Reducing eCommerce Cart Abandonment

Cart abandonment is a big and frustrating problem for most eCommerce stores. A study by Barilliance found that a whopping 78.65% of online shoppers never check out, leaving items sitting in their carts. One of the best ways to recover abandoned shopping carts is to send out emails to remind customers of the items they have waiting for them. Putting thought and effort into your reminder emails will help you convince the customer to take a second look. Here are some tips to help you craft the perfect email.

Check Your Website:

Before you worry about creating an email, make sure your website is optimized for all devices, and running smoothly. Websites that are slow or glitch are more likely to drive customers away out of frustration. If you find that there is a glitch or it’s loading slowly, fix the issue and see if your sales improve. It is important to check that your website is not only running smoothly on desktop computers, but laptops, tablets, and smartphones as well. Doing so will make it easy for customers to purchase from you, and encourage them to return to your site.

Use A Compelling Subject Line:

The first step to getting a customer to return to their shopping cart is convincing them to simply open the email. Create a subject line that lets them know the purpose of your email, but also intrigues them enough to read what you have to say. Try something like “You Forgot Something!” or “Did Something Go Wrong?”. Subject lines like these are easy and conversational, encouraging them to open the email.

Remind Them What They Left:

Sometimes shoppers left items in their cart because they had something come up and got distracted, or they were trying to choose between several items. In the case that they have forgotten what they had in their cart, show them a preview with a link so that they can take a second look. Often, they forgot how much they liked the item and will go through with the purchase.

Use A Call-To-Action:

Using a call-to-action (or CTA) helps push the customer towards purchasing in a non-aggressive way. Write a message letting them know that you saved their items for them, and they are waiting whenever they ready to check out. Include a button that says “ready to check out” or “view cart” to make the transaction as easy as possible for them.

Add An Incentive:

If you really want to encourage them to go through with their purchase, consider offering a small discount, such as 10% off. This will not lose you much profit and will seem like a great deal to them. You could also consider offering them free shipping or a small gift instead. Even something small like these ideas can make customers feel like they are getting a steal, and leave them feeling pleased with their purchase.

Add Urgency:

Another effective method for encouraging them to purchase with you is simply sending them an email stating that their items are selling out. This adds a sense of urgency to their decision and also affirms that this is a good purchase to make, since so many others want it as well.

While these are all helpful tips to help convert customers that have abandoned their carts, going to the root of the issue and figuring out why they are abandoning their carts in the first place is the best way to make more sales and gain a loyal customer base. Make sure to keep an eye on your conversion rates and listen to your customer’s feedback so that you can offer them the best experience possible!