Call them abandoned carts or an e-retailers worst nightmare, people leaving without buying is a serious matter of concern for e-sellers.

Ecommerce traders have been combating abandoned carts ever since the first online store opened. Every business owners want to see his cart abandoners turn into buyers. And in order to do so, they need a well thought-out, multi-channel email strategy that will not only capture these abandoners but will turn them into loyal customers.

In this blog, we have put together some of the most time-tested and workable ways to persuade customers to purchase more than what they had left in their carts. But before we dig deeper into it, let’s take a look at the various situations where a customer decides to leave without buying.

• Situation #1 – The customer picks out a few products but is in no mood to buy them.

Many customers window shop – they’re just looking at your offerings till they find something really appealing. They then add it to their cart and leave because they were not there to shop in the first place.

• Situation #2 – The customer adds products to his/her cart but finds the checkout process too complicated.

A lengthy and confusing checkout process is a big turn off for many customers. If they cannot find their way out, they get agitated and leave the site altogether.

• Situation #3 – The customer selects a few items but is discouraged by an unexpected shipping costs

Unexpected shipping costs are a big reason visitors leave without purchasing. Hidden costs are a source of annoyance and cause up to 25% of your visitors to abandon their carts.

• Situation #4 – The customer chooses to buy certain products but is asked to create an account first

Another annoying thing that customers find is the site asking them to create an account to buy the product. This could lead to almost 22% of customers leaving items in their carts.

• Situation #5 – The customer decides to buy some items but has concerns about payment security

Not every person shopping online is as confident as us about digital payments. As such, many customers decide not to go ahead with the purchase even if they have the slightest apprehension about the payment options provided.

These are the most common situations when a visitor quits the buying process completely. However, we as marketers and strategists need to think how we can win these customers back in the most subtle way.

1. Abandoned Cart Email Sequences

The best way to recapture cart abandoners is by sending abandoned cart emails. These emails work best when they are sent in a sequence. Different e-tailers time their emails differently.

You may choose to send an email one hour after a subscriber abandons a cart, another one a day after, and then another one three days after the subscriber has abandoned the cart. Or you may simply choose to send a minimum of one a day, for five days.

No matter how you sequence it, your email should contain the following elements –

• Subject Line – A compelling and attention-grabbing email subject
• Product Image – Image(s) of the product(s) left in the cart
• Cart Link – A link back to the customer’s cart
• CTA – A clearly noticeable call-to-action
• Copy – A strong copy that reflects your brand
• Personalization – Personally addressed to the recipient

2. Cart Abandonment Emails with Social Proof

Customers are likely to trust other customers more than they trust you. And this is proven in that more than 85% of customers’ buying decisions are influenced by customer reviews about the product or service. As such, one way to persuade visitors to buy what they have abandoned in their cart is by providing social proof from other people who’ve bought your products.

Once a visitor leaves your site, there is little chance that he/she will be able to view the convincing customer reviews. In such a scenario, your cart abandonment emails offer you an opportunity to re-market, or a second chance to persuade someone to make a purchase.

In the email, you may tell your prospect that they have left highly-rated products in their shopping cart and mention star ratings alongside as a proof of the same. Or else, you can number of reviews and average rating the product has received to make the product more compelling.

3. Use Segmentation in your Re-marketing Campaigns

With marketers sending out offers and discounts to win back cart abandoners, it is evident that customers might be expecting such emails from you or maybe leaving the cart without purchasing to avail the above-said discounts.

Remember, your most loyal customers will not require any kind of persuasion. They buy from you because they like you. And if in there arises a situation where they don’t buy from you, they are the ones who need special attention and further convincing. First-time visitors need more persuasion. But that doesn’t you’ll blow a hole in your budget to win them back.

This is where segmentation helps.

When you segment your customers based on customer loyalty, you can easily target each segment with a different re-marketing sequence. You can personalize your email copy and offer an attractive discount to your regulars whereas, for those visiting you for the first time, you can use a loyalty/rewards program to offer points that the customer can redeem after the purchase.

4. Test your Campaigns

Testing your campaigns is the best way to find out what works best for you.

Running tests will help you understand whether you should add the recipient’s name in the subject line or the name of the product, or whether adding both will compel a click from the recipient.  You can also test the number of emails in the sequence. What will work best for you – three in a series or a series of four emails?

You can also optimize the subject line, copy, CTAs and design of the email to boost conversions. A well-thought-out change in any of these elements of your cart recovery emails can enhance its effectiveness and increase conversions by manifolds. So, perform tests to understand what the keys to your cart program success.

5. Employ different Channels along with Email

Though email is a very stable and scalable medium, its effectiveness can be enhanced by using various other channels along with it. Email is an integral part of the world of digital communications. But if marketers rely solely on this one channel, they’ll surely lag behind.

Some emerging medium that can be used effectively with email campaigns includes retargeting ads on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Many marketers are also employing Facebook Messenger to recover their abandoned carts.

Summing Up!

These are the five ways you can enhance the efficiency of your cart recovery campaigns. Think about how you can make your cart abandonment emails stand out. Once your campaign is up and running, gather the data and evaluate it to see how you can further improve your campaigns for more conversions.

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