Cart abandonment is a common phenomenon that e-commerce stores sadly have to face. According to Statista, the average cart abandonment rate is as high as 70%.
While that’s not good news, all these shoppers are potential customers who could boost your sales phenomenally when re-engaged effectively. That’s where abandoned cart emails come into the picture.
In this article, we’ll discuss seven abandoned cart email best practices trusted by experts. These can help you craft compelling emails to re-engage potential customers and recapture lost sales.
7 best practices for cart abandonment emails
Sending abandoned cart emails is highly effective. Based on research conducted by Omnisend, about 46% of abandoned cart emails are opened, with 13% of the email users clicking through them. Of these, more than 3% buy a product (see the image below).
Crafting a successful abandoned cart email goes beyond simply tweaking an existing email template or addressing your recipient by their name. Every email needs to be carefully constructed to improve open and click-through rates.
Below are seven abandoned cart email best practices you should follow to get the best results.
Crafting a successful abandoned cart email goes beyond simply tweaking an existing email template or addressing your recipient by their name. Every email needs to be carefully constructed to improve open and click-through rates.
Below are seven abandoned cart email best practices you should follow to get the best results.
1. Write a compelling subject line
Your email’s subject line is the first thing that your recipients see. They’re more likely to open your abandoned cart email if the subject line grabs their attention.
That’s why you should create subject lines that intrigue the readers from the get-go. The most-effective subject lines have the following characteristics: –
- Are short and precise, revealing just enough detail about the email’s content.
- Include an element of benefit
- Create a sense of urgency to encourage immediate action
2. Send your abandoned cart emails promptly
When it comes to sending your abandoned cart emails, timing is key. Striking while the iron is hot enhances the chances of re-engaging a potential buyer after they’ve abandoned their cart.
Send your email in an hour or two after a shopper abandons their cart.
While sending one email may be better than sending none, we recommend sending three, as this approach has been proven to produce the best returns.
Based on expert abandoned cart email best practices, these three emails should be sent at these specific times:
- The first email: Roughly an hour after cart abandonment
- The second email: 12 hours after cart abandonment
- The third email: 24 hours after cart abandonment
3. Have a clean design with clear CTA
Cluttered emails can overwhelm your recipients and detract them from your main message. So create a simple, minimalist design that will make the purpose of your email clear while staying on-brand.
Use easy-to-read fonts, ample white space, and a limited color palette that aligns with your brand. This minimalistic abandoned cart email by Nike, for instance, ticks all the boxes.
Also, your abandoned cart email should have a clear and compelling call to action (CTA) that inspires your customers to take action.
You can make your CTA stand out by: –
- Placing it in a prominent location, preferably above the fold, so readers can spot it easily.
- Using bold and slightly larger text for the CTA to make it more noticeable
Add CTA buttons that lead directly to the product page or the user’s cart to simplify the buying process.
4. Personalize your message
When your customers receive information that relates to their interests or solves their problems, they’re more likely to engage.
This could result in more people opening your abandoned cart email and clicking on the purchase links.
Remember, personalizing your message goes beyond addressing your customers by their names. Ensure you add the items they left in their cart to re-ignite their interest.
You can also include personalized product recommendations. This can help increase your email’s click rate since these recommendations align with what your buyers have already shown an interest in.
5. Use social proof
Add social proof to your emails to establish trust with potential customers. When shoppers see that others have had a positive experience with your products, they’re more likely to trust your brand and complete their purchases.
Furthermore, with more successful conversions from your emails, the overall cost per conversion will decrease, ultimately lowering your email marketing cost.
Some ways to add social proof to your abandoned cart emails include: –
- Showcasing reviews and testimonials from satisfied customers.
- Adding screenshots or links to social media posts where customers have shared their positive experiences with the products
- Highlighting if the abandoned item is a bestseller, indicating that it’s popular and trusted by many
6. Offer Incentives
Offering incentives is among the most effective strategies to win back customers who’ve abandoned their carts. They give people a reason to buy and incentivize them to complete their purchases.
Below are a few examples of incentives you can offer your customers: –
- Discount codes: Offer a flat rate or percentage discount on the items in the abandoned cart
- Exclusive offers: Provide exclusive promotions that are only applicable to those with abandoned carts
- Free shipping: Provide free shipping on items in the abandoned cart (see the image below)
7. Induce a sense of urgency
Urgency compels action. Customers might act quickly when they notice a time limitation or fear missing out on a great deal.
Creating a sense of urgency with your emails can motivate potential buyers to return to their abandoned carts and complete their purchases.
Here are some tactics that can help you create a sense of urgency in your abandoned cart emails: –
- Include a special discount or promotion that’s only available for a limited time
- Notify the customers when the items in their cart are running low in stock
- Add countdown timers in the emails to visually communicate the urgency
Wrapping up
Cart abandonment may be an unavoidable part of online shopping, but abandoned cart emails can help e-commerce marketers overcome it.
Follow these abandoned cart email best practices to recover lost sales and boost your revenue.
Don’t wait to get started. Elevate your cart abandonment email strategy today with these top practices. Good luck!
Author:
Stacy Kimbell is a digital nomad and a co-founder of Email Tools Guide. She brings ten years of hands-on experience in email marketing to the table. For many years Stacy has been building email marketing strategies and campaigns for a diverse range of businesses, both online and offline.
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