Every day, prospective learners browse your Catalog, add a course to their cart, and leave. In general e-commerce, research reports 60–75% cart abandonment. We apply that benchmark to education while noting that institutional rates vary. Each abandoned cart is a high-intent learner who nearly enrolled but exited before checkout.
The new Abandoned Cart Nudges feature in Canvas Catalog helps close this gap automatically.
What Abandoned Cart Nudges Do
Abandoned Cart Nudges identify users who added courses to their cart but did not complete enrollment, then send personalized follow-ups to bring them back.
In third-party benchmarks, abandoned-cart programs convert roughly 3–8% on average and up to ~10% in stronger implementations, depending on how conversion is measured. By applying that proven approach to education, Catalog gives institutions a simple way to capture lost enrollments and revenue with minimal effort.
Why Abandoned Cart Recovery Matters
Until now, Catalog admins had no built-in way to reconnect with learners who dropped off at checkout. Manual follow-ups are inconsistent, and generic marketing emails often arrive too late.
Nudges automate that process, reaching out at the right moment with the right message while keeping the experience personal, timely, and relevant.
Flexible Configuration That Fits Your Strategy
Abandoned Cart Nudges work the way your enrollment process does. You decide when, who, and how to reach out.
Set the timing for follow-up emails (for example, a day or two after a cart is left behind). Focus on high-value enrollments by setting a minimum cart total. Exclude anyone who already enrolled or cleared their cart, so every message stays relevant.
You can also customize the message itself. Use dynamic placeholders like the course name, total price, or a direct recovery link to bring students straight back to their cart.
Whether you manage a single catalog or multiple subcatalogs, the setup adapts to your audience and tone so you stay in control of both timing and message.
Combine with Promotions to Boost Conversions
Abandoned Cart Nudges work even better when paired with Promotions. Together, they turn a simple reminder into a clear reason to act.
Add a limited-time discount to reduce hesitation, highlight an upcoming course start date to create urgency, or showcase the value of paid programs for learners who are still deciding.
This approach moves beyond generic follow-ups. It gives prospective students a concrete incentive to finish what they started, turning interest into actual enrollment.
Track Performance and Prove Impact
You can monitor results in the Abandoned Cart Analytics dashboard, including:
- Total nudges sent
- Cart recovery rate
- Average hours to nudge
- Most abandoned listing
These insights help refine timing, messaging, and offers based on what works best for your audience.
Get Started in Minutes
Enable Abandoned Cart Nudges in the Automation menu of Catalog. Setup takes only a few clicks. Once active, the system runs automatically. Identifying drop-offs, sending follow-ups, and tracking results as learners return to complete enrollment.
A Smarter Way to Engage Learners
Deadline Nudges helped students stay on track after enrollment. Abandoned Cart Nudges extend that same behavioral framework to an earlier stage helping you engage learners before they fall out of the funnel.
It’s a straightforward, automated way to re-engage high-intent learners and grow your programs without adding more manual work.
Turn on Abandoned Cart Nudges today and start recovering enrollments that might otherwise be lost.
Learn more
Tell us what you think
Have input on how this feature works or suggestions for improvement?
