Discover the powerful stats for abandoned cart emails that prove they work. Learn how to put the campaigns together including: timing, messaging and frequency. Plus, see some real life examples.

2. Abandoned Cart Emails:
The facts, the data and the how-to.
What you will learn
Discover the powerful stats for abandoned cart emails that prove they work. Learn how to put
the campaigns together including: timing, messaging and frequency. Plus, see some real life
examples.
The facts
Definition: Cart abandonment occurs
when a shopper adds an item to their cart,
but does not complete the purchase.
According to industry experts, cart
abandonment rates range anywhere from
60-70%, which coincides with data we
have collected from our own clients which
show an average of 69% abandonment.
Reduce cart abandonment rates with marketing automation. Clients running abandoned
cart emails have an 18% lower abandonment rate than those that are not running
the campaigns. Cart abandonment campaigns also have higher: open rate, click rate,
average time spent on website, average purchase value, conversion rate and per visit value
when compared to standard emails. PLUS, they have a substantially lower bounce rate.
Using internal client data all operating within the same industry, we compared cart
abandonment rates of those running abandoned cart campaigns targeting vs. those that were
not running the campaigns.
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3. The data
The data tells the story. When aggregating Whereoware’s email
data we found distinct differences between abandoned cart (AC)
mailings and normal, blast mailings that go to everyone (See
Appendix).
Open + Click Rate
80% Email activity
60%
40% AC We found a 40% lift in open rates and a 47% lift in click
Mailing through rates. This type of uplift would be expected since it is a
20%
0% Normal highly targeted email. An abandoned cart email is generally sent just
Mailing 1-3 days after the customer visited the site and abandoned their cart.
Open Click
Rate Rate So the email is both highly relevant and timely.
Time on site
(engagement)
Engagement
10
AC
We found that site engagement increases by almost 28% and Mailing
bounce rate decreases 151%; expected stats as these are customers 5
Normal
are highly qualified. Mailing
0
Orders
Order Conversion Bounce Rate
Rate We are capturing 9% of carts that have been
30%
abandoned, allowing us to recover revenue that
10% AC
AC would have otherwise been lost. Compared to 20% Mailing
Mailing normal mailings, the order conversion rate
5% increases by 69%. Not surprising, as these 10% Normal
Normal Mailing
Mailing customers already have items in their cart in
0% which they are interested. More 0%
interestingly, the average order value
Average Order Value increased by 23%. Not only do they purchase more often, but they
also tend to purchase more.
$600
AC Based on the data, it is easy to conclude that sending abandoned cart
$400 Mailing emails is highly beneficial. What’s not to love? You capture revenue that
Normal otherwise would have been lost. Plus those that receive them are more
$200
Mailing likely to open and click the email, engage on your site, place orders and
$0 order more than those that do not receive the emails.
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4. The how-to
So the data says abandoned cart emails work. So how do you
implement it? The first thing you need is data. At the
minimum, you need to be able to pull users emails who abandon
their cart on your website. Ideally, you would also capture
additional information, like what they abandoned, when they
abandoned and when their cart expires. Use this data to form a
segment in your marketing database to which your email will be
targeted.
Once you have the data settled you will need to decide on a couple of matters:
1. Timing: A general rule of thumb for abandoned cart emails is
to send one to three days after cart abandonment. This will vary
based on the type of product you are offering, how long you are able to
keep items in your cart and your visitors preferences. Of course, the
only way to truly know your visitors preferred timing is to test.
2. Messaging: There are a few common types of abandoned cart
messages.
a. Basic: In the basic abandoned cart email you simply remind
your visitors that they left something in their cart and
ask if they need any help. Provide a link to complete their transaction and phone
numbers, contact pages, or live chat links to answer any questions they may have about
the order. Bump it up a notch: If you are able to capture abandoned products, it would
be great to include their images and details in the email to remind visitors what they left
behind.
b. Your Cart is Expiring: Here you can add urgency to the basic messaging encouraging
users to purchase their products before the items in their cart are deleted.
c. Discount/Offer: You can add
an incentive for visitors to
complete their order. Warning:
It is possible that you may train
your visitors to abandon their
cart. We recommend avoiding
giving discounts unless you can
put business rules in place that
help avoid training users.
3. Frequency: You may want to send
multiple cart abandonment emails,
ensuring your visitors don’t forget they
left something in their cart.
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5. A Few Examples
Basic Message: Simply reminding customers
that they left items in their cart can help
recapture lost revenue.
Basic Message, bumped up: This bumped
up basic message still reminds users that
they left items in their cart and offers help,
but it takes it a step further by reminding
users the number of items in the cart, the
value and the date they last touched the
cart.
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6. Basic Message, bumped up 2: This
message takes the basic message,
reminding users that they left items in
their cart a step further by including an
image of the of item left in the cart along
with details about the product.
* not a Whereoware client
Expiring Cart: Here the messaging is
applying a sense of urgency by stating
the “shopping bag will expire in a few
days.”
* not a Whereoware client
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7. First time abandoned
Discount/Offer Message: Using
business rules, we avoid training
customers to abandon their cart.
Customers only receive the discount
the first time the abandon.
Second time abandoned
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8. Appendix
Average Order Per
Open Click Average Bounce
Averages Value Conversion Visit
Rate Rate Time on Site Rate
Spent Rate Value
Abandoned Cart
58% 54% 9 minutes 10% $504 9% $41
Mailing
Normal Mailing 35*% 28% 6.5 minutes 26% $387 1% $12
Difference 41% 48% 28% -151% 23% 69% 71%
*Wheroware normal open rates are higher than industry average due to specific techniques we use.
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9. About Whereoware
Whereoware is an online strategy, design, development and marketing company. We recognize each client's needs
and objectives as unique. We dive deep into each client's business through consultative assessments and analytical
benchmarking. We then craft an individual solution for each client. Our solutions are Smart because they solve each
client’s business problems.
Contact us today
505 Huntmar Park Drive Phone: (877) 521-7448 Jay Beutler
Suite 200 Fax: (703) 889-1218 Senior sales consultant
Herndon, VA 20170 Email: sales@whereoware.com Phone: 701-205-1463
Email: jbeutler@whereoware.com
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