Cart abandonment is one of the never-ending challenges online retailers face today. If your web analytics show that you receive a lot of traffic, but your sales say otherwise, you may have a high abandonment rate.
To convert potential customers into buyers, you need to implement cart abandonment mitigation strategies, like diversifying payment options, streamlining the checkout process, and sending discount emails.
Here, we dig deeper into abandoned cart discount emails, a proven strategy for re-engaging shoppers and recovering lost sales. Read on as we explore how these emails help with cart recovery and provide email examples to ignite your creativity!
Note: The brands and examples discussed below were found during our online research for this article.
What impact do abandoned carts have on businesses?
Recent research shows that the average shopping cart abandonment rate for ecommerce businesses is 70%. This means that only three out of ten shoppers follow through with purchases after adding items to their carts.
This amount of abandoned purchases results in lost revenue worth a whopping $260 billion. Without the right strategies in place, your retail business could be missing out on a big chunk of that potential.
Cart abandonment doesn’t just cut into revenue—it can also drive up your cost per conversion. Consequently, you’ll need to invest more in attracting new customers, which can strain your budget and affect business growth.
How do discount emails help reduce cart abandonment?
On the surface, offering discounts via email could cut into profits, which begs the question: Is this strategy worthwhile?
The answer is simple: Yes, without a doubt! Here’s how discount emails improve cart recovery efforts:
Addressing pricing concerns
Up to 47% of shoppers leave their carts because of high or unexpected charges, like taxes, shipping fees, and insurance costs at checkout. Discount emails are a welcome relief for those customers since they reduce the perceived financial burden of buying from you.
Offering exclusive savings or offers like free shipping makes purchases more accessible and worthwhile for price-sensitive customers. These emails also show that you acknowledge shoppers’ pricing concerns and are willing to address them, which can improve their perception of your brand.
To boost their effectiveness, highlight the discount clearly in your subject lines. You could state something like “Get free shipping on your cart” or “Complete your purchase today to enjoy 15% off your cart.”
Creating a sense of urgency
Some customers abandon carts because they are unsure about their purchase decisions, and others do so because they plan to clear them at a later date.
Discount emails with time-sensitive offers create a sense of urgency, so shoppers feel like they could miss valuable savings opportunities if they delay making decisions. Essentially, they trigger emotions like the fear of missing out and the desire for immediate action, overpowering any hesitation customers may have.
To create a sense of urgency, use time-sensitive language in your emails, such as “Get 15% off your cart today—offer expires in 12 hours” or “Item X is almost out of stock—secure it now for $10 off before it’s gone!” You can even go a step further and include countdown timers to bring more attention to the limited nature of your offers.
Re-engaging distracted shoppers
Distractions are a common cause of cart abandonment. Shoppers are likely to be distracted by notifications, emails, or texts and forget about their purchases. Discount emails can bring customers’ attention back to their carts and incentivize them to check out, potentially reducing abandonment rates.
However, your cart reminder emails will only be effective if they’re well crafted. To encourage immediate purchases, highlight the value they’ll receive by prominently mentioning your discounts in the emails.
You can also use short links for your email campaign to provide instant access to each customer’s cart. Reducing the effort they need to put into finding and opening their carts allows them to complete transactions quickly before other distractions set in.
It’s also important to personalize your cart recovery emails. Reference the abandoned items shoppers have in their carts to reignite their interest and encourage immediate action.
Building customer trust with transparency
It’s important to build trust with customers to encourage them to clear their carts and stay loyal to your brand. Discount emails can be the perfect medium for this purpose. They show customers that you care about them and are willing to make accommodations to improve their experiences.
For the best results, be transparent about details like discount expiration dates and exclusions in your messaging. This removes suspicion about hidden conditions.
Also, consider adding branded short links and clear CTAs to reassure customers about the source of the emails and reduce hesitation in clicking URLs to complete purchases. To create branded links, shorten URLs with a tool like Bitly that allows you to use your domain name in short links.
Key elements of effective abandoned cart discount emails
Not all abandoned cart emails will be effective in driving customers to action. To boost the likelihood of success, each email should feature vital elements like a compelling headline, persuasive CTA, exciting offers, and high-quality visuals. Here’s a deeper look at these elements to help you improve your discount emails:
Craft persuasive subject lines and CTAs
The average person receives 77 emails per day. This means that your discount emails will be competing for shoppers’ engagement with 76 other messages—not the best situation if you don’t immediately capture their attention.
To improve your chances of grabbing shoppers’ attention, you need to create persuasive email subject lines. As the first thing recipients see when your emails come in, headlines determine whether they open, ignore, or even delete them.
Some best practices to follow when creating subject lines include:
- Include personalization elements: Include details about customers’ abandoned carts by mentioning the items they may be missing out on.
- Keep the subject lines short: Ideally, each subject line should be nine words or less.
- Highlight your value: Mention your discount or offer to spark recipients’ interest.
