Is an abandoned-cart reminder a marketing or utility message?

It is a marketing message. Meta lists “you left items in your cart” reminders as retargeting, and retargeting is marketing even when the customer asked for it.

• Marketing messages are charged every time one is delivered: ₹0.8631 in India and AED 0.2115 in the UAE from 1 October 2026.
• Order confirmations, “on its way” updates and refunds are utility, because they are about one order and have no promotion.
• If you label the reminder utility, Meta approves it as marketing anyway, and can move an approved template later with one day's notice.
• Send it only to customers who opted in. WhatsApp does not currently deliver marketing templates to US phone numbers.
• Within 24 hours of the customer's last message you can reply without a template. From 1 October 2026, 1,000 such replies a month are free.