A merchant can see an unfinished basket and assume every reminder should come from the same automation. Obsedia SMS Marketing Hub separates cart recovery from checkout recovery. That distinction decides which event to inspect, which customer information might be available and why a test that triggers one flow says little about the other.
The boundary is the checkout, not the basket
A shopper can add items to a cart and leave before starting checkout. Another can enter checkout information and leave before completing payment. The items may look identical, but the store has seen two different stages of the journey. Shopify describes an abandoned checkout as an incomplete checkout with contact information; its Admin API exposes a recovery URL and checkout line items for that record.
Obsedia SMS lists cart recovery and checkout recovery as separate automation presets. Treat them as two sources of eligible events, not duplicate names for the same reminder. A cart-capture test is not proof that a checkout event exists, and a Shopify abandoned checkout record is not proof that the storefront app embed captured a cart.
The cart route begins on the storefront
Obsedia’s cart-capture app embed helps recognize eligible signed-in shoppers when the relevant Shopify privacy permission allows it. The merchant enables the embed in the published theme; simply switching it on does not send a text. Cart recovery still needs its own configured automation and an SMS-eligible customer.
If you test with an anonymous browser session, then search only for a checkout abandonment, you are mixing two checks. Start with the cart path: published-theme embed, signed-in customer, privacy choice and the cart-recovery preset. The first article in this series explains those gates in detail.
The checkout route starts later
Shopify records an abandoned checkout when a shopper reached checkout, supplied contact information and left before the purchase was completed. The exact record and timing are Shopify matters; do not infer them from a cart icon on the storefront. For Obsedia’s checkout-recovery preset, inspect the checkout event and its own automation settings.
Do not assume every unsuccessful payment or unfinished form creates a usable reminder. The relevant checkout must exist, the customer must remain eligible for SMS and the configured message must be allowed to send. Shopify’s guidance on the checkout trigger says suspected card-testing or bot attempts do not create abandoned checkouts.
Two tests that should not be combined
Test A: a signed-in shopper with the applicable privacy permission adds a product to a cart and leaves before checkout. This is a cart-path test. Investigate the app embed and cart-recovery preset; the checkout-recovery preset is not the first place to look.
Test B: a shopper begins checkout, provides contact information and leaves without an order. This is a checkout-path test. Inspect Shopify’s abandoned-checkout record and the checkout-recovery preset. These are examples for diagnosis, not a claim that either session automatically qualifies for an SMS.
Both routes still need SMS permission
The recovery source tells you why a message might be considered. It does not grant the right to contact a number. SMS marketing subscription and opt-outs are separate from the storefront privacy choice used by cart capture. Obsedia’s product documentation says its SMS flow respects SMS permissions; that check still matters whichever recovery preset you configure.
Timing, destination and prepaid EUR credit also remain separate from event detection. Before switching on a live reminder, review the audience, wording, sending window and cost. A missing SMS can be an eligibility or configuration issue even when the cart or checkout event exists.
Inspect the flow that matches the customer journey
A short diagnosis is more useful than toggling both automations at once. Confirm the point where the shopper stopped, then follow only the corresponding path.
If a message record exists, use its actual status to investigate sending and delivery. If there is no send record, work backward through the event, customer permission and automation configuration. Do not treat a captured cart or abandoned checkout as proof of delivery.
- Left before checkout: inspect the storefront app embed, signed-in eligibility, privacy choice and cart-recovery preset.
- Left after entering checkout information: inspect Shopify’s abandoned-checkout record and checkout-recovery preset.
- For either route, confirm SMS subscription and opt-out status before expecting a message.
- Then check timing, sending window, destination and available prepaid credit.
- Finally, inspect a message status if one was created; event detection and delivery are different outcomes.
Use the point of abandonment to choose the Obsedia automation. Cart capture and checkout abandonment are different events; neither one sends an SMS by itself.
