It’s common for consumers to browse several sites until they are ready to proceed to a purchase. They may even add products to shopping carts, but forget to complete the order.
Cart abandonment is therefore a persistent problem for ecommerce brands, reaching a global average of 76.9% for Q2 2017. Why are consumers so hesitant to check out, to the extent that less than a quarter of them actually manage it?
According to Baymard, 61% of US online shoppers have abandoned a cart when they found out that the additional costs for their purchase were too high. 58.6% of respondents also said that they were abandoning a cart because they were not ready to buy yet.
However, the same report indicates that brands still have reason for optimism, as the conversion rate can be increased by 35.26% with an improved checkout design.
Source: SaleCycle
Cart abandonment emails, which notify a consumer about a shopping cart with products left in it, can be very effective in improving a brand’s conversion rate. But as with all types of email marketing, you need to get the approach just right in order to have the best chances of success.
Let’s look at 11 brands who are really nailing cart abandonment emails, and what retailers can take away from their techniques.
Net-A-Porter
Net-A-Porterhave opted for agentleapproachtoremindtheirconsumersaboutincompletepurchases. Thiswaythebrandavoidsanaggressivesalesapproachthatcouldwind up putting customers off completing their purchase.
Along with some information on theproductthatwasleft inthecart, thebrandalsoprovides 6 reasonsforpeopletoshopthroughtheirsite. Thisservesasagreatreminderofwhatthesitehastoofferandhowitcanhelpitscustomers.
(Read more...)SpadeSaturday
KateSpadeSaturday’scartabandonmentemailexcelsinbrandingandcopywritingwithitssimplicity, and also reminds customers that they won’t have to fork out for any additional costs for shipping – or for returns if the product isn’t to their liking. In other words, what do they have to lose by checking out?
Thedesignfacilitatesthecall-to-action,increasingthechancesofgrabbingtherecipients’attention.
Levi’s
It’scommonforcartabandonmentemailstoincludeadiscountorasavingcoupon, inanattempttoenticeconsumerstocompleteapurchase. Levi’ssendssimilaremailstoreducetheircartabandonmentrate, offeringadiscountforalimitedtime.
Thiscanbeaneffectivewaytoincreaseconversions, asit creates a senseofurgency, while also showingappreciationtopotentialcustomersbyofferingtheproductsatalowerprice.
ASOS
ASOSwantedtofocusonsimplicitywiththeircartabandonmentstrategy, and so createdasimpleandclearemailtoremindtheircustomerstocompletethe order.
Withthevisualcontentplacedatthecenter oftheemail, theimageservesasastrongreminderoftheproduct, whilethefooterthatoffersadditionaldetailsaboutfreeshippingandeasyreturnscanhelpconsumersmovetowardsapurchase.
Moreover, thecopycreatesasenseofurgency, encouragingconsumerstopurchasetheproductwhileit’sstillavailable. ThisisacommonyeteffectivemethodinecommercetoincreasesalesandASOSseemstobeawareofthebestwaytouseit.
Bonobos
Bonoboscertainlyknowhowtocreateauniquecartabandonmentemail. Thebrandusestheirauthentictonetocreateanappealingemailthatgrabstheconsumer’sattentionrightfromthetitle. Moreover, thecopyfocusesonofferinghelp, whilethecall-to-actionisclearandaimstoincreaseconversionwiththedirectapproach.
Thismakesagreatcombinationofauthenticity, engagedcustomerservice, andclearCTA, astrategythatcanincreaseconversionsthroughsuchemails.
WarbyParker
WarbyParkeraimstomaintainthebrand’stoneinthiscartabandonmentemail, remindingconsumersabouttheproductinthecartwith asoftapproach.
Moreover, aftermakingitclearthatthere’snopressureto purchase, thevisualcontenthopestocreateaconversion, byshowcasingtheproductinanappealingway.
