Rebuy Cart Abandonment Offers: Smart Links and Flows

Match the cart offer to the shopper’s next step

Rebuy's abandonment tools split by whether the shopper is still on your site.

While they are still there, Rebuy lists the Exit Intent Popup Widget under the goal of recovering abandoning visitors. It is a product or cart widget set to display as a popup with the Exit Intent trigger, so it opens when a customer shows intent to leave the page, and Rebuy describes it as a place for a last-chance recommendation or offer. The Pre-Purchase Popup Widget sits between the Smart Cart checkout button and the Shopify checkout page and presents a last-chance offer before the customer enters payment.

Once they have left, the work moves into links. Smart Links and Link-Based Flows create a URL that puts chosen products in the cart, with an optional discount. Rebuy's widget guide also lists two landing pages for customers who bought before: a Reorder Landing Page, linked from email or SMS, that fills the cart with their previous order, and a Reactivate Landing Page that shows lapsed customers what they bought and prompts them to buy again.

Smart Links widget or Link-Based Flow: which to use

For anything new, Rebuy's answer is the Link-Based Flow. The Smart Links article opens by recommending it for new campaign links. A Link-Based Flow is built under Flows & A/B Testing, then Smart Flows, and the article notes it is a separate feature from the Smart Links widget: a link containing rsf= comes from a Link-Based Flow. Stores with links already built in the widget will find its settings documented in the same article.

For an abandonment campaign, the targeting row is the practical difference. The widget does not apply cart-subtotal or date rules when the link opens. With a flow, Rebuy checks rules such as cart subtotal or date when the shopper opens the link, so a discount can be limited to larger carts or to a set window. Link-Based Flows also include an Insights page. With UTM fields and click and order reporting on the flow's Insights page, you can review clicks and orders associated with the flow.

Settings that decide which cart the shopper sees

Four settings in the Smart Links article decide what a shopper finds when they open the link. Each is worth checking before a link goes into an abandoned cart message.

Clear Cart. With this toggle on, the cart is emptied first and the link's products are added after. In an abandonment message, that can replace exactly what the shopper chose with whatever the link contains. Use it only when the link should define the whole cart.

Where the contents come from. In the widget, you build a link's contents by adding products to a cart on your own store before generating it. The link carries what you assembled, which suits a bundle or a featured product. Rebuy describes its Smart Cart Link type as useful for engaging customers with the Smart Cart products they have added. If you need each shopper's own cart restored, confirm with Rebuy which link type and settings do that.

Discount prerequisite. The widget's Discount Code setting only works when your Rebuy Smart Cart has its Discount Code Input setting turned on. Check that before a discount link goes out.

Landing page. The widget can send a shopper to the cart page, Shopify checkout, Recharge checkout, Shop Pay checkout or a custom page, and Rebuy notes that a Smart Cart Link needs a custom landing page of your choosing. Sending someone with a nearly finished order straight to checkout is a different choice from landing them on the cart to look again.

As an example of putting these together, say your most common abandoned cart is a single bottle of a supplement you also sell on subscription. One option is a Link-Based Flow with a Discount or BXGY step and a cart subtotal rule, landing on the cart. Another is to leave the price alone and land the shopper on the cart, where Rebuy's Smart Cart has its own Switch to Subscription option. Which suits your margins and customers is for you to test; these docs describe the tools, not the results.

Who sends the message and answers the reply

A cart offer also needs a way to reach the shopper. Rebuy lists email and SMS campaigns and abandoned-cart notifications among the places to use its Smart Links. Decide how your recovery message, cart offer and replies will work together before choosing the tools.

Two decisions sit with whatever sends the message. The first is who gets it and when: which carts deserve a follow-up, how soon, and how many times. The second is what happens when the shopper writes back instead of clicking. A shopper might ask whether the larger size ships this week, or whether they can switch the flavour in their cart. A link cannot answer that, and if the sending tool only sends, the question waits until someone on your team sees it.

So treat cart offers and the follow-up conversation as two requirements. Rebuy's tools shape what the shopper finds when they come back. The second requirement is reaching the shopper and keeping the conversation going until they return. If your email or SMS tool already sends abandonment messages and someone answers the replies, adding Rebuy links and on-site popups may be all you need. If replies go unanswered, or the follow-up stops after one message, that second requirement deserves its own evaluation. Our overview of AI SMS marketing covers the wider options.

Choose Zobi to handle recovery conversations

Zobi is built for that second requirement. It texts shoppers like someone from your team, recovering carts and handling the replies. Its concierge reads the cart, writes and personalises the message, and you approve the campaign before a word goes out. The message reaches the shopper on iMessage where possible, or on RCS, SMS, WhatsApp or email when needed. When the shopper replies about size or delivery, the answer comes in the same thread that remembers their cart and last reply, and that thread carries on to reorders and add-ons later. You can read the full transcript at any point.

For a store that needs the follow-up conversation handled, Zobi brings the message, shopper context and replies into one running thread.

If unanswered replies or one-message follow-ups are where your abandoned carts stall, apply with your Shopify store.

See how Zobi works and apply for your store. Free to apply.

Sources and scope

Sources: Using Rebuy's Smart Links for the widget settings and Link-Based Flow comparison; Rebuy Widget Types for popups, Smart Cart options and landing pages; Zobi for its conversation service. Checked 13 November 2026. For a new flow, follow Rebuy's current Link-Based Flow setup guide.