I’ll admit it — I’m a cart abandoner. (A digital cart abandoner, that is. I can’t say I’ve ever filled a cart with items IRL and left it in an aisle halfway through my shop.) What I will do is make a cart swiping on my phone during commercials on Hulu, come back to it later, then create a whole new cart a week later that contains some of those items. Sometimes, I’ll create one during my lunch break then save it for when I’m home on my desktop and I can really search through that sale section. But abandoned does not mean forever.
The average rate of cart abandonment for ecommerce shoppers is 70%, meaning that every 7 out of 10 carts that get filled online are ditched. For mobile shoppers, that number jumps even higher to 86% of carts being abandoned— a number that is sure to keep increasing as more and more online stores release their own shopping apps (I’m looking at you, the American Eagle app. I wish I knew how to quit you.).
The abandoned cart phenomenon hasn’t gone unnoticed by ecommerce stores. They are losing $18 billion a year because of it, after all. It would be hard to miss it if a chunk of change that size was missing from your wallet. So, how do online retailers battle back against this multi-billion dollar beast? With abandoned cart and abandoned cart recovery emails along with strategies for retargeting across platforms
Abandoned cart emails are an essential part of any fully optimized, efficient ecommerce customer experience. Think of them as a safety. Of course, the ideal is to prevent carts from ever being abandoned. But when you think of abandoned carts as opportunities for re-engagement rather than lost opportunities altogether, you open up a whole world of potential customers who are just a click away from completing their purchase.
Do abandoned cart emails work?
In a word: yes! With the use of abandoned cart emails, companies with average order sizes of $100 - $500 recover 4-5% of abandoned carts. If you aren’t yet swayed by these numbers, you should also know that abandoned cart emails have an average open rate of 41% and a click through rate of 9.5%— both numbers that are above the industry average for marketing emails.
To maximize ROI of abandoned cart emails, you’ll want to optimize them to increase open rates. Here are our abandoned cart email best practices that you can use to get those emails opened and clicked through.
Abandoned Cart Email Best Practices
- Use bright CTAs to entice shoppers to revisit their abandoned cart
- Consistently update your abandoned cart email templates so they always match your brand voice
- Keep your subject lines fun (what have you got to lose?)
- Personalize these emails by referencing the shopper by name and directly referencing the products they abandoned
- Send abandoned cart emails 40 minutes after the cart has been abandoned to increase conversion rates
- Depending on the product, you may want to offer a discount in abandon cart emails— but be warned, if you offer too many discounts your customers will begin to expect them
- Include additional information like product availability, how to qualify for free shipping, and customer service contact info to mitigate fears
- Use these emails as an opportunity to be extra friendly or silly— as long as it still fits in to your brand voice
- Include a sense of urgency if a product in their cart is selling out— but don’t practice false urgency by lying to clients and saying products are selling out when they really aren’t. Customers will be able to spot this behavior as being spammy and icky
- Offer free shipping or remind customers of your quick shipping capabilities by saying something like “get this in 3 days if you order by midnight”
4 Abandoned Cart Email Examples
Now that we know what we’re looking for, let’s check out some of the abandoned cart emails that have landed in my inbox to see how they utilize these best practices and inject the emails with their brand personality to convince me to revisit my cart.
Flo
Subject line: Your Cart Misses You! 🛒
Preview text: PMS doesn't have to suck
Source: Flo
Beautiful colors and a simple design that funnels naturally down to the CTA, this abandoned cart email I got from Flo has everything you want in an abandoned cart email in one sleek, lovely package. If all else fails, it’s always a good idea to call your customers “babe” (if your audience is full of babes).
Business & Pleasure
Subject line: Your cart is about to expire.
Source: Business & Pleasure
With three different linked opportunities for me to return to my cart in this one abandoned cart email alone, Business & Pleasure’s email toes the line of being overcrowded. But instead of overwhelming the customer, their bold copy choices allow the customer to naturally work through this email instead of feeling pressured.
Ruggable
Subject line: You’ve unlocked an exclusive discount!
Preview text: But it won’t last long
Source: Ruggable
This abandoned cart email from Ruggable has so many different moving carts that at first glance you don’t even realize its true purpose. By including so many product recommendations and customized CTAs in this abandoned cart email, Ruggable is turning what could be a simple notification email into a full blown marketing opportunity.
Wayfair
Subject line: An item in your cart is very popular!
