According to Baymard Institute, a whopping 69.8% of online shopping carts are abandoned before the customer completes the sale.
That means you’re missing out on nearly two-thirds of your potential revenue, two-thirds of customers, and two-thirds of your business’s growth.
Like, whoa…
That’s a whole lotta moolah getting left behind.
So, what can you do about it?
This article is going to offer a solution in the form of cart abandonment emails. Why?
Because not only do these types of emails have a purchase rate about 19% higher than promotional email campaigns but sending a second email as part of your cart abandonment email sequence shows a 54% on top of that.
That sounds a lot better than losing two-thirds of your sales, amiright?
Here’s what we’ll cover today:
- What is an abandoned cart email?
- Why do people abandon their carts? (And why it's completely normal)
- 15 examples of shopping cart abandonment emails to inspire you
- Abandoned cart email tips for success
- A basic abandoned cart email template to help you get started
- How to design a dynamic abandoned shopping Cart email sequence
- Abandoned cart email FAQs
What is an abandoned cart email?
An abandoned cart email is an email or sequence of emails that are sent to re-engage shoppers who added product(s) to their cart but left without making a purchase.
Typically an abandoned cart email features the product name, image, price and a clear CTAwith a link back to your site to complete their purchase. These emails can be triggered to send automatically through a marketing automation sequence.
Why do people abandon their carts? (And why it's completely normal)
It’s true that a large chunk of people abandoned their carts.
What’s good to note is that this is generally all part of their experience with you and tends to be a regular practice for even customers with high AOV.
Case in point, how many times have you added to your Amazon cart only to leave it there for a week before deciding what to do about it? (No, I’m not speaking from personal experience or anything...).
You likely do something like this all the time.
And considering the average abandoned cart rate across all industries is around 75 percent, it’s clear this is done primarily out of consumer’s browsing habits rather than an outright hatred of your checkout process.
Obviously, any spike in abandonment rate is something to take seriously and monitor regularly, but just keep in mind that people leaving their cart before checking out is a normal part of the online shopping experience.
Like, window shopping, as it were.
But don’t worry.
There are ways to get them back, and it all starts with a triggered abandoned cart email.
To help you get started, here is a simple template you can use for your eCommerce marketing emails.
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15 Best Shopping Cart Abandoned Email Template Examples
We love emails. It’s sort of our bread and butter here at Sendlane.
Below are some of the best examples we’ve found for abandoned cart emails.
1. Give Them a Compliment
What we love about this email
That headline! “You have great taste.” (*gush*)
It’s just a few words designed to make people feel good about their tastes and choices.
Everlane includes the photo of the product and the CTA, “Take another look” is also a nice touch to keep people moving in a single direction:
Back to their cart — and hopefully, through the checkout.
What you can take away from this email
Don’t be afraid to schmooze your customer’s a bit.
The extra level of friendliness adds character to your brand and can help make you more likable. Plus, when you’re making people feel good about their choices and tastes, it can make it that much easier for them to trust you and ultimately purchase from you.
2. Offer Them a Discount
What we love about this email
Even though Thrive has three CTAs here, they are in great placements:
Above the fold, under the image, and near the bottom with a different CTA.
What’s great about the last CTA button is it offers a discount — which is an excellent incentive for those on the fence. Right above that button is a bit of copy, which drills home how money is wasted when people forget to use coupons that could have given them “even steeper discounts.”
It kind of makes you go, “Oh yeah, that’s true. Let’s save some money since I’m going to buy that soon anyway.” Then they click and convert, presumably.
It’s subtle, but that’s why it’s great.
What you can take away from this email
You can take advantage of prime real estate in your emails for the CTA. And don’t be afraid to change up the copy on the buttons. You may find one button converts better than the others, too.
Lastly, decide on whether you want to offer a discount.
It’s not always ideal, but if it converts more people and you give them a great experience, then it pays off in the long run.
3. Be Candid, but Fun
What we love about this email
This email from Glossier is short, but it’s kind of fun, thanks to the copy they used. The email asks the silly question, “If you add things to an online shopping bag, but on one’s around to check out… does it make a sound?”
Then it follows up with, “No. But it does trigger this email.”
It’s plucky and not the least bit rude.
The photo is also well placed because the girl in the picture has her eyes looking up, which naturally draws your eyes upwards to the copy.
What you can take away from this email
You can have fun with your cart abandonment email copy. There aren’t many words in this email from Glossier, but there doesn’t need to be. The point of the email is to get people back to their cart, and this email meets that goal.
You can add some personality to your emails too. If your images can do some of the heavy lifting, then by all means let them do a bit of the selling or nudging for you.
4. Allow Them to Talk with Someone IRL
What we love about this email
This email from Ghurka ticks the boxes in all the right places.
It has personalization with the person’s name, it uses the copy to give a bit of urgency, it uses an image of the item left in the cart, and has a simple, colorful CTA.
You’ll notice the product itself is a high-end product with a hefty price tag. And as you would imagine, that price tag likely causes some hesitation around purchasing.
To counteract that resistance, they offered the contact a chance to call and speak with a real person to chat about their potential purchase.
What you can take away from this email
While you may not be able to offer the chance to talk over the phone with your purchases, there may be areas you could tuck into your emails that give your email contacts an opportunity to reach out to use a chatbot to have questions answered or chat with a support rep.
It’s not always an option, but it could be worth the test run to see if that improves your sales and revenue, especially during the peak holiday season.
5. Show them what else you have to offer
What we love about this email
Sometimes, the thing that you added to your cart but left there isn’t the thing you’ll end up buying. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve added various shoes and yoga pants to my Nike cart only to buy something totally different.
