In online shopping, cart abandonment is when a shopper adds items to their shopping cart but then leaves the site before completing the purchase. Basket abandonment is a significant problem for e-commerce businesses, as the average discontinuation rate is impressively high.
With such a high basket abandonment rate, e-commerce companies must have a strategy for re-engaging buyers who have abandoned their baskets. Proper emails are one such strategy; when done correctly, this technique can be highly effective in converting visitors into paying customers.
Most online buyers exit their baskets, and businesses lose out on potential revenue.
According to a study by Baymard Institute, the average basket abandonment rate is 69.23%. It means that for every 100 people who add items to their online basket, only 30 will go on to complete the purchase. For businesses, this can represent a significant loss in potential revenue.
There are many reasons why people may exit their carts, including:
- Shipping costs: 44% of people said they left their cart due to high shipping costs.
- Unexpected costs: 29% of people said they were surprised by additional costs (e.g., taxes, fees) at checkout.
- Complexity: 26% of people said they found the checkout process to be too long or complex. Some have also complained about too formal design that pushed them away from buying the product.
You can persuade people to finish their purchases by sending emails.
CA emails are automated electronic letters sent to people who have added items to their online shopping basket but have not completed the purchase. These emails typically include a reminder of the things left in the basket and an incentive to encourage recipients to complete their purchases (like a discount code). Modern techniques also include visual interest to stimulate the receiver to take the desired action. Animation maker by Vista, for example, can boost the chances of recipients finishing their purchases.
There are several benefits of using basket abandonment emails, including:
- More revenue: CA emails can recover up to 15% of lost sales, according to some estimates.
- Improved client satisfaction: By reminding customers of the items they used to be interested in, you can create a better customer experience and improve satisfaction levels.
- Better data for marketing purposes: By tracking who quits the page and leaves their baskets and why you can gain valuable insights into your customer’s needs and preferences. This information can be used to improve your marketing strategies.
There are two core steps you should take to set up a CAE system for your business:
- Create a list of quit items: You will need to create a list of the items left in people’s carts, along with information such as the price and a link to the product page.
- Set up automated emails: Once you have your list of such items, you can send automated emails to clients. People can receive them right after they leave their basket or at a later date (for example, the following later).
Offering tips for creating effective CAE.
There are a few things you can do to make sure your CAE are effective:
- Use urgency and scarcity: Include language that creates a sense of urgency and scarcity, such as “waste no time” or “limited time only.” It will encourage people to act quickly and complete their purchases.
- Personalize the message: Address the buyer by name and include relevant information, such as what items they left in their cart. It will make the message more personal and likely to convert.
- Offer a price reduction: Include a discount code in your email to motivate people to complete their purchases. You can offer a percentage off, free shipping, or another type of reinforcement.
Discussing the challenges of this strategy.
Making people change their minds is no easy task. Neither is composing a compelling CAE. There are a few challenges you need to be aware of when creating CAEs:
- Timing the emails: Try to time the emails correctly, so the customers receive them when they are still interested in the product before completely forgetting about them.
- Ensuring the discount is enticing but not too large: You want to offer a tempting deal to get people to complete their purchases but not so large that it eats into your profits.
- Avoiding spam filters: Make your emails not flagged as spam by email providers. To do this, avoid using language that is commonly used in spam emails (e.g., “free,” “act now,” “click here”) and make sure your subject line is clear and concise.
Summarizing the key points.
CAEs remind people of their unfinished purchases. Such emails differ in size and format, but they usually contain the items people were interested in buying but failed to finish the purchase and left the page. CAEs are excellent for re-encouraging people to complete the customer journey, bringing the enterprise numerous upsides. The latter typically are revenue increase, client satisfaction improvement, and data enhancement.
Now is the time to start if you’re not already using CAEs. By following the tips in this article, you can set up a system that will begin recovering lost sales and boost your business’s bottom line.