How to Reduce Cart Abandonment Rate

According to FinancesOnline, online stores lost more than four billion dollars in 2021 due to incomplete purchases on the site. Abandoned cart is a common occurrence for an online store. It happens when a user adds items to the shopping cart on an e-commerce site but does not complete the purchase. The reasons are different. Customers change their minds about a product during checkout, refuse to buy because of an inconvenient interface or an expensive final price.

However, it is worth working with abandoned carts. One of the best ways to do this is to remind users about the items in the cart by sending emails. The Open Rate of such emails reaches 45%, and 11% of users who open this email end up placing an order.

In the post, we will explain why users change their decision to buy, and also show examples of emails that force the user to complete the order.

Why Users Abandon Carts

Shipping is too expensive or inconvenient. 48% of buyers abandon a purchase due to additional shipping costs, taxes and fees. Especially if the final cost can only be found in the basket. Another common reason for changing the decision is the speed of delivery.

Website is slow. In the age of fast internet, no one wants to wait. 70% of users say that a slow site speed affects their buying decision.

The buying process is long and complicated. If new users have to create an account, fill out dozens of fields, go through authorization and figure out how everything works, they will most likely give up halfway through and find a way to checkout faster on another site.

There are problems with payment. Customers abandon the cart if there is no convenient payment method or their cards are rejected by the service. A potential client leaves disappointed.

The reason for refusal can also be a suspicious payment method. If the store offers to pay for the items by clicking on the link, this looks like phishing — one of the ways scammers steal card data.

The site is experiencing errors. Inactive buttons, broken layout, strange error notifications prevent users from placing an order. Only the most motivated customers will be able to go through all this garbage, the rest will leave.

The user is not going to buy. He puts items in the cart because it is easier than adding them to favorites. This happens when the site does not provide a function that allows users to mark the item they like.

The user forgot about the purchase. Start placing an order, but get distracted by something else and forget about the purchase is a standard situation. Humans are imperfect, and distractions are on the rise in the digital world. Sometimes a person is just contemplating a purchase. In this case, your reminder may push him to complete the order.

How to deal with abandoned carts

It is impossible to completely get rid of abandoned carts, but you can and should work with them. Learn what prevents users from placing orders. To do this, use analytics systems and other available methods. Then you can start working on the problem.

If the reason is ‘absent-mindedness’, a reminder message will save the purchase. You can remind about the items in the cart using email, push notifications or retargeting.

You can send a single message or set up a chain of notifications that the user will receive some time after they leave the site or application.

NB! Be sure to add the items that the customer has chosen to the abandoned cart trigger. Also include a direct link from the email to make it easier for the user to navigate to the shopping cart page.

Examples of abandoned cart emails

Let's take a look at a few emails that brands send to their customers who have abandoned shopping carts on the site.

This triggered message hints to the user that the product may run out. A message from the brand says that the items in the basket “won’t be around for long". This is where the client's fear of missing out on a profit should come into play.

The store does not end the campaign after one reminder. The next day, the user receives a second message with the subject line “We’ve cut the cost of your items”, where he is offered a promotional code. Such a move encourages those buyers who did not complete the order because of the cost of purchases.

The same mechanism is used by the clothing store Steve Madden. There is a slight difference. They wait longer (3 days) before sending the promo code to the user.

Not only large online stores work with abandoned carts, but also niche projects. Due to the friendly and almost conversational style, such campaigns get high conversions. Small businesses also do not forget about the benefits for their customers.

Abandoned carts are not only for online stores. Streaming services also remind you of pending orders. For example, you once tried to buy a subscription, but stopped at the last step. Netflix sends an email asking you to finish signing up. Realizing that the subscriber was most likely stopped by the price, the service offers the cheapest tariff plan. The message also contains information about the benefits of subscribing to the service.

Another sender who plays on the benefits of the product is the furniture store Kardiel. Since furniture is an expensive purchase, the store also shares its phone number and email so that a potential buyer can contact them and discuss all the details.

The bookstore Thriftbooks doesn't get hung up on which books the user has left in the cart. Instead, it suggests other books based on the user's interests.

Another bookstore is betting on the moral character of the buyer, so to speak. By buying on their website, the customer financially supports local bookstores.

Summary

Abandoned cart is a common problem for different online stores. Users stop checking out because they are not satisfied with the final price or shipping cost. Other reasons may be problems with payment or with the site (errors, download speed). Some users are not going to buy anything yet, but just mark interesting products by adding them to the cart. Sometimes users simply forget about the purchase because they were distracted.

An automated email campaign reminds the customer of the purchase. In messages, companies often play on lost profits for customers and say that the product will soon run out. But you can act differently. Offer users help with the choice (even on behalf of a specific manager), remind about bonuses, convenient delivery and a wide range of products. The most important thing is to communicate in a human friendly way. Also use intrigue or humor to get attention. In this case, your email will definitely be opened.