob will automatically move the cart into the mail queue, where it waits for the reminder email to be sent.

Continuing with the previous example:

• If after 1 day Shaun has not completed his purchase, the conditions for Reminder 1 are met. The cronjob will then move Shaun’s cart from the indexed cart to the mail queue, preparing to send him a reminder email with a 20% discount, as configured for Reminder 1.
• If after 3 days Shaun still hasn’t purchased, Reminder 2 will trigger, and the cronjob will send another reminder offering a 30% discount.

2.3. Mail Tracking

Once a reminder email has been sent, the status of the sent emails will be updated in the "Mail Tracking" section. This area provides key details such as the Tracking ID, Reminder Type, Customer Name, Shopping Cart ID, Recovered Cart (Yes/No), Discount Code, Execute Status, Cart Creation Date, and Cart Update Date. Cronjobs are responsible for tracking whether reminder emails were successfully sent. By monitoring these details, you can ensure that no email goes untracked, allowing you to analyze the performance and success of your reminder campaigns.

2.4. Mail Log

The cronjob also maintains a comprehensive Mail Log, which records the history of all sent reminders. This log allows you to see when and to whom reminder emails were sent, providing a detailed overview of your communication with customers. By reviewing the mail log, you can monitor the effectiveness of your reminders and refine your campaigns based on performance data.

Understanding how the Abandoned Cart Reminder module processes indexed carts, queues reminders, tracks sent emails, and maintains a log of email activity is essential for optimizing your recovery campaigns. With these automated workflows, you can ensure timely and targeted reminders reach your customers, increasing the chances of recovering abandoned carts. Now that you’re familiar with the workflow, let’s move on to how you can configure cronjobs to keep everything running smoothly.

3. How to Configure Cronjob for the Abandoned Cart Reminder Module

To ensure that your reminder campaigns run smoothly, you need to set up a cronjob on your server.

3.1. How to Set Up Cronjob in the Module?

• Navigate to the module configuration page.
• Click on "Automation" in the module's main menu.
• Select the "Configuration" tab and follow the setup instructions.
• Input the necessary parameters:
  • Maximum number of emails sent per cronjob run.
  • Mail queue retry attempts.
  • Cronjob secure token.

3.2. Set Up Cronjob on Your Server

If you haven’t set up a cronjob on your server yet, follow our detailed blog post guide for step-by-step instructions.

3.3. Important Note: Recommended Cronjob Frequency

After understanding the module workflow, you'll recognize the importance of setting up the cronjob correctly. We recommend setting the cronjob to run once per minute. This frequency ensures that indexed carts are continuously and promptly checked against your reminder conditions. Here’s why it’s important:

When a cronjob runs, it evaluates whether any carts in the indexed cart meet the criteria for a reminder. If a cart qualifies, the cronjob moves it to the mail queue for sending the reminder email. Running the cronjob more frequently means this process happens faster, reducing the delay between when a cart becomes eligible and when the reminder is sent.

For example, if your cronjob runs every minute, the system will check every 60 seconds whether there are any carts that match the reminder conditions, ensuring that reminder emails are sent as close to the scheduled time as possible. This accuracy is crucial for time-sensitive campaigns where timely follow-ups—such as offering a discount after 1 or 3 days—are key to increasing conversions. The faster the cronjob checks, the more precise your reminder schedule will be.

By running the cronjob once per minute, you ensure that reminders are sent at the right time, improving the effectiveness of your recovery campaigns.

Conclusion

This article has provided a comprehensive overview of the Abandoned Cart Reminder module, detailing its workflow, including how indexed carts are managed, reminders are queued, and emails are tracked and logged. Additionally, we've explained how to configure the cronjob to ensure timely email reminders. We hope this information proves helpful, enabling you to optimize your use of the module and enhance your cart recovery strategies effectively.