What is an abandoned cart email?
An abandoned cart email is a message sent to online shoppers who have added products to their shopping cart but exited without completing the purchase.
The abandoned cart email acts as a reminder, nudging them about their unfinished transaction. This kind of email typically displays the products the customer left in the cart and may also offer incentives, like discounts or free shipping, to encourage the completion of the purchase. The goal is to re-engage the customer, guide them back to their cart, and facilitate the finalization of the sale.
What are the benefits of using abandoned cart emails?
There are a few key benefits to using abandoned cart emails:
- Increased Sales: Studies have shown that abandoned cart emails can recover an average of 15-25% of lost sales. This can be a huge boost to your business and can help you increase your profits.
- Increased Customer Engagement: When customers receive an abandoned cart email, it often reminds them of the items they left in their cart and encourages them to come back and finish their purchase. This can increase customer loyalty and encourage them to return to your store in the future.
- Improved Customer Retention: One of the biggest benefits of using abandoned cart emails is that they can help improve customer retention.
What are the best practices for abandoned cart emails?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best practices for abandoned cart emails will vary depending on the specifics of your business and its customers. However, some general best practices to keep in mind when creating abandoned cart emails include:
1. Timely Response:
Send the first email within 1-3 hours of cart abandonment. Customers’ memories are freshest then, increasing the chance they’ll return to complete the purchase.
2. Personalization:
Include the customer’s name and display the specific products they left in their cart. Personalized emails show customers you’re paying attention and increases the relevance of the message.
3. Offer Incentives:
Provide a limited-time discount or free shipping to motivate the customer to finalize their purchase. These offers can turn uncertainty into action.
4. Clear Call to Action (CTA):
Feature a prominent, easy-to-find button or link that takes the customer directly back to their cart. A straightforward CTA reduces friction and makes the process seamless.
5. Mobile-Friendly Design:
Ensure the email is optimized for mobile viewing. With many customers shopping on their phones, a mobile-responsive design ensures they can interact with the email effortlessly.
Checkout Headspace abandoned cart email example here.
What are some of the most common mistakes made with abandoned cart emails?
The most common mistake made with abandoned cart emails is not sending them at all. According to a study by Retention Science, around 68% of customers who abandon their carts do not receive an email reminder.
Some other common mistakes are:
- Not personalizing the email. Personalized abandoned cart emails have a 40% higher conversion rate than non-personalized ones.
- Not sending the email soon enough. The optimal time window for sending an abandoned cart email is within 24 hours of abandonment.
- Not including an incentive in the email. Sometimes, customers abandon their carts due to price concerns. If an abandoned cart email doesn’t address this potential hurdle by offering a discount, free shipping, or another incentive, it may miss an opportunity to convert a hesitant shopper. It’s essential to gauge when and how to introduce incentives to maximize their effectiveness.
- Making the CTA too difficult to follow. For example, if you want customers to return to your store, make sure the CTA links to your store’s homepage rather than a specific product page.
What should be included in an abandoned cart email?
There are a few things that should be included in an abandoned cart email:
- A reminder of the items that were left in the cart
- The date and time that the items were left in the cart
- The cost of the items in the cart
- A link to the checkout page
- A CTA to finish checking out
How can abandoned cart emails be tracked and measured?
Tracking and measuring the performance of abandoned cart emails is crucial to understand their effectiveness and identify areas for optimization. Here’s how they can be tracked and measured:
1. Open Rate:
This metric indicates how many recipients have opened the email. A high open rate suggests that your subject line is compelling, but if the open rate is lower than expected, you might need to experiment with different subject lines to see what resonates more with your audience.
2. Click-Through Rate (CTR):
This represents the percentage of email recipients who clicked on one or more links contained in the email. A high CTR means that your email content and design are engaging, while a low CTR might indicate that the call-to-action (CTA) isn’t compelling enough or the content isn’t resonating with the recipients.
3. Conversion Rate:
This is the percentage of recipients who clicked on the email and then completed a desired action, like finalizing the purchase. It’s the most crucial metric since it directly ties to revenue. If your conversion rate is low, you might need to reevaluate the incentives you’re offering or examine if there are friction points in the checkout process.
4. Revenue Generated:
By comparing the revenue generated from customers who were re-engaged through the abandoned cart email versus those who were not, you can determine the direct financial impact of your campaign.