For e-commerce business owners, one of the biggest stressors that can negatively impact business is cart abandonment. This happens when an online shopper clicks on a product to “add to cart” but decides not to follow through with the act of making the purchase.
Unfortunately, cart abandonment happens...a lot.
By the spring of 2020, 88.05% of online consumers abandoned their online orders — which converts to a staggering amount of revenue loss for our e-commerce store owners. If you are sadly shaking your head, then you know what I am talking about.
But there is a solution if you haven’t tried it. It’s a simple, time-efficient, and cost-effective way to boost those abandoned cart conversion rates. It’s called the abandoned cart email.
What Is an Abandoned Cart Email?
You may or may not have tried this...it’s email marketing. Email marketing in itself generates $38 for every $1 spent which is a staggering rate of return on investment (ROI) for you — that’s a 3800% ROI!
First of all, you will need to have a customer’s email address for this to work. Once that’s established and you’ve already sent a welcome email (it’s only polite that you introduce yourself!) — then you can easily implement this strategy.
An abandoned cart email is what you will send to:
Follow up on a customer when an item was added to the cart, was in the middle of the checkout process, and left the site without making a purchase.
Remind a customer that she left something behind in her cart and to lure her back to complete her purchase.
You may be thinking, “I’ve already tried this and it didn’t work.” Maybe these statistics will convince you it’s worth a try...again. Almost half of consumers will open a cart abandonment email, and for those who click-through — 50% of people will purchase. And studies have shown that sending a series of 3 abandoned cart emails have resulted in 69% more sales than a single email.
Interested now? Come on then. Let’s convince our customers to follow through on that transaction and let’s boost your click-to-purchase conversion rates.
Here are some surefire ways to customize your abandoned cart emails so that they stand out from the clutter of your shoppers’ inboxes.
Here Are 6 Easy Strategies to Boost Your Abandoned Cart Conversions with an Email.
1. Create a Punchy Subject Line.
More often than not, we will open an email from a sender who we trust — especially if we like the subject line. In fact, 35% of consumers will open an email based on the subject line alone.
This tells you just how important your subject lines are. So when you are crafting those subject lines — make sure that they are unique and that they snag your customer’s attention. Create a sense of urgency and announce product scarcity in the subject line. This is the place to use a clear call to action.
Don’t be shy. Remind your customer what she left behind in her cart. You can be direct — and creative.
2. Personalize the Heck Out of Your Email.
Here’s something else to consider since we’re on the topic of attention-grabbing subject lines — have you tried using individual names? Yes, your customer’s name. Your open rate can be boosted by 50% with just a personalized subject line.
You’ll start to see the impact of what personalizing an email can do for your business. But if this process is a tad bit too much to take on — you can still personalize your email by using your company’s name, industry, or topic of interest instead.
3. The “Proof” Is in the Pudding.
Um. The social proof — that is. Customer testimonials and product reviews are extremely important factors in consumer purchasing decision making.
As a matter of fact, 95% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase. Including product reviews and ratings in your abandoned cart emails are highly recommended — and in doing so — you are simultaneously building a rapport and gaining the trust of your clients.
Ultimately, your customers will be convinced and will convert.
4. Give Them an Offer They Can’t Refuse.
A strategic tactic in an abandoned cart email is offering your customer a perk with her purchase. Have you tried giving away free money? It’s called discounts.
Include a 10% discount code with a link back to the abandoned item or offer a 15% discount off of her next purchase. Or, say if a purchase of a $100 was made a customer would receive $10 off of her total. The enticement is there!
Or have you considered a loyalty program or VIP perks? Customers want to level up to the next tier in a loyalty program because the offers are too good to refuse. Apparently, 51% of consumers will open an abandoned cart email just for loyalty program rewards.
Discounts are easy to offer — just make sure that whatever you decide that it’s right for your business. Free shipping or a little gift like a company tote bag wouldn’t hurt either!
5. Interactive Emails...Say What?!
Needless to say, we are living in the world of the millennials. The number of millennials in our world — that’s 72.1 million if you must know — have surpassed the baby boomers. With 54% of millennials making their purchases online, ensuring that your email marketing targets these young guns is no joke.
Evidently, using emojis in the subject line increased open rates. And generally speaking, people don’t have a lot of time to read — so why would they want to read your ad? Replace all that unnecessary text with icons, slideshows, GIFs, and videos. Adding videos to your emails alone can up the click rate by 300%!
This tactic may be off the beaten path, but with the right amount of attractive visuals and graphics — it’s worth a try. Just make sure your visuals don’t slow down the loading speed of your email. See the next tip for why that’s crucial.
6. Make It Mobile-Friendly.
Your grandma has a phone and your neighbor’s 8-year-old has a phone. It shouldn’t be a surprise that 61% of emails today are open and read — on a phone. This is why you should ensure that your emails are optimized for the smartphone.
Currently, the open rate for emails on smartphones has surpassed the open rate for desktops. And if your email isn’t mobile-friendly...well, it’ll probably get deleted in under 15 seconds.
With these statistics, it’s easy to understand why optimizing your emails for smartphones is important for your business and the success of your email marketing. Use buttons instead of links. Use small image files. Use plenty of white space. You get the idea. Get your message across with minimal fluff and let’s complete that abandoned cart transaction. Follow through with an easy checkout system that will make our mobile users click-happy.
Ready to Do This?
Now, don’t wait too long to send out that abandoned cart email. Shoot it out within 24 hours so that your customer doesn’t forget about that item that she really wanted...like just a minute ago!
