9 Abandoned Cart Email Strategies That Recover Lost Sales (With Examples)

Did you ever take the time to think about why online shoppers abandon their shopping carts? As an e-commerce business owner, you would have probably experienced how frustrating it is when people don’t complete their purchases and leave their carts. 

Shopping carts, which were once replete with potential sales, now result in lost revenue. Such carts are a constant headache for online businesses. We understand that abandoned carts are an unavoidable part of running a B2C business. Don’t fret. You can convert them into online sales, helping you recover lost revenue with abandoned cart emails. Yes, you head that right.

Perhaps your online store is attractive or you’re offering a flawless product. Keep in mind that the majority of customers will not express their concern about either of the two or both if they’re likely to abandon their shopping carts on your B2C website.

There could be multiple reasons why online shoppers back off when it comes to completing their purchase – the willingness to buy, daily distractions, or economic conditions. Or, customers could change their minds due to shipping fees or website errors. 

In this blog, we will discuss what abandoned cart email is, its importance, best practices, and examples.

What is an Abandoned Cart Email?

An abandoned cart email is a follow-up message sent by business owners to online shoppers who have added products to their cart; however, they left their website without making a purchase. You can consider this email a gentle reminder that asks, “Hey, did you forget something?”

These abandoned cart emails work to your business’s advantage every step of the way. That’s because they target individuals who have already shown their keen interest in your products. Don’t think of them as cold leads. Instead, they’re those warm prospects that need a little push for purchase completion. When done right, these emails can help recover 15% of lost sales.

This is not even the most significant advantage. Setting up an abandoned cart email sequence that automatically goes out and wins you revenue using the right tools is your best bet. Even if an online shopper does not convert into a prospective customer, they will re-engage. Moreover, your brand will be top of their minds.

Why Do People Abandon Their Carts?

Online shoppers abandoning their carts is something you cannot do anything about. While some people visit an e-commerce website to browse products, others are busy comparing products’ features. However, they were never going to make a purchase.

But don’t you worry? Instead, all your focus should be on those people you can re-establish engagement with. These could be the people who got distracted while making a purchase or those who left confused during the checkout process. As opposed to people who spend their time browsing online, these people abandon their online shopping cards for reasons you can easily fix.

Listed below are some of the most common reasons for abandonment of shopping carts:

1. Extra Costs are Exorbitantly High: Use cost-effective packaging or change mail carriers. This will help you reduce unexpected shipping costs.

2. Daily Distractions: People can easily get distracted due to phone calls, meetings, or kids needing attention. However, sending a cart abandonment email can make them complete their purchase.

3. Forced to Create an Account: Countless websites offer the option to create an account and still make it simpler for online shoppers to check out as a guest.

4. Lengthy Checkout Process: Do you find your checkout process extremely complex for the online shopper? Find useful steps you can take to combine or even cut completely.

5. Not able to see the Total Costs: Make sure you display the updated cart total amount at every step of the checkout process. Don’t surprise people by adding unwanted costs at the last minute.

6. Didn’t Trust the Website: Some online shoppers might think twice before entering their payment information on a website they don’t recognise. Recovery emails can focus on certain security measures and reliable payment methods.

7. Shopping Comparison: While searching for the best deal, several people add items to their shopping carts across various websites. Your abandoned cart emails can focus on your biggest benefits or price-matching policies.

8. Website Errors or Crashes: There are times when you have no control over website crashes. But you must emphasise testing your website across several browsers and devices.

9. Delivery Estimate is Extremely Slow: Online shoppers look forward to quick shipping when you offer them next- or same-day delivery.

10. Lack of Payment Options: Some people refuse to use PayPal, while others use nothing but. Thankfully, it’s easier than ever to accommodate multiple payment options.

Components of an Effective Abandoned Cart Email

Here’s a list of some of the components of a highly effective abandoned cart email:

1. Eye-Catching Subject Line

Customising subject lines using customer profile properties such as somebody’s name, the products left in the cart, or an offer bespoke to a browsing behaviour in the past is the simplest way to capture online shoppers’ attention.

A simple and attention-grabbing subject line may be, “John, run faster with the pair of shoes you left behind.” However, an individual’s browsing behaviour may specify they’re browsing an entire category. In this case, a subject line like “Here you go with 15% off all running apparel” may be just what someone needs for that final purchasing decision.

2. Product Details

Details about the product an online shopper left behind in their shopping cart should account for the bulk of your email copy. Ensure you mention primary details such as the colour, size, and price. Don’t forget to include the product’s image.

3. Incentives and Offers

A customer needs certain triggers to complete their purchase, like discounts, a limited-time offer, or free shipping. The incentives you’re offering must address some of the most common barriers to your brand completing a sale. These could be the product cost or the shipping cost.

Consider categorising high-value carts and offering an incentive on those where you’re likely to make great revenue from a single purchase. This is specifically true when it does not make sense for your brand’s economics to offer an incentive for every online shopping cart abandonment.

4. Call to Action (CTA)

A clear and convincing CTA (call to action) is what makes the online shopper return to the cart to complete the purchase on your website. Make it stand out with a unique colour and use result-driven language such as “Complete Your Purchase” or “Claim Your Offer”.

5. Social Proof

Build trust and address concerns proactively by using user-generated content. It could be in the form of customer testimonials, ratings, or reviews. Other than a robust product image with details, social proof works in your favour. It’s an amazing way to seal the deal.

3 Abandoned Cart Email Best Practices to Boost Conversion Rates

Here we share three effective abandoned cart email best practices that can lead to an increase in your conversion rates.

