Should I use loss aversion in recovery messages?

As a Shopify store owner, I've been wrestling with cart abandonment for months. My conversion rates were frustratingly low, and I knew I needed a smarter approach to re-engaging potential customers. Loss aversion kept coming up in my research – this psychological principle that suggests people are more motivated by avoiding loss than acquiring gains. But I was skeptical. Would framing recovery messages around potential 'loss' actually work, or would it come across as manipulative? I've seen plenty of recovery emails that feel desperate or pushy, and I didn't want to damage my brand's relationship with potential customers. My team and I debated this for weeks: Could we craft recovery messages that feel genuine, create urgency, and actually motivate customers to complete their purchase without feeling like we're strong-arming them? We needed a nuanced strategy that respected our customers' decision-making process while still giving them a compelling reason to return to their abandoned cart.