Abandoned Shopping Cart Email

According to the Baymard Institute, the rate of shopping cart abandonment in ecommerce sits solidly at around 70%. This is a lot of interested customers browsing, adding to cart, and abandoning their would-be purchases. The challenge for ecommerce sites is how to get these customers back to realize these purchases.

The best way to go about abandoned shopping carts is to send a transactional email shortly after, typically within 12 to 24 hours, reminding them of items left abandoned in their cart. In some instances, a person may have become sidetracked while shopping, and a reminder is all they need. With a small promotion or incentive, they’ll be more likely to get back to their cart and complete their purchases.

A few ways to improve your cart abandonment emails include:

Use plain text – Your key message should be communicated in plain text format, so customers don’t have to enable images in order to see what your email has to say. Including a simple link that will direct them back to the shopping cart is effective.

Remind them what’s in there – In some instances, customers may have become sidetracked, forgetting all of what they had in their cart to begin with. Reminding them of items left abandoned can get them excited about picking back up where they left off.

Communicate an incentive – Incentives work wonders in abandoned shopping cart cases. If you’re offering an incentive like free shipping or a percentage discount, communicate it plainly and clearly. If an item is close to running out of stock, communicate this as well.

Include a clear call to action – A single concise CTA, or call to action, is most effective and should be included in every cart abandonment email.