Abandon Cart Email Automation

Re-engage your customers who leave items in their shopping cart.

It’s very common for customers to start shopping, adding items to their basket, and then failing to proceed to the checkout. According to Statistica, in the second quarter of 2023, 85% of orders on mobile devices were not completed. The rates are similar for computers and tablets, coming in at 75% and 80% respectively. 

That’s a lot of money left in a basket! That’s where the Abandon Cart email automation sequence kicks in!

There can be many reasons for customers leaving things in their cart without completing their purchase, including:

• the phone rang
• they reached their train station and had to get off
• they were just window-shopping
• they’ve decided to wait until payday
• the boss came back
• the dog threw up

… you get the idea! However, just because they’ve abandoned their cart doesn’t mean they don’t want their items, but it might mean they need to be reminded that the items are there, or they might need an incentive to get them over the line and convert to a purchase. However, you don’t want to have to manage sending them those reminders individually – that would be ridiculously time-consuming and largely unproductive. Instead, you need to automate the process. 

Setting up an automation to manage abandoned carts is relatively straightforward. When the system identifies a potential buyer has crashed out, leaving items in the basket, and does not return within a few hours, an initial email will be triggered to say, ‘Hey, did you forget? You left some items in your basket?’ A follow-up email the next day might offer an incentive such as a gift, free overnight shipping, or a discount code if they complete their purchase within a specific time frame. A final email may say ‘last chance / your offer expires at midnight’ to create a sense of urgency with the customer and prompt one last opportunity for them to complete the sales. It’s also your last chance to immediately convert the ‘abandon cart’ to a sale.

Why bother? Well, because they work! You already know your customer is interested in buying. Statistics show that personalised abandon cart emails have a far higher open rate than standard emails, with stats suggesting rates of between 45% and 60% (depending on your industry). Of those, around half will click through, and half of those will complete their purchase. So, yes, taking the time to build that automation is worthwhile! And, because the customer has added something to their basket, it’s considered they’ve shown legitimate interest, so you’re compliant with GDPR regulations. 

Don’t have an abandoned cart workflow or automation? We can help you with that. Get in touch and start converting!