Did you know the average cart abandonment rate is a whopping 70 percent? That means you may be leaving nearly three quarters of potential revenue on the table.
And as the biggest shopping weekend of the year approaches, it’s crucial to arm your brand with every marketing tool to help maximize conversions. If triggered emails aren’t already in your arsenal, they need to be.
Why do customers abandon their carts?
Let’s start from the beginning. Some of the most common reasons customers abandon their carts include high checkout costs (such as shipping and tax), brands requiring a login for customers to checkout, and complicated checkout processes.
Lack of payment methods is another cause. Customers expect options including buy now, pay later (BNPL). In fact, 58% of Gen Z used BNPL last year, and 41% of consumers are considering using buy now pay later services this year.
However, it’s also important to note that there may not be a particular reason for the abandoned cart, as sometimes shoppers never intend on completing their purchase, or plan to complete it at another day or time. So, how can you bring them back?
What is a cart abandonment email?
Cart abandonment emails, or shopping cart reminders, are emails that are triggered after a consumer abandons their cart. This email reminds the shopper of the items that they’ve left in their basket, and gently prompts the customer to continue their buyer’s journey and check out, sometimes with an incentive like a discount to complete their purchase.
In order to send the cart abandonment email, you must be GDPR compliant and know who your customer is, including their email address. Investing in your first-party data and partnering with a data vendor that has a robust identity network is a good place to start.
5 abandoned cart email examples
These abandoned cart email examples will give you inspiration for some of the most effective techniques to reel your customer back in and make your brand stand out this Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
1. Call to action
Remind your customer what they liked and let them know that product is still waiting for them, just a click away.
For example, UNIQLO reminded customers of the quality of the items left in their basket, such as this tailored jacket. By posing a question and using short, concise copy that reminds the shopper the jacket is designed for everyday wear and comfort, the shopper is prompted to reconsider their purchase.
2. Buy Now, Pay Later
Perhaps your customer abandoned their cart because of financial concerns. Reminding them they can use buy now, pay later options such as Klarna or Afterpay makes their purchase low risk.
Here, Too Faced used triggered email to remind their customers of the option to use buy now, pay later for their purchase alongside a 20% off offer. If your customers abandoned their cart over price concerns, then this is an enticing incentive to bring them back to site.
3. Learn more
Customers may leave their cart behind because they feel unsure about the product. To reassure them of their purchase, follow up with more information and recommendations based on their preferences.
For example, Diet-to-Go sent follow-up emails to customers who hadn’t completed their diabetic meal plan sign-up, informing them of the health benefits of their plan. Product-specific information was included, alongside a 25% discount (on a timer). This abandoned cart email was not only personalized, giving the customer more information about what they were signing up for, but also created a sense of urgency to get started.
4. Discounts and offers
Finally, perhaps the most popular of all abandoned cart emails: discounts! According to Capterra, 86% of online shoppers are more likely to try a new business if they have a coupon, while 39% are much more likely.
Here, Naked Nutrition offered the customer a subscribe and save discount based on items they’d previously viewed. Not only does this save the customer money and encourage conversion, but the subscription option enables future retargeting and may bring a stronger customer LTV.
5 tips to prevent cart abandonment in the first place
Maybe after all this, you’re still wondering what you could do to prevent the cart from being abandoned in the first place — so we’ve got a few ideas for you. However, remember that when customers leave their shopping cart behind, it’s not necessarily the end of that purchase (or the end of their journey with your brand).
1. Be transparent about costs
Keep your customer informed about costs at every stage of the purchase. They should know how much their items cost, the shipping price, and any discounts as early as possible. This can often be achieved with pop-ups that appear when hovering over the basket icon, and clear calculations and totals at check-out.
2. Offer promo codes or free shipping
If customers are worried about the cost — which many will be — let them breathe easy with a handy discount code pop-up, or encourage them to subscribe to your newsletter for a small percentage off their first or next order.
3. Simplify your checkout
Short and simple: The ideal checkout should be no longer than three pages, and keep the customer informed every step of the way. Remember to include as many payment options as possible so they can find a choice that suits them.
4. Utilize exit intent pop-ups
Exit intent pop-ups are pop-up windows triggered when a customer looks like they’re about to leave the site. These ads provide a much kinder user experience than ads that pop-up in the middle of their session, because they wait until the user has disengaged from the content rather than interrupting their experience. You may use these to stop the user from bouncing by offering a discount or another incentive to stay.
5. Optimize your site
No customer wants to deal with poor loading speeds or 404s. Make sure your website is desktop and mobile-friendly, and is set up with intuitive navigation, few form fields, and engaging imagery. Every detail counts.
Test different strategies to find best practices, keep email copy short and eye-catching, and tailor your emails to each customer’s behaviors and preferences. Happy emailing!