Someone added to the basket and left. This is the flow with the shortest distance between an email and a sale, and the one most shops run at a fraction of what it could earn.
An automated series triggered when someone adds to cart or reaches checkout and does not buy. The intent is already there, so the job of the email is removing whatever stopped them: postage cost, a question, a distraction, or a payment method they did not have to hand.
Short, no discount, with the actual product image. Often it just needs to be a reminder.
Handle the objection. Postage, returns policy, sizing, a review of the exact item.
Scarcity if it is true, or an incentive if your margin allows. Never lead with the discount.
Three causes, in order of how often I find them. The on-site tracking script is missing, so the flow triggers for almost nobody. The trigger is set to checkout only, missing everyone who abandoned earlier. Or a test filter left in place after launch is excluding almost the whole audience.
Platform-specific checks for this are in the Shopify guide.
For most small shops this flow and the welcome series together account for the bulk of automated revenue. Judge it on revenue per recipient, not open rate, and look at the split between the three emails so you know which one is doing the work.
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