Did you know that the average abandon cart rate in 2018 for online stores was 75.6%?
That means that for every 100 shoppers who added an item to their cart, 75 of them left without making a purchase.
That’s a lot of money to leave on the table.
In this article I’m going to show you a three-step abandon cart email series that will lower your abandon cart rate and increase revenue.
Email 1: You forgot some items in your cart
People use their phones at all hours of the day – they could be on the train to work, in the office lunch room, at their work desk, on the sofa, or even in the bathroom.
In some areas like work and other public locations, it’s incredibly difficult for customers to pull out a credit card and buy something.
I make most of my online purchases at home because I can think clearly about what I’m buying and I know the Wi-Fi is secure.
Plus, there’s way too much going on during the day when I’m out of the house, so buying stuff online during this time is a low priority.
This will be true for many of your website visitors.
For that reason, in your first abandon cart email, send a reminder that they have items in their cart that are saved for when they come back.
This is exactly what BeardBrand do:
No offer, just a reminder that their cart is saved.
As for timing, you can try sending it 1-2 hours later or between 7pm and 10pm to see which works best for you.
I like the idea of sending them between the hours of 7pm and 10pm as most people will be at home with fewer distractions.
Email 2: Make them an offer they can’t refuse
Some visitors will convert on your first email, but for those customers who aren’t ready yet, it’s time to make them an offer they can’t refuse.
Here’s an email from Saatchi Art who lead with a 10% discount if they complete their order:
I would send the second email within 24 hours of sending the first email.
As for timing, I would avoid sending this email between the hours of 10pm and 9am because users may be sleeping, and when they wake up your email may be under others and be ignored.
Email 3: Why didn’t you order?
In your third email you could come up with an even better offer or ask them why they did not place an order.
Marketers think that abandon cart emails need to be about getting the visitor to place an order, but it’s also a great way to identify objections users have with your product.
Here’s an email from Paleo Robbie that asks customers why they did not place their order after they had received cart abandonment emails:
This email looks like it was written by a real person, but it is actually a plain text automated email.
To send this type of email you’ll need someone in your team to keep on top of the replies so they can answer any questions the customer has. Often, when shoppers don’t buy it’s because they have some sort of objection that wasn’t answered on your website. A simple email reply is sometimes all you need to turn that prospect into a customer.
What does your abandon cart series look like?
The abandon cart series is one of my favorite email series as it usually drives the most revenue of any automated email. It also does a great job of lowering the CPA for your Facebook ads from users who didn’t convert right away.
If your abandon cart series is lacking, try implementing the three-step email series above to improve your revenue from email.