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Sending abandoned cart emails to recover lost sales is a popular tactic among successful online stores. It’s also one you can easily use to help your business grow.

Keep reading for more information. This guide covers what abandoned carts are and how the right email strategy can prevent them from hurting your shop.

What are abandoned carts?

An online shopper abandons a cart when they add items to a cart but don’t complete their purchase. This is more common than some realize. Data from Coresight Research shows that more than 74% of shoppers abandon their online shopping carts before purchasing.

Cart abandonment happens for many potential reasons. Some online shoppers aren’t certain they want to spend their money on certain products or services, and back out before doing so. Other common reasons for shopping cart abandonment include (but aren’t limited to):

• The checkout process takes too long
• Another distraction redirects a shopper’s attention
• A technical issue prevents a shopper from completing a purchase
• Extra costs surprise shoppers, such as unexpected shipping costs
• Security concerns
• Return policies are unclear or unsatisfactory.

How abandoned carts can hurt your business

Sales drive the growth of your online store. Cart abandonment hurts your ecommerce store by depriving it of revenue.

Don’t assume a shopper who’s abandoned their cart is entirely unwilling to finish buying the items in it. Data indicates approximately 30% of online shoppers who abandon their carts eventually purchase the items in those abandoned carts at later dates.

A strong abandoned cart email strategy can play a major role in helping your business recover lost sales. Taking the time to develop and implement one is an investment likely to yield measurable returns.

Elements of a great abandoned cart email

Not every abandoned cart email strategy is equally effective. An abandoned cart email that successfully entices lost customers must include these elements:

Subject line

There’s no standardized template for the ideal abandoned cart email subject line. The right subject line for an abandoned cart email will vary depending on the email’s contents.

For example, perhaps you’re trying to recover lost customers by offering a coupon code. Your email subject line should reflect this.

If you’re not offering a discount code, be sure to craft a subject line that reminds a user they have an abandoned cart waiting for them. You can use simple language when doing such, such as “We’ve saved your cart for you,” although you may want to consider your brand’s unique identity and voice when writing a subject line.

Your main goal is to simply ensure cart abandoners are properly reminded of their waiting carts.

Timing of send

Timing your abandoned cart email sequence properly is vital. Experts recommend sending the first reminder email within an hour of a cart being abandoned. They suggest then waiting another 24 hours (at least) before sending a follow up email.

After 48 hours, if you plan on offering an incentive such as a discount code, you should send an email accordingly.

Call to action

The basic structure of an abandoned cart email may be relatively similar to that of a landing page or even a checkout page. Specifically, your email should include a call to action that asks a lost customer to complete their purchase.

13 Abandoned Cart Emails to Recover Lost Sales

Use SafeOpt to send abandoned cart emails

Sending a coupon or discount code is an easy way to lure a customer back in after they’ve abandoned their cart. With SafeOpt, sending such emails is quick and simple. SafeOpt even lets you send emails to shoppers who aren’t in your customer database, all while remaining compliant with email and privacy regulations.

SafeOpt also works on a cost-per-action model. This ensures you’re only paying when you get more sales or recover lost revenue. Try SafeOpt today to learn more about what it can do for you.

Promotions

A coupon code isn’t the only type of promotion you can offer via email using a service like SafeOpt. If you can’t justify discounting a product’s price, another potential way to convince a shopper to finish a purchase is to offer free shipping, a two-for-one deal, or some other incentive.

Reminders

Don’t assume customers who’ve abandoned their shopping carts will remember those carts exist. A typical abandoned cart email template often consists of a basic reminder letting a shopper know they have a purchase to complete.

Create a sense of scarcity

Generating a “sense of scarcity” in consumers has remained a popular marketing tactic for decades because it works. A person may be more likely to buy a product now instead of later if they believe a product is in short supply or a promotion is only available for a limited time.

In abandoned cart emails, you could generate a sense of scarcity with such language as “Hurry up! The items in your cart are only available for [amount of time]!”

Include testimonials

Testimonials and reviews from other customers offer “social proof.” Sales trends indicate consumers are often more inclined to buy products when others vouch for them. Take advantage of this by including testimonials in an abandoned cart email.

Show the product

A strong abandoned cart email template may include space where you can display pictures and videos that show a product in action. These elements may remind a shopper why they considered buying the product in the first place.

Emphasize ‘scannability’

Odds are many of your customers are reading abandoned cart emails on their phones. Format these emails accordingly. Use bullet points, headers, and other such formatting elements to clearly express the benefits a product in an abandoned cart offers.

Read your emails on small devices before sending them to confirm they make the right impressions.

Offering help

A confusing checkout process is among the most commonly cited reasons shoppers give for abandoning carts. If applicable, send an email offering a simple way you can help a shopper make a purchase. For example, a clear call to action may indicate a shopper only has to take a few extra steps to finish buying an item or scheduling a service.

Humor

Avoid being pushy when attempting to recover lost sales via email. One way to come across as more friendly to a customer is to use humor.

For instance, some brands include jokes in their abandoned cart emails referencing the fact that a shopper may have “sobered up” and thus decided not to buy an item, going on to point out that even a sober person could justify completing the purchase due to the strengths the products offer.

Answering questions

Maybe a potential customer abandoned their cart because they had unanswered questions about a product or service. Consider testing this theory by sending an email with links to FAQs pages and similar resources.

Personalization

Including a recipient’s name in the subject line and text of an abandoned cart email can allow the message to come across as being more personalized and less salesy. Use this tactic if you notice your abandoned cart emails have low open rates.

Cross-selling emails

Your primary goal when sending an abandoned cart email is to convince a shopper to purchase an item they’ve already placed in their cart. However, this can also be an opportunity to cross-sell if your emails highlight other products that may interest a shopper.

Emphasizing security

Some shoppers abandon carts due to security concerns. Address this in an abandoned cart email by including thorough information regarding the security features your online store uses.

Recover Lost Sales With These 13 Abandoned Cart Emails

Not everyone who adds items to a cart at an online store will finish making a purchase. That said, statistics reveal shoppers are more inclined to complete their purchases later if they’re properly reminded.

Is shopping cart abandonment preventing your ecommerce store from thriving? Try sending these abandoned cart emails to fix that.

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