Learn the Importance of Abandoned Cart Emails

What is an abandoned cart email?

An abandoned cart email is an email you send to a customer to let them know they have items sitting in their shopping cart. You don’t want to pressure people into making a purchase; abandoned cart emails are simply a way to gently remind customers that they didn’t finish their shopping trip.

The goal of an abandoned cart email is to remind shoppers about items they left in their cart, that way they can come back and check out if they still want to make a purchase. These emails actually produce great results in most cases, especially when customers are still interested in making a purchase.

One thing that’s important to remember when it comes to abandoned cart emails is that you don’t want to be too pushy. You don’t need to send dozens of reminders that somebody has items in their cart, but you don’t want to let them forget about the items in their cart, either. Sending abandoned cart emails is a delicate balance that can take some practice to figure out.

Why would someone abandon a cart?

You might be wondering why a customer would abandon a cart full of items in the first place. Sometimes it’s simply an accident, while other shoppers may have lost interest in making a purchase. The “why” is important when it comes to abandoned cart emails.

In many cases, people abandon a cart because they decide not to make a purchase. A shopper might feel like a purchase is too expensive for them, or they may simply feel like they don’t need to buy anything right now. These shoppers might still want to make a purchase down the road or at a slightly discounted price, but they need a little convincing.

Sometimes people who use mobile abandon carts by accident. Shoppers might add a few items to their cart, then switch to another app and forget about the purchase they were considering making. Depending on the phone and browser, shoppers may even return to their cart only to realize they’ve been logged out of their account.

While many shoppers who abandon carts may be willing to come back and make a purchase, some people abandon carts because they’re simply not interested in buying anything anymore. People may abandon carts if they feel your products aren’t what they’re looking for or are too expensive, or if they find a better deal or faster delivery from another store.

You don’t necessarily need to know why somebody abandoned their cart, but it’s important to remember that a gentle reminder or a slight discount may be enough to bring shoppers back to finish their purchase.

Abandoned cart email best practices

Getting emails right can be tough, especially if you’re trying to convince shoppers to come back and finish making a purchase. Understanding best practices and looking at abandoned cart email examples can help you write more effective emails without being too pushy.

Write a catchy subject line

When it comes to effective email marketing, subject lines are one of the most important things to focus on. Before readers even open your email, they’re going to look at the subject line. For many people, the subject line is a determining factor in whether an email is important enough to read or not. If your subject line grabs readers’ attention, they’re a lot more likely to read your email.

While the actual abandoned cart copy is important, the subject line is what sets the reader up for that copy. In addition to grabbing attention and getting readers to open your emails, your subject line should also set the reader up for the rest of the email. Make sure you tell people why you’re emailing them and how they can take action (by completing their purchase).

Know your audience

Knowing your audience is crucial no matter what type of email you’re writing, but it’s especially important if you want to write the best abandoned cart emails. You don’t want to be too pushy, so you need to know what kind of customers you’re dealing with. Are you emailing customers who have made purchases with you in the past, or are these first-time customers? Is it unusual for your customers to abandon their carts, or does it happen from time to time? Answering these simple questions can help you write a better abandoned cart email.

The better you know your audience, the better you can write for them. That being said, it’s still important to look at abandoned cart email examples and follow all the best practices if you want your emails to be as effective as possible.

Say what’s in the cart

If you’re trying to let shoppers know they’ve forgotten items in their cart, make sure you let them know what’s actually in their cart. Online shopping has become a popular activity for many, so your customers may not even remember what they were thinking about buying from you. Gently reminding shoppers that they have items in their carts and telling them what those items are can help guide them back to your website.

Keep in mind that there are several ways to show people what they left in their cart. While a list of items will work, most retailers use a sort of preview of the cart, which includes images of products, links to products, and more. A well-crafted section that shows what’s in users’ carts can give your abandoned shopping cart emails a big boost.

End with a call to action

Once you’ve figured out your subject line and all the body content, it’s time to wrap up your email. Every good marketing email should end with a call to action that lets the reader know what they can do if they want to take action. With abandoned cart emails, you can use your call to action to let people know where they can go to complete their purchases. If you want to give people an incentive to finish their purchase, you can offer a small discount or a bonus item upon checkout.

While a call to action is used to let readers know what to do after reading an email, you need to be careful about using pushy or sales-y language. Simply letting readers know they can visit your website and log in to complete their purchase is an effective way to end abandoned cart emails.

How to set up an abandoned cart email series

As is often the case with email marketing, your abandoned cart emails might not get customers’ attention right away. Some customers don’t check their email often, while others may ignore emails from businesses as a general rule. Because of this, it’s important to set up a series of abandoned cart emails to maximize your conversion rate.

Creating an abandoned cart series is actually easier than it sounds. Typically, you’ll want to send your first abandoned cart email an hour after the cart has been abandoned. If you don’t get a response, you can send an email 24 hours after the cart has been abandoned, and another one 72 hours after a cart has been abandoned.

It’s important to avoid being overly pushy when it comes to abandoned cart emails. You don’t want customers to feel like you’re forcing them to come back and finish a purchase; you’re just giving them a gentle nudge in the right direction.

Remind your customers what they’re missing

Abandoned cart emails are a great way to remind shoppers that they didn’t finish making a purchase, but following best practices is important. You don’t want to send too many abandoned cart emails, and you don’t want to be aggressive or pushy when you’re trying to convince people to come back and shop with you.

If you need a little help figuring out how to write abandoned cart emails that lead to increased sales, Mailchimp can help. With tons of templates and helpful automation tools, Mailchimp makes email marketing simple for businesses of all sizes. If your abandoned cart emails could use some work, give Mailchimp a try today.