Abandoned Cart Email Strategy: Part 1

Did you know 67.44 percent of all online shopping carts are abandoned? And that 80 percent of the largest etailers do absolutely nothing about it? It’s a shame because convincing customers to make a purchase is easy once you’ve formed a cohesive strategy for one of the most effective types of triggered emails: the abandoned cart email.

Here, we share three top tips for following up with customers who have left items in their online shopping carts:

Assume the Right Mindset

There are many reasons why a consumer might abandon a shopping cart, including your site’s usability, the desire to comparison shop, shipping charges and so forth. But as Kern Lewis recently exhorted in Forbes, “Many visitors may be actively looking to make a purchase. YOU DON’T KNOW what their motivations are. So, you need to assume the cart was abandoned by someone who is still very interested in buying what he or she selected.”

In other words, to create the most effective abandoned cart email strategy, you need to adopt the mindset that the cart is not abandoned, merely “open.” Lewis says, “Assume the visitor is a ‘hot lead’ who is actively shopping and not idly tire-kicking. Let him tell you he is truly done once you get back in touch with him.”

Plan a Chain of Emails

How many emails are the right number of emails to send? Many experts recommend a series of three:

• The first email should ask shoppers whether they need any help in case they were unable to find the right product or experienced a technical issue. Include a link to the still-open cart, and list the items in the cart and their prices.
• The second email should again remind the shopper their items are on hold, but only for a short while. For further urgency, inform the shopper the items may sell out if the shopper does not place the order soon.
• The third and final email should contain a straightforward message saying you are sorry you were unable to meet their needs, and it should include contact information or a link to your website for further assistance in case shoppers do, in fact, want to make the purchase. Lewis even suggests you add a “close my cart” button in this email, for maximum visual impact.

Test the Timing of Your Emails

A Listrak study found the highest percentage of cart recoveries happens in the first 24 hours, making it critical to send your first abandoned cart email that first day. However, the study also points out there’s no one-size-fits-all timing solution. Some etailers were able to double their campaign return on investment by moving their first email from 24 hours to three hours after abandonment, while others were successful with emails six hours after abandonment.

Testing is the answer. As the authors of the study suggest, “By testing the cadence of cart recovery marketing campaigns, etailers can tailor their approach to unique audiences and increase the probability of success.”

In our next blog, we’ll be discussing even more abandoned cart email strategy tips. Subscribe to the TowerData blog today so you don’t miss it!

Photo Credit: