The most unfortunate occurrence for any eCommerce business owner and marketer is cart abandonment. It’s frustrating when a user adds products to their cart and then leaves without completing the purchase. According to SalesCycle, 75.6% of carts were abandoned in 2018. This statistic is all the more distressing because this number was 74.5% in 2016 and 75.5% in 2017.
The silver lining of the cloud of cart abandonment is that you can recover lost sales by employing a cart recovery email marketing program. Cart abandonment emails have a good open rate, which is the main reason for including them in your eCommerce marketing strategy. You have to simply set a cart abandonment email workflow once and the email automation tool will take care of the rest.
How Do Cart Abandonment Emails Work?
Cart abandonment emails are automatically deployed when a customer leaves the product in the cart without completing the checkout process.
There are plenty of reasons why a customer does not complete the purchase, such as:
- They are only browsing and comparing the products on different websites.
- There might be shipping issues.
- You charge an extra shipping cost.
- They experienced a technical glitch.
- There is a problem with the payment gateway or the payment method of the customer’s choice is not listed.
- The customer just changed their mind.
5 Tips to Design Effective Cart Abandonment Emails
Now, let’s shed light on how to design a high-converting cart abandonment email that brings results.
1. Let your emails reflect trust and authenticity
Humans are hardwired into believing a fellow user rather than the claims of a brand. Eighty-eight percent of consumers said ratings and reviews affected their purchase decision. Hence, you must include customer reviews and testimonials. This works as social proof and builds the confidence level of the cart abandoner. It will relieve any apprehension and encourage the customer to make the purchase.
2. Add images of the abandoned product
It often happens that customers shop from multiple websites at one time for different items, so they might have forgotten the product they added to their cart. Including an image of the abandoned product along with all the pricing details will help the customer in recollecting the same and increase the likelihood of getting conversions.
Additionally, you can also send out relevant product recommendations in the cart recovery email. It might yield a conversion for you if the customer likes those personalized recommendations.
3. Get creative with your cart abandonment email
Rather than sending a boring email simply reminding the customer to make the purchase, add a flavor of humor or some attractive visuals to make your email stand out. Cart abandonment emails are no longer new for customers. Make sure your cart abandonment email brings a breath of fresh air to the subscriber’s heap of emails.
4. Send out a series of two to four cart abandonment emails
Sending a series of welcome emails, cart abandonment emails, and re-engagement emails is slowly becoming a norm in marketing. Most of your eCommerce competitors have adopted this practice already. The first email of the cart abandonment series must gently nudge the subscriber to make the purchase. If the subscriber does not get converted, you can incentivize him or her in the second email.
In addition, you can also trigger the ‘fear of missing out’ instinct of the customer by using words like “Offer valid for today only” or “These products won’t last long”.
However, the problem is that some customers have already decoded this strategy. They deliberately abandon the cart for some discount offers. You must be wary of such gamification by the customer and make sure you don’t attract discount shoppers. Offer incentives and discounts without cutting down on your profit margins.
See this cart abandonment email series by Wayfair. They send out two emails to remind the customer about the pending purchase. The customer will receive the first email within 1 hour while the second email in 24 hours.
5. Keep an easily noticeable CTA button
Include a CTA button that instantly draws the subscriber’s attention. The copy can be something like “SHOP NOW”, “TAKE ME TO THE CART”, or “CONTINUE SHOPPING”.
If you are offering any discounts or free shipping, highlight it right below the CTA so the customer becomes more inclined on making the purchase.
A Perfect Cart Abandonment Email Example:
Adidas offers a perfect example. They add creative copy, a clear image of the product, social proof, and strategically placed CTA buttons.
These tips and tricks will definitely facilitate the creation of a winning cart recovery program for your eCommerce store and garner a higher conversion rate. Email Uplers has created an infographic on cart abandonment emails if you are looking for more insights into the subject.
