It’s no secret that abandoned cart emails are an incredibly effective marketing tool. Studies have shown that the average open rate for abandoned cart emails is around 49%, with a 8.38% click-through rate. That means you can potentially recover up to two out of every three abandoned carts by using this method.
But sending a successful abandoned cart email is more than just plugging in some numbers and pushing send, it takes strategy and a keen understanding of when and how to reach out. If you’re looking to maximize your abandoned cart recovery rate, it pays to learn the essentials of crafting effective, eye-catching emails.
Today, we are here to show you the best tips and tricks for crafting an abandoned cart email that will get results. If you’re running a WooCommerce store, this article will provide the essential guidelines for making sure your recovery emails make conversions!
What Are Abandoned Cart Emails?
This term applies when customers start a purchase but don’t end up finishing it for some reason – whether it’s due to busyness or distraction, or something else.
If you own a WooCommerce store, abandoned cart emails can be hugely important for sales conversions. These emails are automated communications that go out to customers who have started a purchase but haven’t completed it. By sending customers gentle reminders and special offers, your business can recover the sale and keep them as loyal customers.
Abandoned carts emails usually include helpful info like product images and descriptions, clear CTAs (Calls To Action), incentives for taking action, and more. All this directs customers back to their cart so they can complete the checkout process and make the purchase, giving your store an extra boost in sales!
Benefits of Abandoned Cart Emails
Abandoned cart emails are an essential tool for WooCommerce stores to use. But why should you set up automated emails to pursue potential customers? Below are a few reasons why abandoned cart emails can be so beneficial.
First, they help to encourage customers who were on the brink of making a purchase to follow through. After all, sometimes customers simply need a reminder that they have items in their cart that they were thinking of purchasing. By sending an email with a coupon code or other incentive, you can increase your sales and boost customer trust in your brand.
Second, abandoned cart emails are a great way to stay top-of-mind with potential customers who may not be ready to buy yet but could become return customers in the future. Sending out content that’s relevant and timely can help nurture these leads until they’re ready to make a purchase from your store.
Finally, these emails can be used as an opportunity for customer feedback. You may not always know why a customer did not complete their purchase; by including questions about their experience in the email, you’ll gain valuable insight into what improvements you should be making in order to get more sales in the future.
Ultimately, abandoned cart emails offer many benefits that WooCommerce stores should take advantage of in order to increase revenue and build relationships with customers.
Best Practices for Setting Up Abandoned Cart Emails
One of the best ways to reduce abandoned carts in your WooCommerce store is to set up automated abandoned cart emails. But if you’re going to do that, you should know what the best practices are for setting up these messages.
Here are a few tips on how to maximize your success with abandoned cart emails:
Use segmentation: Segment your customer database based on various criteria such as age, gender, and past purchases so that you can send targeted and tailored messages.
Test out different message types: Try out different personalization tactics, such as offering a discount code or free shipping, and see what works best for your particular audience.
Include product recommendations: Offer related products or similar items in the email message and encourage customers to complete their purchase by including product images and descriptions that entice them to buy.
Send multiple reminders: Automated abandoned cart emails should be sent out within the first hour, but also sent again at closer intervals (1-2 days) until the user takes action or opts out. This kind of tactic is also known as a drip campaign.
Optimize for mobile devices: Make sure your email template is optimized for all types of devices by including responsive designs so customers can easily view and interact with messages on their phones or tablets.
Consider using ship-and-return offers: Offer free shipping and free returns if possible to remove any major obstacles in completing the order and make it easier for customers to buy from you!
Optimizing the Automated Abandoned Cart Recovery
You think you’ve set up your automated abandoned cart emails, but have you done everything to maximize their performance? It’s important to optimize the sequence of emails. According to a MailChimp study, effectively created abandoned cart campaigns may result in a 5.94% recovery rate from your abandoned cart emails..
Here are some tips for optimizing your automated abandoned cart emails:
Start with an initial email sent soon after the cart is abandoned, ideally within an hour or two.
Follow up with a second email 24-48 hours after the first, gently nudging customers to finish their order.
Send a third email 3-5 days later, reminding them in case they forgot about their purchase.
Use each email in the sequence to offer incentives like discounts or free shipping if customers complete their orders soon.
Try different subject lines and messaging throughout the sequence and track results to see which ones perform best.
Include clear call-to-actions (CTAs) that make it easy for customers to complete their purchase or visit their cart page again with one click.
Automatically send out 1–2 follow-up emails like a thank you or receipt once an order is placed so customers feel appreciated and informed about what comes next in their journey with your store.
Tips for Creating Compelling Content
Creating compelling content is essential for successfully getting customers to come back and complete their abandoned cart purchases. Here are some tips to keep in mind to ensure your abandoned cart emails are as effective as possible:
Use a Personal Approach
When writing an abandoned cart email, take a personalized approach by addressing the customer by name and letting them know that you understand why they left. Let them know that you noticed they left and why, then provide them with links to the items in their cart and a few suggestions that might interest them as well.
