BugWP logo BugWP
Back to Community
Home / Community / Plugin → Woocommerce cart abandonment recovery

Why Your Cart Abandonment Plugin Stopped Working and How to Fix It

31 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Woocommerce cart abandonment recovery

Content

If you've found that the WooCommerce Cart Abandonment Recovery plugin has suddenly stopped capturing abandoned carts or sending emails, you're not alone. This is a common issue reported by many users. Based on community support threads, the problem almost always boils down to one of a few specific causes. This guide will walk you through the most common reasons and their solutions.

Why This Happens

The primary function of the plugin is to capture user data via an AJAX call on the checkout page and then rely on the WordPress cron system to process that data into abandoned orders and send emails. A failure at any point in this chain can cause the plugin to appear completely non-functional. The most frequent culprits are WordPress cron issues, plugin conflicts, or specific theme incompatibilities.

Common Solutions

1. Check and Enable WordPress Cron

The vast majority of 'plugin stopped working' cases are due to the WordPress cron (WP-Cron) being disabled or not firing correctly. WP-Cron is responsible for marking carts as abandoned and triggering the email sequence.

  • How to Check: If your site uses a security or optimization plugin, check its settings for an option to 'Disable WP Cron'. Some hosting providers may also disable it by default.
  • How to Fix: If WP-Cron is disabled, you will need to set up a real cron job through your hosting control panel (e.g., cPanel) to regularly call your site's wp-cron.php file. A common command is: wget -q -O- https://yourwebsite.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron > /dev/null 2>&1, set to run every 5-15 minutes.

2. Perform a Conflict Test

Another theme or plugin on your site could be preventing the Cart Abandonment plugin from loading its necessary JavaScript files or interrupting its processes.

  • How to Test:
    1. Temporarily switch your theme to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-Four.
    2. Deactivate all other plugins except for WooCommerce and Cart Abandonment Recovery.
    3. Test if the plugin now works by adding a product to the cart, proceeding to checkout, entering an email address, and then closing the tab.
    4. If it works, reactivate your theme and plugins one by one, testing after each, to identify the conflicting software.
  • Common Conflicts: Certain themes, like Woodmart, have been known to cause issues. Caching, minification, and asset optimization plugins can also block the necessary scripts from loading.

3. Verify Plugin Tracking Settings

It's worth double-checking the plugin's own settings to ensure tracking wasn't accidentally disabled.

  • Go to WooCommerce > Cart Abandonment in your WordPress admin.
  • Confirm that the 'Track abandoned carts and recover lost revenue' setting is toggled ON.
  • Check the 'Disable tracking for' settings to ensure you are not testing with a user role (like Administrator) that has been excluded from tracking.

4. Check for Checkout Page Compatibility

The plugin requires a traditional WooCommerce shortcode-based checkout page ([woocommerce_checkout]) to function correctly.

  • The Issue: If your site uses the newer WooCommerce Blocks (like the Checkout Block) to build the checkout page, the plugin is not currently compatible and will not work.
  • How to Fix: Revert your checkout page to one using the classic [woocommerce_checkout] shortcode.

What to Do If None of This Works

If you've worked through these steps and the problem persists, the issue may be more complex. Before seeking further help, ensure you have:

  • Cleared all caching (server, plugin, and browser cache) during testing.
  • Checked your browser's console (F12 Developer Tools) for any JavaScript errors on the checkout page that might indicate a script conflict.
  • Confirmed that the plugin's AJAX call is firing correctly, which can be seen in the 'Network' tab of your browser's developer tools when leaving the checkout page.

By systematically working through these common issues, most users are able to resolve problems with the Cart Abandonment Recovery plugin not capturing data or sending emails.

Related Support Threads Support