Thestructureofthisemailiscommonamongcartabandonmentstrategies, especiallywhenbrandsaimforagentleapproachthatstillencouragesconsumerstocompleteapurchase.
Starbucks
Starbucksdecidedtorelyonvisualcontenttocreateanengagingemail, usingtheimagetocreateacleverresult. Moreover, thesuggestedproductsattheendoftheemailincreasethechancesofhavingacompletedpurchasefromeachconsumer.
Adidas
Adidascreatedacartabandonmentemailthatspeakstoitsaudience. Theusualmotivationalcontentisnowencouragingconsumerstocompleteapurchasebeforetheylosetheproduct.
Thestrategyalsotapsintotheemotionofurgency, creatinganexcellenttemplatethatstaystrue tothebrand’stoneofvoice.
NastyGal
NastyGaldecidedtouseacleverandappealingemailtoreminditsconsumersoftheirincompletepurchases. Thetoneofvoicereflectsthebrand, whiletheurgencyandtheclearcall-to-actionincreasesthechancesofaconversion.
Aeropostale
In this cart abandonment email by Aeropostale, the focus is not on the product in the consumer’s cart, but on the quirky image and the limited-time free shipping offer. Notice how the pattern on the model’s T-shirt co-ordinates with and draws attention to the ‘SHIP ON US’ lettering.
The overall effect is designed to make customers smile, reinforcing the brand’s fun image – and enticing them back to complete their purchase before the free shipping runs out.
DollarShaveClub
DollarShaveClubisknownforitsuniquebrandanditshumorousapproach, soexpectations arealreadyhigh. Fortunately, its witty and clever cart abandonment email more than justifies this reputation.
As Dollar Shave Club is a subscription product, the company needs to persuade customers to complete more than just a one-time purchase; they need to commit to spending money over a longer period. Dollar Shave Club achieves this by urging customers to “join the club”, making them feel like part of a bigger community – and shows off the different types of razor they can get at the same time.
Howtocreatesuccessfulcartabandonmentemails
Ifwehadtosummarizewhatwe’velearnedfrom these stand-out examples of cartabandonmentemails, we’dofferthefollowingtips.
Know youraudience
Thefirststeptoacartabandonmentemailstrategyistolearnasmanythingsaspossibleabouttherecipients. Findoutaboutthelanguagetheyuse, theirhabits, thebesttimesthey’dliketoreceivesuchanemailandthebestwaytoencouragethemtocompleteanorder. Thebestwaytomaximiseconversionistothinklikeyourconsumers.
Don’tbeannoying
It’simportanttofindthebesttimetosendeachemail. Thefirstemailcanbesent 24 hoursafterthecustomer’sincompletepurchase, withasecondemailafter 36–48 hours. Also, it’susefultocreateacopythatisnotsales-focused, asitreducesthechancesofaconversionwithadirectpushtowardsapurchase.
Personalizeyouremails
It’susefultosegmentyourconsumersbycreatingdifferentemails. Thiswayyouincreasethechancesofeffectivenessbycreatingrelevantcopyforeachaudience. Personalizationcanalsooccurinthewaystoencourageanaction, fromincreasedvisualcontenttoclevercopythatmayappealtoaspecifictargetgroup.
Addvalue
Oneofthebestwaystoincreaseconversationratesfromcartabandonmentistooffergenuinehelpandvaluewithyouremails. Whetherit’sadiscountcode, freeshipping, oradditionalcustomersupport, consumersliketofeelimportant – so show them why you value their custom.
Useautomation
Themosteffectivewaytocreatesuccessfulcartabandonmentemailsistosetupanautomatedprocess. Aseriesof 2–3 emailsthathavetobesentataspecifictimeframeforeachcustomercanbetime-consuming, butautomationtechnologycanmaketheprocessfaster.
Moreover, sophisticatedtechnologycanindicatethebesttimestosendeachmail, helpingbrandsup theirconversions even further.
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