Preview text: The Beckstead Southwestern Teal/Gray Area Rug is still in your Wayfair
shopping cart! FREE Shipping Over $35* & Financing Available
Source: Wayfair
(To answer your question: yes, I am in the market for a new rug. What gave it away?)
The subject line of this abandoned cart email from Wayfair was “An item in your cart is very popular!” and if that wasn’t enough to pull me back into their homesite for more shopping, this optimized email was sure to do the trick. Thanks to intentional pops of color and an abundance of additional recommended items, this email reminds the shopper exactly why they kept coming back to this item.
7 Abandoned Cart Recovery Email Templates
When it comes to choosing the right abandoned cart recovery email to send to your customers, you’ll be better off in the long run if you stick to a template that works. Depending on the tone of your brand, your template will either skew more creative or more serious. When rethinking your retargeting strategy, use these abandoned cart email templates as inspiration, tailoring to your brand’s needs.
1. Silly
Subject Line: Hello, it’s me (your cart)
Preview text/intro: I was wondering if after all these (minutes) you’d like to meet?
Body:
Hi [first name],
Hello from the other side. It’s your cart here. Look at all these amazing things that might not have been showing up at your door in 3-5 business days (with free shipping might I add.)
- [Item with image]
- [Item with image]
- [Item with image]
How sad would that be?
Here’s another chance to grab them, and I’ll even throw in a 25% discount, use code ADELE at checkout.
Questions? Chat with someone from our team while you decide using the chat box in the bottom right corner.
[Link to cart]
Rumor has it you’re already on the website right now…
Talk soon!
Sincerely,
Your cart
2. Punny
Subject line: We can’t stand to be a-cart
Preview text/intro: Let this be our cart-ing gift
Body:
Hi [first name],
Remember this? Your cart?
[Insert link to cart + images of items here]
It misses you. Let’s get this cart-y started with 10% off if you purchase within the next 24 hours.
Need help? Chat with us [link to support] or reply to this email for assistance.
3. Use Case
Subject line: Put [item] to work this holiday weekend!
Preview text/intro: Order now for delivery by Memorial Day
Body:
Hi [first name],
Your [item] is still available - think of the [thing that you would do with this item]-ing that you and your crew can do over Memorial Day Weekend. Major [relaxation/style/hacks/family fun] vibes.
But not without [item]. Order now for guaranteed delivery by Memorial Day + be the hero of the cookout.
[link to cart]
Cheers!
[Your company name]
4. Helpful
Subject line: Did you want to complete your purchase?
Preview text/intro: We saved your cart for you - here it is!
Body:
Hi [first name],
We thought you might want another look at your cart from [date]. Want to take a peek or learn more?
[link to cart]
We’d love to chat about any concerns or questions you have — give us a call!
617-555-1234
In the meantime, check out our social media accounts for behind the scenes content and sales. Score!
[Your customer service team]
5. Targeted
Subject line: Still eyeing that [item]?
Preview text/intro: It’s on sale for the next X hours. Grab it now.
Body:
Hi [first name],
That [item] - yeah, it’s great. People love it.
[Product testimonial/user generated content/social post here].
And the best part? You can still get it. We’ll even throw in free shipping.
[link to cart]
Not sure about that specific [item]? Here are some related products that you may enjoy:
[related item + image]
[related item + image]
Check out now + you’ll get X loyalty points. You’re already a little closer to some fun rewards - it’s a win-win.
6. First Attempt
Subject line: Forget something? Your cart awaits.
Preview text/intro: Here’s the cart you started. Still interested?
Body:
Hi [first name],
You left a few things in your bag, are you ready to check out?
[item with image]
[item with image]
We’re ready when you are. Don’t forget to apply your X rewards points to this order!
[Social share links]
7. Final Attempt
Subject line: Final chance - grab these items before they’re gone.
Preview text/intro: They’re sellin’ like hot cakes + inventory is low.
Body:
Hi [first name],
Wanted to give you a heads up - [item] is almost sold out.
You left [item] in your shopping bag and inventory is running low.
[item image + cart link]
Check out now —>
Aren’t a rewards member yet? Join now + start earning points.
[Your customer support team]
To create the best abandoned cart emails for your company, just remember to stay true to your brand voice and you’ll have your customers coming back to finish what they started, hopefully being inspired by other items and filling their cart more along the way. To continue your quest to perfecting your post purchase customer experience here are my 10 Tips for Really Great Post Purchase Emails.