How to Write an Abandoned Cart Email and Why It Matters

If people are loading their carts and not completing their purchase on your e-commerce site, it might be time to start asking what you can do about it in this New Year. One way to get higher purchase conversion rates is by sending out abandoned cart emails once people leave your online site. This remarketing strategy has been successful for many different sites, but to some extent success is all about how you approach it. By writing awesome abandoned cart emails, you increase your chances of getting lost customers back. So how do you do it? Check out some examples and tips below.

To start: What is an abandoned cart email?

An abandoned cart email is an email you send out to anyone who has put items from your e-commerce store in their basket, but did not follow-through with purchase. It is a way to remind people of their incomplete purchase, but also to make sure you are taking every opportunity for sales with interested customers.

Note: This email marketing strategy only works if the user is logged in at the time of shopping, thus, it is also important to make sure you have a way to get their information once they start perusing your site. For many, this happens through social logins and subscriber lists.

Why do these emails matter?

If you think about it, the person who decided to abandon your cart engaged with your checkout page, so they also showed you that they were at least somewhat interested in purchasing. This is a powerful combination. If you do not think losing customers is affecting you, I recommend that you start measuring and recording the number of “drop offs” (cart-abandoners) from checkout to receipt so you can then you can use your average order value to determine the revenue you would have earned had these individuals followed through with their purchase. You can do this through Google Analytics here.

I think you will find that there is opportunity for a lot of extra revenue by reaching out to these potential customers. You’ll find that the best way to learn how to write an email is to look at examples, so below goes through examples of major companies who are doing the abandon shopping cart email really well. Some are clever, some just really give the customer the impression that they missed out on what they really wanted. In my opinion, all of these cases are exemplary examples of how to write an abandoned cart email.

TopShop: Two CTA Buttons

TopShop addresses their customers by reminding them that they have left their “super stylish items” behind. Along with the picture of a model wearing a super stylish outfit, this is a hard argument to beat. Notice the call to action button with the opportunity to “continue shopping” is also on the page twice. There is also a notice immediately under the top banner that customer service is available to help with anything the customer might need. Overall, I like this example because it is simple, but it also gets all of the necessary points across in an abandoned cart email.

Office Max: Offers an Incentive

Office Max has an effective email for a couple of reasons. First, they utilize the image of a shopping cart, which of course isn’t necessary, but it reminds people of their recent shopping experience. Secondly, they offer incentive for shopping with them by stating that orders of $50 or more get free shipping. While you may not be able to offer free shipping, even a smaller incentive can go a long way. You don’t want to give the impression that every time someone abandons a cart they are going to be able to get a better discount, but you might want to consider the occasional use of this feature to lure back in some of the customers you have lost.

Sephora: Creates a Sense of Urgency

Sephora also has a nice way of approaching the abandoned cart email with a “reminder” format. People respond well to things that remind them of their own strategies and preferences. This email appeals to the “to-do list” type, with a “don’t forget” sort of memo, and it is really effective! They state that there are items remaining in the cart, but they also express the fact that they may not be there for long with a “get them before they’re gone” warning. This creates a sense of urgency.

Finally, they also have 3 other points which they have cleverly put on their list graphic: (1) free samples with every order (2) free shipping on orders of $50 or more and (3) weekly specials. What I like about these incentives is that two of three are not really costing the company much money, yet the customer feels that by going back they are going to be getting something more than they left. Like in the Office Max example you might not be able to offer free shipping, but you can definitely offer “weekly specials” and possibly even free samples, depending on what business you are in. These mentions in an abandoned cart email often make the difference of whether or not people will be returning.

Kate Spade: Mentions Related Items

There are several things that the Kate Spade website does right here. I really like their whisper approach with the “psst…you’ve left something behind” and again, they make use of familiar reminder imagery with a string tied around the finger in the graphic that they chose (similar to Sephora’s to-do list). They also offer 15% off with a promotional code to help the customer make up their mind. Lastly, they have a section that offers additional products with the “you might also like” in order to get the interest of shoppers and have them go back to the initial shopping experience.

The Takeaway

These excellent abandoned shopping cart emails do some things really well, and they are ideal types of how you might consider writing your own abandoned cart email. To quickly highlight some of the features that make for awesome abandoned cart emails once again:

• Some kind of incentive, this may be a discount or access to weekly promotions
• Clean and clear graphics, which use imagery to remind shoppers of their previous experience on your site
• Language that encourages them to go back to your site
• Create a sense of urgency, so that they don’t feel like those items will be around forever

These examples show that there are many ways to get creative with the abandoned cart email, however, there are also common features that all of them share. In order to write successful emails of this genre, you want to be sure you aim to do the bulleted points that are similar in all of these emails. You can also add your own creative twist and give emails the personality and voice that you utilize in other marketing materials for your brand.

If you find that you struggle with email marketing, you may want to consider working with an email marketing company like The Miami SEO Company that will help you get these marketing materials to the level you will need to be successful.

Do you have experience with remarketing email techniques? Do you find other strategies helpful for reaching your goals? Let us know in the comments section below.

About The Author

Jason Hawkins / http://www.themiamiseocompany.com

Jason Hawkins is the CEO & Co-Founder of The Miami SEO Company. He has over ten years of experience in search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization and lead generation. His core responsibilities include identifying ways to increase value of services rendered, training staff on advanced SEO topics, and A/B testing internal processes to consistently improve client return on investment.