Is an abandoned-cart reminder a marketing or utility message?
Updated 30 September 2026
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.
Bring past customers back on WhatsApp
Menuthere sends comeback messages from your own WhatsApp number to bring back customers who haven't ordered lately, and submits the message templates to Meta for you.
Next questions
Sources (4)
- Template categorization, Meta for Developers, updated 15 September 2026
- Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta for Developers, updated 28 September 2026
- Per-user marketing template message limits, Meta for Developers, updated 17 June 2026
- WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, WhatsApp, last updated 23 September 2026
