The short answer
To set up a Meta retargeting campaign for abandoned carts, create a website custom audience of people who triggered Add to cart or Initiate checkout in the last 14 days, and exclude people who purchased. Then create a Sales campaign optimised for Purchase, target that audience, and run two images with two versions of copy.
Before you start
By the end of this SOP
A live Sales campaign showing ads only to people who abandoned their cart.
- Time
- 20–30 minutes
- You’ll need
- The Meta Pixel with Add to cart, Initiate checkout and Purchase events (SOP 005, SOP 017), and a Facebook Page.
- Who does this
- The person responsible for paid advertising.
About this SOP: why it matters, where and when
Why it matters: Cart abandoners already want the product. A reminder, a reason to trust you, or a small offer brings many of them back.
Where: In Meta Ads Manager and Events Manager.
When: When your store gets regular checkout traffic, usually 100+ add-to-carts a month.
Stage 1
Build the abandoned-cart audience
- 1
In Ads Manager, open Audiences → Create audience → Custom audience → Website.
- 2
Source: your pixel. Events: “Initiate checkout” (or “Add to cart” for more people). Retention: 14 days.
- 3
Click Exclude and add people who triggered “Purchase” in the last 30 days (up to 180 for one-time products like courses).
Watch out
Forget the exclusion and you pay to show “Complete your order” ads to people who already bought.
- 4
Name it clearly, e.g. “WCA – Initiate checkout 14d – excl Purchase”, and click Create.
Stage 2
Prepare the ads
Keep it simple: two images × two pieces of copy = four ads to test.
- 1
Make two images in 1:1 (1080×1080) and 9:16 (1080×1920). Show the product clearly.
- 2
Write two versions of copy with different angles:
- Reminder: “Still thinking about it? Your cart is waiting.”
- Trust or offer: reviews, free delivery, easy returns, or a small discount.
Stage 3
Create the campaign
- 1
Click + Create → Sales. Name it, e.g. “Retargeting – Product name”.
- 2
Ad set: Conversion location Website, event Purchase. Add your abandoned-cart audience.
- If Advantage+ audience is on, switch to original audience options for this ad set, and make sure “Advantage custom audience” is unticked. Otherwise ads leak beyond your cart abandoners.
- 3
Placements: Advantage+ placements. Budget: a small daily budget. The audience is small, so you don’t need much.
- 4
Ad: choose your Facebook Page and Instagram account, upload image 1, add copy 1, the product or cart URL, and UTM parameters.
- 5
Add the other three image-and-copy combinations as more ads in the same ad set (or use flexible format to upload them together), then Publish.
- 6
Watch frequency weekly. Above about 5 a week, people are tired of the ads; refresh the creative or lower the budget.
Agency playbook
Doing this for a paying client
What a senior checks before calling the job done. Numbers are starting rules; compare them with the account’s own history.
What good looks like
- The audience is big enough to deliver. Starting rule: 1,000+ people in the window, or widen to 30 days and add Add to cart.
- Messages match intent: product viewers see benefits and reviews; checkout abandoners see delivery time, COD (cash on delivery) and returns.
- Cost per purchase from retargeting is clearly lower than from prospecting (starting rule). If not, check the audience, offer or tracking.
- Meta-reported sales roughly match store orders tagged utm_source=facebook. A big gap means a tracking problem, not a great campaign.
Mistakes we see on real accounts
- Discounting every abandoner by default. Shoppers learn to abandon carts for the code, and margin drops on sales you’d have made anyway.
- Purchase fires on every thank-you page refresh. Meta shows double sales and the client believes ROAS (return on ad spend) is 8 when it’s 4.
- Ads keep running after a product sells out. Budget is wasted and comments fill with complaints.
- Using Traffic or Engagement for retargeting. Clicks get cheap, but purchases don’t follow.
Agency checklist before you call it done
- Purchase fires once per order, with value and currency INR, and pixel plus Conversions API events are deduplicated in Events Manager.
- Screenshot of audience include and exclude rules saved in the client folder.
- Ad set screenshot shows original audience options with Advantage custom audience off.
- Ads and the client’s own WhatsApp or email cart reminders don’t promise different discounts.
- Any discount code approved by the client in writing, with an end date.
- Change-log entry added, and a weekly frequency and stock check set in the calendar.
Handover message to the client
Hi [Client name], your abandoned-cart campaign is live. It shows ads only to people who reached checkout in the last 14 days and haven’t bought. Budget ₹[500]/day + 18% GST. Offer: [free delivery], ends [date]. First report on [date].
Senior tip
Many retargeted buyers would have come back anyway. Once a quarter, run a holdout test (Meta Conversion Lift or a planned two-week pause) to measure true extra sales before raising the retargeting budget.
Practice & check
Now do it for real
Reading is not doing. Open your own account and complete this task before you move on.
Practice task (5 min)
Build the abandoned-cart audience in your practice account (even if it’s empty) with the Purchase exclusion. Screenshot the audience rules.
Prove it
Two questions. Get both right and this SOP is done.
Common questions
How many days should a retargeting audience cover?
7–14 days for abandoned carts works for most stores. Longer windows suit expensive products with longer decision times.
Should I offer a discount in retargeting ads?
Test it, don’t default to it. A reminder or trust message (reviews, free delivery) often works without cutting your margin.
What is the difference between retargeting and remarketing?
In Meta Ads they mean the same thing: showing ads to people who already interacted with your website, app or pages.
Done. That’s a real skill, not a certificate.
Next: SOP 124 — Audit a Meta Ads Account →
Want to do this on real client budgets, with a mentor checking your work? That’s Level 2 at Unlearn. See the Digital Marketing track