Cart abandonment remains one of the biggest challenges for ecommerce brands. With 70%+ shoppers leaving before checkout, every brand relies on messaging channels to recover lost sales.

In 2025, three major channels dominate cart recovery:

• WhatsApp
• Email
• SMS

But which one truly delivers the best performance, conversion rate, and ROI?

This data-backed comparison will help you understand exactly which channel wins - and how WhatsApp became the most powerful revenue recovery tool for ecommerce brands.

Why Cart Recovery Matters So Much

Before comparing channels, understand the impact:

• Average cart abandonment = 68%-75%
• Revenue lost globally = $4 trillion annually
• 1% improvement in cart recovery = significant monthly revenue

This is why choosing the right recovery channel is critical.

Overview of All Three Channels

Below is a simple overview of the strengths and limitations of WhatsApp, email, and SMS.

🟩 WhatsApp

Strengths:

• 95%+ open rate
• 40-60% click rate
• Product images, buttons, CTAs
• Conversations feel natural
• Multi-language support
• WhatsApp WebViews (checkout inside WhatsApp)

Weaknesses:

• Requires user opt-in
• Template approval needed

🟦 Email

Strengths:

• Good for long-form content
• Low cost
• Universal reach

Weaknesses:

• Low open rate (~15-20%)
• Often lands in promotions/spam
• Slow response times
• Not mobile-first

🟧 SMS

Strengths:

• Instant delivery
• Simple
• Works on all phones

Weaknesses:

• No product images
• No buttons
• No rich previews
• People ignore promotional SMS
• High regulations

Performance Comparison: WhatsApp vs Email vs SMS

Below is a performance comparison table based on real ecommerce data from India + global markets.

A quick comparison of performance metrics:

Metric	WhatsApp	Email	SMS
Open Rate	95%+	15-20%	70%
Click-Through Rate	40-60%	3-5%	5-8%
Conversion Rate	15-35%	1-3%	2-4%
Response Time	Instant	Slow	Fast
Engagement Type	Interactive	Static	Text-only
Media Support	Full	Limited	None
CTA Buttons	Yes	No	No
ROI	Highest	Medium	Low

 

Why WhatsApp Outperforms Email & SMS for Cart Recovery

A. WhatsApp Delivers Real-Time Attention

WhatsApp messages are pushed instantly — and people check notifications within seconds.

Emails are checked later, and often skipped.

SMS is opened, but lacks trust and context.

B. WhatsApp Supports Interactive Buttons

WhatsApp allows:

• “Complete Purchase” button
• “Confirm COD Order”
• “View Cart”
• “Apply Coupon”

Email and SMS do not support such conversational CTAs.

C. Product Images Drive Emotional Recall

WhatsApp messages can attach:

• Product image
• Price
• Description

SMS cannot.
Email might, but users must scroll + load images.

Humans convert better when they SEE what they want.

D. WhatsApp WebViews Boost Conversion

2025 introduced WebView 2.0 → customers can:

• Browse cart
• Update address
• Choose delivery slot
• Make payment
• Complete checkout

✨ All inside WhatsApp - without opening browser.

This drastically improves conversion.

SMS/Email cannot do this.

E. Multi-Language Messaging Performs Better

Hindi, Hinglish, Tamil, Gujarati → WhatsApp supports all.

SMS is plain text.
Email formatting is inconsistent.

Cost Comparison: Which Channel Is Most Cost-Effective?

Channel	Cost per Message	ROI	Notes
WhatsApp	₹0.20-0.90	High	Auto-recover revenue
Email	₹0.01-0.10	Medium	Low conversion
SMS	₹0.10-0.25	Low	High opt-out rate

 

While WhatsApp is more expensive than email, its conversion rate is 10-15x higher, making ROI far superior.

Behavior-Based Flow: How Each Channel Handles Cart Recovery

Here’s the breakdown:

Email Flow Example

• Send 1-2 reminders
• Include a coupon
• Hope user opens email

⬇
Low engagement

SMS Flow Example

• Send a single text
• Include a short URL
• No preview

⬇
Low trust + no image

WhatsApp Flow Example

• Soft reminder
• Image reminder
• Offer trigger
• COD confirmation
• Variant-based messaging
• Personalized recommendation
• Checkout inside WhatsApp

⬇
High conversion

Practical Use Cases Where WhatsApp Wins

✔ High-Intent Shoppers

Checkout within minutes.

✔ COD Customers (India-specific)

COD verification + address confirmation + prepaid upsell.

✔ Mobile-First Audiences

Most Indian shoppers prefer WhatsApp over email.

✔ D2C Brands

Better brand trust with conversational messaging.

✔ Shopify Ecommerce

Deep WhatsApp automation support → high recovery.

WhatsApp Winning Funnel

Here’s why WhatsApp consistently beats email and SMS in cart recovery:

Flow:
Cart Added → Cart Abandoned → WhatsApp Message (1 hour) → WhatsApp Message (6 hours) → WhatsApp Message (24 hours) → Checkout Completed → ROI Maximized

✔ Multi-message funnel
✔ Image-based reminders
✔ Personalization
✔ Zero friction checkout

Final Verdict: Which Works Best? (2025 Results)

🥇 Winner → WhatsApp

Why?

• Highest open rate
• Maximum engagement
• Image-rich messaging
• Checkout inside chat
• Multi-language
• Instant response
• Best suited for India & D2C audiences

🥈 Email

Useful as supporting channel, not primary.

🥉 SMS

Useful only for OTP or transactional alerts.

If your ecommerce brand wants to recover the maximum abandoned carts in 2025, the answer is clear:

WhatsApp > Email + SMS combined.

With Setu 360, you can:

• Automate cart recovery
• Enable WebView checkout
• Trigger COD → prepaid upsell
• Reduce RTO
• Increase prepaid orders
• Recover 20-35% lost revenue

All with 15-30* minutes of setup.