One of the most frustrating things for ecommerce businesses is an abandoned shopping cart. You likely know the feeling. When an online shopper picks out a few popular items, loads them into their cart, but never makes it through to the checkout process.
If this sounds familiar, you're certainly not alone. The average shopping cart abandonment rate is startlingly high. According to survey data conducted by Bolt, more than 75% of online shopping carts and 80% of mobile shopping carts are abandoned. That's a lot of lost customers and a lot of lost sales.
So what can you do as an online retailer to win back all of those potential customers? One of the best ways is by setting up cart abandonment email campaigns.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about abandoned cart emails, why they're important for retailers looking to recapture lost sales, and what every abandoned cart email sequence should include to increase your conversion rates.
What is an abandoned cart email?
Shopping cart abandonment emails are just what they sound like. They're a series of emails an online retailer sends out after a website visitor has filled their shopping cart, but never actually purchased anything.
Sending out cart abandonment emails is a common practice for online retailers with ecommerce platforms. It's a smart email marketing strategy designed to encourage a potential customer to come back and finish the checkout process.
Why should retailers write abandoned cart emails?
If you're never set up an abandoned cart recovery campaign before, there are a lot of great reasons to get started. Here are just a few:
- They help recover lost sales: According to data from Klaviyo, businesses in their data set generated more than $60 billion in revenue directly from their abandoned cart recovery campaigns in just three months.
- They show you care: When a buyer gets a cart reminder email, not only is it a friendly reminder for them to go back and complete their purchase, but it also shows your buyer that you're willing to go the extra mile to earn their business.
- They give you a second chance: If a buyer didn't complete their purchase, chances are they're looking at your competition too. A single email with a discount code or customer testimonial could be all it takes to win them back.
Best practices for writing an abandoned cart email
Crafting the perfect shopping cart recovery email takes a good understanding of your target audience, their buying motivations, and a whole lot of trial and error.
For beginners taking their first crack at an abandoned cart email, these tips will get you started in the right direction.
Encourage opens with an enticing subject line
First and foremost, abandoned cart email subject lines have got to be enticing, otherwise they won't get opened. The subject line should serve as a gentle reminder about the cart items the user has left behind. Something like, "Are you forgetting something?" or "Your cart is about to expire!" are great teasers.
Or, if you're offering a promotion or coupon code inside the email body, call it out in the subject line. Subject lines that say "Coupon code inside!" or "Let us cover your shipping costs!" are sure to get opened.
Subject line testing will help you learn what kinds of messages work best for your industry and audience, so don't be afraid to switch things up if you're not getting the results you're looking for.
Include personal details
Next, personalized emails will always outperform generic messages, so be sure to include as many personal details as possible.
Whether it's their name, product images of their cart items, or additional product details on their original item, details like these will jog their memory and encourage them to restart their shopping journey.
Better yet, including product recommendations based on their cart items is a great way to earn their business even if they've already bought the original item they had in their cart somewhere else.
For example, if they had a dress shirt in their cart, offering personalized recommendations on matching ties could encourage them to shop with you, even if it's not for the original shirt.
Sweeten the deal with a special offer
A lot of carts get abandoned because of high prices or unexpected shipping costs, so offering a small discount or promo code could be all a shopper needs to complete their purchase.
In fact, many savvy online shoppers will purposely abandon their carts so they can see if you'll send them a follow-up email with a discount code. Covering an extra cost like shipping or throwing in a free item is an easy way to tip the scales back in your favor.
Use client management software to follow up
Finally, keeping track of all of your leads and customers that come through from your abandoned cart emails can get messy. That's where client management software like Clientbook comes in handy.
Clientbook is a mobile app and web platform that keeps all of your customer data in one place. With Clientbook, you can send follow-up messages, search and filter through all of your clients, and even create custom wish lists with personalized product recommendations for each of your buyers.
The best part? It's specifically built for retailers like you. We help over a thousand retailers across the nation build relationships with customers, drive sales, and retain key clients.
Conclusion
Setting up an abandoned cart campaign is a proven way to increase conversion rates, recapture lost sales, and even foster strong customer relationships. By following the best practices outlined in this article, your abandoned cart email strategy will be ready to go in no time.
Better yet, by utilizing a client management tool like Clientbook, you'll be able to keep all of your contacts and email lists straight without the headache.
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