- Avoid using excessive punctuation marks: Too much punctuation could make your email look spammy.
It’s also important to create a persuasive email copy and call to action. To encourage engagement, make sure your copy aligns with your promise in the subject line. If you promise a 15% discount code in the subject line, offer more details on what customers need to do to access the offer. Personalize your copy further by addressing customers by name and detailing the items in their carts.
Keep CTAs concise but compelling. Use language like “Visit your cart” or “Shop now” to drive customers to action. Also, make sure they stand out by using a different or larger font or by including differently colored CTA buttons in your emails.
It may take a few tries to get your subject lines, CTAs, and email layouts just right. A/B test different versions, noting how they impact your abandonment rates to identify the most effective elements. For reliable insights, test a single element at a time—send emails with two different subject lines first to determine what resonates best with your audience before moving to your CTAs and layouts.
Offer compelling discounts
As mentioned before, pricing concerns are one of the top reasons for high cart abandonments. So, sending discounts is a great way to capture shoppers’ attention and drive them to action. Some effective discount types include:
- Percentage off: Complete your purchase today for a 10% coupon code.
- Free shipping: Enjoy free shipping on your cart today.
- BOGO (Buy One Get One): Buy item X today and get Item Y for free.
- Dollar amount off: Enjoy $50 off your order when you purchase today.
If customers don’t come back to their carts after receiving initial emails, offer tiered discounts to encourage engagement. For example, you can offer a 10% discount in your first email and a 15% discount in a follow-up email.
Add visuals to enhance engagement
Include visuals in discount email designs to show customers what they’re missing. Visuals help emphasize your message and capture shoppers’ attention. They can also evoke emotions like excitement, driving them to action.
To enhance customer engagement:
- Only include images of the items in customers’ abandoned shopping carts.
- Use on-brand high-quality images that showcase the items in the best light.
- Ensure all visuals are optimized for mobile devices—compress them to reduce load times.
- Avoid clutter—while it’s a good idea to include visuals, don’t use too many, as this can overwhelm customers.
5 abandoned cart email examples for inspiration
Looking for inspiration for your next campaign? Here are some of the best abandoned cart email templates to help you increase conversion rates:
1. “We miss you! Here’s 15% off to complete your order”
This type of message speaks to customers’ emotions and is an excellent option for re-engagement.
To enhance its effectiveness, include a personalized greeting that addresses each customer by name. Also, list the items they’ve left in their carts, offer a limited-time discount, like 15% off for the next 24 hours, and include a clear and prominent CTA that drives them to action, such as “Return to Your Cart” or “Shop Now.”
2. “Your favorites are still waiting—free shipping if you check out today!”
If customers complain about high shipping costs in your reviews, consider using this message to encourage them to complete their purchases. It highlights free shipping as an incentive and will likely catch the eye of budget-conscious shoppers.
To support this message, incorporate visually appealing product images (preferably those that showcase the items in action) in your emails. Instead of only including a generic visual of a product, include an image of someone using it.
Also, as with other types of emails, include a clear, concise, and prominent CTA that tells recipients what to do and why to do it.
3. “Running out of time: Buy your items before they’re gone!”
This email creates a sense of urgency by suggesting that items may sell out soon. It can be a great option if you have a limited series collection or if you’re running low on inventory and want customers to clear their carts immediately.
However, it may not be enough on its own. Highlight the top benefits of completing purchases quickly, like the chance to enjoy exclusive deals, and include a countdown timer to enhance urgency.
4. “Exclusive offer: Get 20% off the items in your cart”
This message offers a discount on the total order value, making it an ideal option for cost-sensitive customers.
To enhance transparency and build trust, include details about the discount terms in your email. You might expound on the subject line by letting recipients know that the discount is for orders over a certain amount or that it’s only valid for a specific period so they are not blindsided when they try to claim the offer.
Don’t forget to encourage action with a specific, directive CTA like “Claim your discount now.”
5. “Forgot something? Complete your order and earn rewards!”
If you have an active loyalty program, use this email to redirect customers’ interest back to their online shopping carts. It not only reminds them about their orders but also promises loyalty program benefits for completing their purchases to encourage action.
To emphasize this benefit, mention the points or rewards customers earn if they complete their purchases. Also, use a CTA that highlights the loyalty program, such as “Complete your order to unlock exclusive rewards,” and include social proof elements like customer reviews and testimonials.
Win back sales with abandoned cart discount emails
When well crafted and implemented, abandoned cart discount emails can help you re-engage customers and recover lost sales. For optimal results, include key elements like a headline that highlights your value proposition, a compelling CTA, an exclusive offer, and high-quality visuals.
With Bitly, you can optimize cart abandonment email campaigns by creating short branded links that offer convenient access to your cart or checkout page. Customize your domain, back half, or both to create trustworthy email links that show customers exactly what they can expect by clicking your link, boosting the likelihood of engagement.
Create a Bitly account today to improve your abandoned cart email strategy with short branded links!