Include Visuals
If you have product images or videos, be sure to include them in your email since visuals will draw the customer’s attention and help spark their interest in making a purchase.
Link Directly to Checkout
Makes it simple for customers to click through from the email to start the WooCommerce checkout process by including a link directly to the checkout page. This will make it easier for them to resume their shopping experience without having to search for the items again.
Mention Urgency
Including information about how long products stay in stock or running promotions can help create urgency (or FOMO) for customers who were on the fence about making their purchases. This could be just what they need to give themselves that extra push into actually completing their purchase.
Crafting Effective Subject Lines
Subject lines are like headlines for your email campaigns and your goal should be to create something that is interesting but also entices the reader to click through and read the rest of the message. Here are a few tips for crafting effective subject lines:
Keep it short and sweet: A subject line of about 50 characters or less will usually get the attention of customers. Longer subjects may get cut off in some email clients, so keep it short and sweet!
Be creative: Use creative language, humor, or puns to make the subject fun or interesting.
Mention benefits: Highlight the benefits of taking action on the email in your subject line by mentioning discounts, coupons, or exclusive offers they can find in their abandoned cart emails.
Use personalization: Personalize emails as much as possible by adding customers’ names or product recommendations related to what was left behind in their cart.
Call-to-action (CTA): Include a call-to-action verb in your subject line to prompt customers into taking action on your email right away. For example, Buy Now or Shop Now, etc.
By applying these easy tips when crafting your abandoned cart emails, you can increase open rates and make sure more customers are clicking through and taking action on your emails.
Utilizing a Plugin to Automate the Abandoned Cart Recovery
An abandoned cart recovery plugin’s primary objective is to enable you to send automatic emails to clients who abandoned their shopping carts, prompting them to finish the transaction. To complete the deal, you want to entice those lost consumers back to your businessThe best option is the ELEX WooCommerce Abandoned Cart Recovery with Dynamic Coupons plugin. With this plugin, you can quickly build up an automatic abandoned cart recovery system if WooCommerce powers your online business. The plugin also has a free version if you wish to test it out with fewer features but the same recovery capabilities.
To access the plugin’s settings, go to WordPress Dashboard > Plugins > Installed Plugins > Abandoned Cart > Settings after activating the plugin.
General Settings
To indicate an order as complete, choose the WooCommerce order statuses that show a successful cart recovery, turn on the Enable Abandoned Cart button, and specify the time limit beyond which a cart will be deemed as abandoned next to the Abandoned Cart Time Interval option.
You can also select after what time period, the cart is deemed as expired and is no longer getting recovery emails. (This option is only available in the plugin’s premium version, check out the documentation for better understanding)
The next step is to check the box next to Guest Users Settings if you want to track abandoned carts for guest users and just the valid email format.
If you wish to notify the business owner when the cart is retrieved, check the box under Notification Settings and modify the email’s text and subject as necessary.
The GDPR Settings allow you to choose where and how the GDPR compliance notice should appear.
Email Settings
You may enter the three sub-tabs under Email Settings to determine the scenarios in which recovery emails should be sent, templates, and the automatically created smart coupons.
Email Rules
Click Add New Rule, type in an acceptable Rule Name, choose the AND or OR Rule Type, and then click Add Filter to save your changes. There are a plethora of rules you can customize.
Email Templates
Email templates can be generated, changed, and removed in this section. These email templates, together with the dynamically generated smart discounts, will be delivered to the visitor’s email address after an order is abandoned.
A new email template will be produced if Add New Template is chosen.On the Edit Email Template page, you may decide whether you want to upload an email template or modify an existing template, input a template name and email topic, include a coupon code, and more.
Choose the kind of discount, and the discount amount, and choose if you want to make the coupon only good once or be used multiple times. Then, enter the prefix for the coupon code.
The products in the abandoned cart or the customer’s email address can also be utilized to link the promo code.
You may change the email body and specify how many days or months you want the discount to be active for by using the powerful shortcodes offered. You also have the option of sending a test email to yourself to see how it would look in your clients’ inboxes.
Once all the choices have been chosen, click Save Template.
Email Triggers
Customization of recovery email triggers is possible via the Email Triggers tab of the email settings. Modify the trigger time for the emails, toggle triggers on and off, or remove them completely from this page.
That’s it! The entire process of setting up the plugin and automating the recovery process is that simple. Below we have provided a screenshot of an abandoned cart recovery test email.
All in all, abandoned cart emails are an invaluable tool to boost your WooCommerce store sales. By understanding customer behavior, creating interesting and engaging email subjects, crafting personalized messages, leveraging customer data, and offering incentives in the emails, you can maximize customer engagement and conversions.
Ultimately, the success of your abandoned cart emails depends on the relevance and effectiveness of your message. Keep in mind that personalization plays a critical role, so invest the necessary time and resources to create the recovery emails. With the right approach, you’ll see an increase in sales and profit from your abandoned cart emails.