This Abandoned Cart Recovery Strategy Increases Conversion Rates In 4 Steps

Shopping cart abandonment is just par for the course if you operate an ecommerce business. It is inevitable and unavoidable. According to a study conducted by the Baynard Institute, the average rate of shopping cart abandonment is 69.23%, which means that close to three out of four customers leave your site without completing their purchase.

There are measures you can take to reduce the rate of cart abandonment, however. But most ecommerce entrepreneurs aren’t doing enough or they’re taking the wrong approach. 

How To Recover More Abandoned Shopping Carts

One of the most effective strategies for managing this issue is to send emails aimed at cart recovery.

cart recovery email

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When done right, abandoned cart emails are personal and add a human touch that reengages customers. “These emails have a high open rate and click-through rate compared with promotional emails,” says Reshu Rathi of Betaout. “Also, email marketing has been shown to have a better ROI than social media marketing, SEO, and content marketing.”

And while sending one abandoned cart email can certainly be effective at increasing your conversion rates, it’s recommended that you send a series of three.

How To Craft An Effective Abandoned Cart Email Series

Step 1: To send more targeted and relevant emails, start by segmenting your list.

Not all customers who abandon their carts do so at the same stage of the customer life cycle. For some people, it’s their first time. Others are repeat offenders. And as a third category, some people are existing customers who abandon their carts.

It’s important to note where customers exist in the life cycle because their reasons for abandoning their carts may vary depending on their position and you want to craft your emails accordingly.

For example, existing customers may abandon their carts because they encountered some kind of error whereas new visitors to your site may not have been sufficiently persuaded to purchase your product. So for existing customers, you may want to email them to ask if they had any problems checking out while for first-time abandoners, establishing a sense of urgency may be more effective.

Step 2: Write an engaging subject line.

The subject line is the first thing shoppers see when they receive your email. It’s also one of the biggest determining factors as to whether or not shoppers decide to open your message. Therefore, your subject line has got to be good.

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The two main feats your subject line should accomplish are as follows:

  1. Pique shoppers’ interest
  2. And remind them of what they left behind.

There are a few ways you can achieve these goals. Using…

  1. Urgency
  2. Scarcity
  3. Or emotions, like worry, fear, and concern.

Just make sure to also optimize your subject lines for mobile devices.

Step 3: Craft your abandoned cart email series.

Send the first email in the series within the hour of shoppers abandoning their carts. The primary aim of this email is to gently remind shoppers of their left-behind items. This email does not seek to persuade shoppers to return and complete their purchases, however.

In the second email, introduce an element of urgency or scarcity—for examples, telling customers that the items in their carts are selling out fast.

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And if the second email fails to score the conversion, in the third email, send an incentive, such as a coupon or special offer if shoppers complete their purchases by the end of the day.

Step 4: Test, test, test!

There are a number of elements to test here, including the subject line and the timing of when you send each email in the series. You also want to test a variety of approaches to the tone and structure of the emails’ body. To see some prime examples of abandoned cart emails, check this out.

What do you think of this cart-recovery strategy? What are you doing to reduce your site’s rates of cart abandonment? Contact us via social media and let us know!