The Hidden Opportunity in Abandoned Shopping Carts

Last Updated on May 30, 2019 by Numinix Developer

Shopping cart abandonment rates exceed 60% for many Ecommerce retailers. The dreaded abandonment can seem like a dead end, but in actuality it creates untapped potential for online stores to scoop up more profits.

A recent Listrak study revealed that only 14.6% of the Top 100 Ecommerce retailers send emails to recover sales from abandoned shopping carts. The web stores were ranked by the number of online sales in North America.

Why do customers abandon shopping carts? While some consumers may leave due to impatience, an improperly placed checkout button, or weak calls to action, many leave simply because they are distracted, not ready to make a decision or they had problematic issues with the cart.

Of course, you will not convert every customer no matter how hard you try, but you can miss out on an opportunity to reclaim a few of the sales you thought were lost.

Discover the Opportunity

Email replies reflect one of the top strategies to saving customers after they abandon your shopping cart. Below are a few email strategies you can use to try to recover your profits:

Timing

Timing is critical in recovering a sale. The first 24 hours marks the highest chance of success. In fact, if you can manage to send an email within the first few hours, you will most likely enjoy the highest success rates.

According to Listrak CEO, Ross Kramer, the number of emails is also critical. He recommends sending three separate emails which include discounts. The first email should not offer a discount, while the second and third can include a 5% and 10% discount respectively.

You should stagger the emails so as not to frustrate the customer. Send the first immediately but wait about 24 hours before sending the second and around 7 days for the third. You can tailor the copy of the email according to the customer. For example, if the customer hasn’t opened the first email, your second email can closely resemble the first.

Targeted Emails

If you really want to boost your conversions, consider creating the emails to match what the customer added to the shopping cart and also the price points of your products.

If you are selling a high ticket item, a free shipping offer may entice your customers. If you are a dropshipper and your store is one of thousands selling the same products, you may experience better results offering discounts in your emails to beat your competition. If you sell exclusive products, a simple reminder that customers left items in their cart will suffice. You can also tie in a bonus or reminder of savings already listed on your website.

One method that worked well for my ecommerce website was a friendly email that asked if the customer was having any problems with the website. I also reminded the customer of the discounts already available on the website and included the phone number if they needed further assistance. This strategy worked quite well and recovered about 30% of the abandoned shopping carts.

Test, test and test some more

Similar to how you would test a landing page to see which one converts, test your emails. Test features such as copy, discounts, email tone, images and the number of times you send them.

The goal here is to realize that abandoned shopping carts are not a dead end. A few emails can bring profits back to your business in a short period of time.