Abandoned cart recovery on WhatsApp converts better than the same flow on email, which is why every Indian D2C team builds it. It is also the automation most likely to push your quality rating down, because it fires on behaviour rather than on request.
The consent question first
A phone number captured at checkout was collected to complete an order. Using it to send a recovery message is arguably within that purpose. Using it to send a discount offer two days later is not. If you want the second message, you need consent that names promotional contact.
Timing that works
- One message, sixty to ninety minutes after abandonment, referencing the specific item
- A second only if you have promotional consent, at twenty-four hours, with genuine new information
- Never a third
The three-message sequences imported from email playbooks are where block rates spike. WhatsApp sits next to messages from family. The tolerance is different.
What the message should contain
Name the item. A generic you left something behind reads as a bulk send and converts worse than the specific version. Include a direct link back to the populated cart, not the homepage.
Do not lead with a discount on the first message. If the reason for abandonment was delivery cost or a payment failure, a discount solves the wrong problem and trains people to abandon deliberately.
The metric to watch
Not conversion rate. Block rate per send, tracked across the first six sends. If it climbs while conversion holds, you are buying short-term revenue with long-term deliverability, and the channel degrades quietly until your messaging limit drops.
General information, not legal advice. Rules current as of July 2026.