How to Write an Abandoned Cart Email

Shopping cart abandonment is a major issue for online retailers. An abandoned cart occurs when a customer places items in their online shopping cart, but leaves the site without completing the purchase. According to Baymard Institute, the average abandoned cart rate is 69.23% – meaning over two-thirds of online shopping carts are abandoned before checkout. This leaves a massive opportunity on the table to recover lost sales through abandoned cart emails.

When a customer abandons their cart, following up with targeted emails reminding them of the items left behind and enticing them back to complete the purchase can be highly effective. With the right email strategy, retailers have a second chance at converting abandoning shoppers into paying customers. Abandoned cart emails allow stores to re-engage customers and capture sales that would have otherwise been lost forever. The revenue recovery potential is clearly massive. In this guide, we’ll explore the best practices for creating abandoned cart emails that maximize conversion rates and recover your lost revenue.

Set Up Automated Abandoned Cart Emails

Setting up automated abandoned cart emails is the first step to recovering lost revenue. Here’s how to get it done in your email marketing platform:

1. Create a new campaign and choose the “Abandoned Cart” template if available. This will have preset content designed for abandoned carts.
2. Set the timing for sending the emails. Most platforms will allow you to set automated triggers like:
   • 30 minutes after abandonment
   • 1 hour after
   • 24 hours after
   • 2 days after
   • 7 days after

It’s recommended to send the first email soon after abandonment when the prospect is still engaged and send subsequent reminder emails spaced days apart.

1. Identify your abandoned cart audience. Segment buyers who added items to their cart but did not complete checkout in the last X days.
2. Customize the email content for your brand while preserving the placeholders for customer name and cart contents.
3. Activate the campaign and automated emails will now be triggered when a cart is abandoned.

The automation takes the work out of recovering abandoned carts. Now you can focus on optimizing the content to convert more lost prospects into recovered sales.

Personalize the Emails

Personalizing your abandoned cart emails by including the customer’s name and details about their cart contents can dramatically improve open and click rates. When a customer receives a generic, mass email it’s easy to ignore. But when the email refers to them by name and shows the items they left behind, it grabs their attention.

For example, instead of a generic subject line like “Complete Your Purchase”, make it personal like “John, your cart is still waiting for you!”. In the body content, call out the specific products they added to their cart but never bought. This level of personalization makes it clear the message was meant for them, and provides a compelling reminder of what they were interested in.

According to statistics, personalized abandoned cart emails have:

• 22% higher open rates
• 68% higher click rates
• 10% increase in conversion rates

The extra effort to include personal details tells the customer you value their business and aren’t just sending a robotic auto-email. It establishes a relationship and makes them more receptive to your call-to-action. So don’t forget to insert the customer’s first name, and list their abandoned cart contents whenever possible. This personal touch can significantly boost abandoned cart recovery.

Create Urgency with Countdown Timers

One effective tactic to spur customers to complete their purchase is to create a sense of urgency and scarcity. You can do this by including countdown timers and limited-time promotional offers in your abandoned cart emails.

For example, you could say “Complete your purchase in the next 24 hours to get 20% off – countdown clock graphics”. The visual cue of a ticking countdown timer makes the deal seem more scarce and gets customers to act quickly before they miss out.

Similarly, limited-time offers like “Get free shipping when you complete your order by Friday at midnight!” also create urgency. By implying the deal is short-lived or expiring soon, you encourage recipients to buy now instead of putting it off.

When using scarcity and urgency tactics, make sure the offers are genuinely time-bound and not deceptive. You also want to strike the right balance – urgency can boost conversions but too aggressive tactics may backfire. Test different timeframes and incentives to see what motivates your customers without being overly pushy.

With the right kind of limited-time deal or expiring discount, you can nudge procrastinating customers towards conversion and recover more of your abandoned cart revenue. Just make sure to A/B test your copy and urgency tactics before sending at scale.

Offer Incentives to Recover Carts

Offering discounts, promo codes, and other incentives is a proven way to motivate customers to complete their purchase after abandoning their cart. According to Baymard Institute, over 60% of shoppers will purchase when presented with an abandoned cart discount.

Some of the most effective incentives include:

• Percentage discounts: Offer customers 10-15% off their entire purchase or cart contents to nudge them to checkout. Make sure to include discount code details directly in the email.
• Free shipping: Covering shipping costs makes the deal more enticing. Consider free standard shipping or upgrade to expedited shipping for free.
• Bonus gift: Sweeten the deal by adding in a free gift like a sample product. This creates a sense of urgency and added value.
• Loyalty rewards: For returning customers, promote loyalty points, member discounts, or early access to sales.
• Countdown timer: A timed discount or promotion creates scarcity and prompts quicker action. “Get 10% off if you complete your purchase in the next 2 hours.”
• BOGO offer: A classic incentive, buy-one-get-one free deals appeal to bargain hunters.

The key is to test different incentives and optimize based on results over time. Experiment with the type, value, and promotion of the incentive. With the right offer, you can recover carts and sales that may otherwise be lost.