Where did Shopify's abandoned checkout email setting go?
Shopify has been moving this setting from the classic Settings pages into the Messaging app, so older guides and your own memory of the admin can both point you at the wrong screen.
What's going on
You go looking for the setting that controls Shopify's automatic abandoned-checkout email, and it just is not where you remember it being, or where a tutorial says it should be. You check Settings, you check Checkout, you check Notifications, and the toggle to turn the email on, adjust its timing, or see who it goes to seems to have vanished.
This is a real and recurring point of confusion, and it is usually not because Shopify removed the feature. Shopify has been migrating this functionality out of the classic Settings pages and into the built-in Messaging app, where it is managed as an automation rather than a static setting. Depending on when your store was created and whether you have gone through that migration, you may be looking at either the old system or the new one, and the two have completely different navigation paths.
Because the feature has moved, and because not every tutorial or older support article has caught up, it is easy to check one location, find nothing, and conclude the option no longer exists at all.
Why it happens
Shopify has been rolling out an abandoned-checkout automation managed inside the Messaging app, alongside the older toggle that lives under Settings, Checkout, with its email template under Settings, Notifications. Stores are moved onto the newer system at different times, so which navigation path is correct genuinely depends on which version your store is currently running, and it is easy to check the wrong one.
On top of the relocation, abandoned-checkout emails are generally sent only to shoppers who have given marketing consent, which is easy to overlook. A merchant who finds the setting, turns it on, and still sees few or no recovery emails go out can read that as the feature being broken, when it is actually working as intended for an audience that just has not opted in.
5 ways to fix it
Look in Apps, Messaging, Automations first
Shopify has been moving abandoned-checkout email control out of the classic Settings pages and into the built-in Messaging app. Open Apps, then Messaging, then Automations, and look for an abandoned checkout template. If your store has not been switched over yet, you may see an option to view templates and turn one on. Once you do, the delay, audience, and email content are managed from there instead of from Settings.
If Messaging does not show it, check Settings, Notifications and Settings, Checkout
Stores still on the older setup manage this in two separate places: the email template lives under Settings, Notifications, Abandoned checkout, while the on and off toggle and timing live under Settings, Checkout. Since the two pieces are split across different pages, it is easy to check only one, see nothing relevant, and assume the feature is gone entirely.
Rule out an eligibility or audience issue before assuming the setting is missing
Some admin functions, including checkout-related settings, are not exposed in the Shopify mobile app, so check from a desktop browser if you have not already. Also confirm you are logged in with a staff account that has full settings permissions, since restricted accounts can hide entire sections. Separately, abandoned-checkout emails generally only go to shoppers who have marketing consent on file, so a setting that is technically on can still look like it is doing nothing if none of your recent checkouts qualify.
Use Shopify Flow or a dedicated app if you need more than the native email
If you need multiple follow-up messages, SMS reminders, or targeting logic the native automation does not support, look at Shopify Flow, which is available on most current plans and can trigger workflows off checkout activity, or a dedicated cart-recovery or email marketing app from the Shopify App Store. This is a bigger change than flipping a toggle, so confirm the native automation genuinely cannot cover your case before investing time here.
Search Shopify's Help Center directly instead of trusting an older screenshot
Because this feature's name and location have changed over time, tutorials, forum threads, and even some older support articles can point you at a screen that no longer applies to your store. Search help.shopify.com for abandoned checkout rather than following a specific click-path from an older post, and treat the current in-admin labels as the source of truth over any dated guide.
Bottom line
In most cases this is not a bug or a hidden permission problem: Shopify has been relocating abandoned-checkout controls from the classic Settings pages into the Messaging app, and the two systems look and behave differently enough that older guides, and even your own memory of the admin, can point you at the wrong screen. Check Apps, Messaging, Automations first, fall back to Settings, Checkout and Settings, Notifications if your store has not migrated, and reach for Shopify Flow or a third-party recovery app only once you have confirmed the native automation genuinely cannot do what you need.
Browse the rest of the problem library, run a free storefront scan to catch issues like this automatically, or email us and we'll work out a custom solution for it.