10 Best Practices To Win Shoppers With Cart Abandonment Email

Introduction

Abandoned cart emails are a powerful tool for eCommerce businesses to recover lost sales and bring customers back to their websites. According to a study by the Baymard Institute, 69.57% of online shopping carts are abandoned, which means there is a huge opportunity for businesses to recover lost sales through abandoned cart emails.

However, not all abandoned cart emails are created equal. Abandoned cart emails, to be effective, should include certain elements that make them more likely to convert. This article will cover the must-have elements of an abandoned cart email and provide best practices for crafting an effective abandoned cart email campaign.

Related Blog: Best Practices to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment

What Are Cart Abandonment Emails?

Abandoned cart emails are automatically sent to customers who have added items to their online shopping cart but have not completed the purchase. These emails are designed to remind customers about the items they left in their cart and motivate them to complete their purchases.

The emails are typically sent within a few hours or a day after the customer has abandoned their cart, as the customer is more likely to be still considering the purchase at this point.

Abandoned cart emails often include a list of the items left in the cart, relevant promotions or discounts, and a clear call to action for the customer to complete their purchase.

It may also include personalized recommendations or incentives to encourage the customer to complete their purchase. Let’s look at some of the stats to understand the effectiveness of cart abandonment emails.

Cart Abandonment Email Conversion Rate & Open Rate Statistics

• According to a study by Moonsend, On average, 45% of cart abandonment emails are opened; 21% of them are clicked, while 50% of the users click to purchase.
• Automating cart abandonment emails can help lower your cart abandonment rates.
• Free shipping is a great way to boost your abandoned cart email conversion rate.
• Abandoned cart emails convert at 10.7%, meaning 11 out of 100 of your customers who receive an email reminding them of their abandoned carts will return to the store to purchase.
• Multiple abandoned cart emails perform better than a single email by 63%.

Looking at these amazing facts may surely make you think about applying the strategy of cart abandonment emails to deal with shopping cart abandonment.

Best Practices for Abandoned Cart Emails

To assist you, we have mentioned some of the cart abandonment email best practices you should include in your strategy. Let’s dive into it –

Personalization

Email marketing campaigns for abandoned carts can be highly effective when you send personalized emails to people who abandon them. Customers are more likely to engage with an email tailored specifically to them.

Personalization can take many forms, such as using the customer’s name in the subject line or body of the email or recommending products based on their previous purchases. Send personalized emails that align with your brand’s voice and tone.

When we talk about personalization, the top example that comes to our mind is Amazon. Amazon’s abandoned cart emails always include the customer’s name in the subject line and body of the email. It often includes personalized recommendations based on the customer’s previous purchases and browsing history.

Strong CTAs

A key element is the calls to action on cart recovery emails. Making sure users know what action to take is essential. The CTA should be clear, concise, and compelling, encouraging the customer to take the desired action (in this case, completing their purchase).

Add a short, straightforward text to make it distinctive and bright. It is possible to dramatically increase conversion levels by experimenting with various CTAs.

ASOS’s abandoned cart emails always include a strong CTA in the form of a button, such as “Complete Your Order” or “Shop Now.” Even the one they have used in the above image, “TAKE ME BACK”, that’s intended towards the customer to return to the abandoned cart.

The CTA is always prominent and stands out from the rest of the email, making it easy for the customer to take the desired action.

Eye Catching Subject Line

The subject line of an abandoned cart email is the first thing a customer sees, and it can either make them want to open the email or ignore it. A strong, eye-catching subject line can be the difference between an abandoned cart email that gets opened and one that gets deleted.

While writing a catchy headline, there are a few factors that you should watch out for. First, the headline should be bold to capture your visitor’s attention. You should ensure that the email copy is seamlessly connected to the items in the abandoned cart.

Warby Parker’s always have catchy, attention-grabbing abandoned cart email subject lines, such as “Don’t forget your shades!” or “Your glasses are waiting for you!”.

Creating eye catchy subject lines will grab their attention, making it more likely they’ll open it.

Using Social Proofs

Social proof, in the form of customer reviews or ratings, can be a powerful tool in an abandoned cart email. Seeing that other customers have had positive experiences with a product can give the customer the confidence they need to complete their purchase.

Zappos’s know-how to incorporate social proof into their abandoned cart emails, and they often include customer reviews and ratings for the products in the customer’s cart, as well as overall ratings for the brand.

This helps to build trust and confidence in the products and encourages the customer to complete their purchase.

Discounts/Offers

Including a discount or special offer in an abandoned cart email can be a powerful incentive for customers to complete their purchases. This can be especially effective for customers who may be on the fence about making a purchase or may be considering a similar product from a competitor.

One brand that does a great job with discounts in their abandoned cart emails is Target. Target’s abandoned cart emails often include limited-time discounts or special offers to encourage the customer to make a purchase.

Link to Cart

Including a link to the customer’s abandoned cart or similar products can make it easy for the customer to complete their purchase. This could be especially helpful if the customer left their cart because they were unsure about a product or needed more information.

eBay’s abandoned cart emails always include a link to the customer’s cart and images of the products, just like the above image, with a clear “Start shopping” call to action.

This makes it easy for the customer to review their purchase and complete the checkout process.

Add Cross-Sells and Upsells

Cross-selling and upselling can increase the average order value and encourage customers to complete their purchases. By including related or complementary products in the abandoned cart email, businesses can encourage customers to add more items to their cart and make larger purchases.

Sephora’s abandoned cart emails often include cross-sells and upsells in the form of related products or product bundles.

This helps to increase the average order value and encourages customers to make larger purchases.

Creating Urgency

Creating a sense of urgency can be a powerful motivator for customers to complete their purchases. This can be achieved through limited-time discounts or offers or by highlighting that the product is in high demand and may sell out soon.

Adidas along with being one of the world’s top renowned brands have also set some the top abandoned cart email benchmarks. Adidas abandoned cart emails often include a countdown timer and a message highlighting the limited availability of the product.

This creates a sense of urgency and encourages customers to complete their purchases before it’s too late.

High quality Images

High-quality images can be a powerful tool in an abandoned cart email. By including clear, detailed images of the products in the customer’s cart, businesses can help them visualize their purchase and make a more informed decision.

Nike’s abandoned cart emails always include high-quality images of the products in the customer’s cart and -multiple views and product details.

This helps the customer better understand the product and make a more informed purchase decision.

Testing

Testing is an essential part of any abandoned cart email campaign. By testing different elements such as subject lines, CTAs, and email content, businesses can determine what works best for their audience and improve the effectiveness of their abandoned cart emails.

Starbucks regularly tests elements of their abandoned cart emails, such as subject lines, CTAs, and email content, to determine what works best for its audience.

By constantly testing and optimizing its abandoned cart emails, Starbucks can improve its campaigns’ effectiveness and recover more lost sales.

Final Thoughts

Since many prospective customers won’t complete their checkout, abandoned cart emails can be an incredible sales and marketing tool to help you sell more products. It’s also worth noting that abandoned cart emails are just one part of a broader strategy for recovering lost sales.

Other tactics you should consider are offering free shipping, providing a seamless and easy checkout process, and addressing any potential roadblocks that may be causing customers to abandon their carts.