Following up multiple times with the online shopper will yield the best outcomes. This is specifically true for most sales emails.

A single email can easily get lost in a crowded inbox. However, numerous emails increase the chance that the person will see your message.

Sending a sequence of 2 to 4 emails over a seven-day period is a smart move. Here’s the flow you can consider for sending emails:

• First abandoned cart email: It’s a friendly reminder. Make sure you send this cart abandonment email within an hour.

• Second email: It’s a reassurance or social proof email, which you must send two days later.

• Third email: It’s an incentive or scarcity message that must be sent five days after abandoning the cart.

When you send each email in the sequence, it gives online shoppers a reason to convert into potential buyers. You’re not making them feel overwhelmed with a lengthy email, covering everything at once.

Best Abandoned Cart Email Examples

Listed below are nine examples of abandoned cart emails:

1. Send a Helpful Reminder

This type of cart abandonment email is useful for customers who have been distracted by something and forgot to complete their purchase. When done right, this email is regarded as useful.

It states, “We know you value your time and don’t intend on wasting it. We have saved this for you in case it slipped your mind. Please let us know if you’re still interested in it.” This gives a little nudge to the client to purchase what they added to their cart.

2. Offer Options

There are times when your visitors are probably not able to find what they are looking for. So they end up abandoning their carts when checking out. Why? Because the options available don’t help them meet their needs. Using a follow-up email for such scenarios, offering alternatives the customers might have missed out on in the first place is the best approach. 

3. Personalise the Message

Surprising your customers has become a thing of the past. Or, emailing subscribers with personalisation is not viable anymore. That is because personalisation has become a critical part of successful brand communications. So, emphasising the significance of personalising each of your email messages is practical.

Personalisation today takes a step further than using the customer’s first name in the subject line. Nobody will be captivated if you use this simple online courtesy, even though 95% of customers and professionals are on the same page that personalisation is vital for an effective email marketing strategy.

4. Capitalise on FOMO

FOMO (fear of missing out) is a robust and scalable tool often used by marketers as an indispensable element of their abandoned cart emails. Not only does it create urgency, but it also creates artificial scarcity. 

If the customer is uncertain about a particular product, creating urgency is the right thing you can do. Your client is interested in a specific product, which is in great demand. By placing emphasis on it, you can encourage that individual to opt for the product. As a result, it accelerates the conversion time.

5. Provide an Extra Incentive

To encourage customers to complete their purchases, there’s no need to give them discount codes. However, you can provide other incentives, which help your customers commit to your product. Hence, they recover abandoned carts. As an incentive, you could offer a small gift or free shipping.

As a matter of fact, unforeseen shipping costs are among the top reasons why people abandon their carts or don’t complete their purchases. Offering free shipping can help boost your conversion rates significantly.

6. Keep it Simple

Thinking your customers are primarily busy individuals? You feel anxious about overwhelming them with a cart abandonment email that is extremely pushy, which might drive them away. Instead, focus on a simple approach and witness a decline in your cart abandonment rate.

Not every business can build a personal relationship with all customers. If you find yourself in such a scenario, maintaining trust is a great way to communicate with your prospective customers. If they seem busy, you need to accept the fact that you don’t hold importance in their life.

7. Encourage Customers to Get in Touch

At times, just asking the customer why they did not complete their order is your best bet. Avoid making assumptions. 

Irrespective of the tracking software’s quality, it is not easy for any marketer to guess the actual reason behind the abandoned cart.

You need to ask the customer what happened. This will help you boost your website’s performance and minimise bounce rates. It could be due to high shipping costs, a website error, or maybe their spouse just returned from work. 

8. Experiment with Various Copywriting Styles

Not every business is the same. What forms your online store are the critical components, such as your products, services, and branding. Communicating your brand identity consistently with a harmonious brand voice, which aligns with your company values and connects with your target audience, is crucial.

Making an attempt at working out some clever puns of your own if that’s what you want. Create a list of keywords describing what you do and who you are. It’s all about playing around with words. Using silliness and changing letters will make you deliver the best.

9. Appeal to Emotion

We are emotional beings. There are globally recognised emotional hooks that, when used in an actual and lively way, can drive connectability between your brand and the customer.

Avoid feeling nervous to use this emotional trigger in your abandoned cart email campaign. Use a profound copy not only in your subject line but also in the email body. Include relatable images and GIFs to drive an emotional connection with your reader rather than making them read about it. You need to send a reminder to customers why they expressed their interest in the product in the first place.

Final Thoughts

You can find numerous methods, strategies, and designs for abandoned cart emails. The ones that seem right for your business will be different from the ones your competitors use.

However, following a divide-and-conquer approach is the most reliable and effective way to address the problem of cart abandonment. You can take various measures to minimise abandonment from the start. These consist of optimising for mobile and having consistent branding across your website and social media channels. You can also consider simplifying delivery and payment processes.

FAQs

1. When should I send the first abandoned cart email?

It’s advisable that you send the first email within an hour or two after cart abandonment. This will deliver substantial results.

2. What is the optimal number of abandoned cart emails to send?

Send three emails over a period of 3 to 5 days. This will help yield the best recovery rate.

3. Is it feasible to offer a discount in the first abandoned cart email?

Not at all! Instead, you must reserve discounts for later emails. This will help avoid sacrificing untimely profit margins.

4. How can I write an effective abandoned cart email subject line?

Use clear, customised subject lines that create mild urgency. 

5. Is it mandatory to use dynamic product retargeting in recovery emails?

Absolutely. Show the exact number of items left behind in the cart, as it reminds customers to finish their purchase. Moreover, it boosts click-through rates considerably.