Well, this email from Loeffler seems to know that we humans can be a bit fickle like that, which is why it’s a lovely example of what you can do with cart abandonment emails.
The copy speaks to how there’s something left in the cart, but below that, it shows the other options available to purchase (New arrivals, Staff Picks, etc.). That gives people the chance to get back to the store and take another look around.
While they may not end up purchasing the exact thing they left in their cart, it does bring them back and get them thinking about you.
And they may even end up purchasing something else — which is what we’re going for anyway.
What you can take away from this email
Giving people a chance to see what else you offer in your store is a great way to get people to click and back into your online store.
While it may not be the best idea to add this type of email format as your first email, you could add something like this in your sequence that can bring in clicks and help people along their journey with you.
6. Be Unapologetically Yourself
What we love about this email
Chubbies' copy in this example is unlike anything we’ve come across. But the unique voice and tone work for a brand that aspires to be different from the other swim trunk makers out on the market.
You may not see it well in this email, but the preview text in the upper left part of the email is excellent! It speaks right to both the reader and the writer “forgetful too” when checking out.
It plays into the “ease” of getting back to the cart but using words like “free,” “teleport,” and so on. It’s daring and different from the average email, which is why it’s on our list.
What you can take away from this email
Being authentically, unapologetically, you may have gotten you in trouble as a kid, but people enjoy relatable and authentic brands.
It can feel safer to stay in your lane and do what others do when it comes to email copy but don’t be afraid to take liberties and offer your brand’s most authentic self to your audience.
7. Offer up your playful side
What we love about this email
I’m probably one of the few people (and I’m sure I’m dating myself to admit this) who read this headline and automatically found themselves singing the song this lyric belongs to.
But that's neither here nor there.
What is great about this email, aside from it being short, is its playful tone. And for a brand called Nasty Gal, it’s only natural to expect some bold and lively copy.
This copy pops; you can’t help but feel drawn into the words, and that’s awesome! The format is a bit different from other ones we’ve seen. It’s just large font and some clickable CTAs but it works for them, and it may work for you too.
What you can take away from this email
Playfulness is a part of being human. Your audience has that side to them too, so there is usually room for using a more personal tone from time to time.
There’s a fine line here that can cause some resistance on you and your team’s end as you try not to be so playful that you tiptoe into being brash.
My usual rule of thumb is, if you can comfortably say this to a 9-year-old and they giggle rather than run away crying, you’re probably not crossing a line here.
8. Go completely naked (yes, you read that right)
What we love about this email
Most people think of abandoned cart emails and think of them full of large CTA buttons, photos, and product images. But this email from ThirdLove breaks all the rules.
There are no buttons, no brand colors, or images.
Nope.
It’s just a stripped-down email with only words — some of which are simply linked to act as the CTAs. It seems so plain, but you’d be surprised just how well these email types can convert for brands.
Many email eCommerce copywriters tout the power of this email format for driving conversions.
What you can take away from this email
If you can take the time to plan our visuals and write copy for all your other emails, then putting together this sort of email should be a walk in the park.
Feel free to offer a discount. Sell prospects on products. Write it like an email to a new acquaintance. And then see what happens.
Abandoned Cart Email Tips for Success
For best results, we recommend your send a sequence of at least three abandoned cart emails. Be sure to include personalized messaging, product recommendations (with pictures) and a large CTA button that leads shoppers back to their cart.
If you use a tool like Sendlane, you can use the dynamic abandoned cart block within our email builder!The dynamic abandoned cart block automatically pulls in the name, image, and price of the abandoned product.
A Basic Abandoned Cart Email Template to Help You Get Started
There’s more than one way to put your abandoned cart emails together, and if you’re doing it right, you should have a few in an automated sequence to get the most bang for your buck.
With that said, here is how to write an abandoned cart email and an easy-to-follow template:
Before the email:
Make sure the “from” sender has an easy to recognize name (no info@ email addresses here)
Use the subject line to grab attention; test emojis here too
Use the preview text to mention they have something in their cart
In the email:
Your email format can change for each email in your sequence. So one may be more image-heavy while another may be copy only.
Later on, we’ll be going over email examples to give you ideas of content and format, but generally speaking, abandoned cart emails are a mix-and-match of these items below:
Use some intro copy to mention items in their cart
Have a CTA that takes them back to their cart
Place images in the email of what’s still sitting in their cart (optional)
Offer a discount to snag the sale (optional)
Include testimonials, customer reviews, or other types of social proof (optional)
After the email:
You should have a few emails in your sequence that builds on the first one. It may look a little something like this:
Email 1: Yo, your cart is missing you.
Email 2: The items in your cart are selling out fast!
Email 3: Still interested? (discount inside)
That’s the pretty basic idea of it, but we'll be going into more detail about this a little later on.
How to Design and Create a Dynamic Abandoned Shopping Cart Email Sequence
We’ve covered some great cart recovery email examples, but that’s just the end result. What about the technical side of setting up and automating an abandoned cart sequence?
That’s what we’ll cover, and we’ll guide you through how to use our platform to do it.
Creating new automation is easy. You can follow the walkthrough here.
With the new automation set up, click on add trigger, click on your store integration from the pop-up menu. We’ll be choosing our Shopify integration for our example, but there are also WooCommerce and Miva integrations available.
Scroll down and choose the “Customer Abandoned Checkout” trigger.
In the new options of the pop-out menu:
- Select your store
- Set the limit per contact as Once Per Day
- Set consider abandoned after 1 hour
After that, click on the + button to add your first email to your sequence. You do that by choosing:
- Clicking on Send Message
- Click Send Email
- Click Create New Email
Next, give that email a name and select the correct Sender Profile. Finally, give your email a subject line, preheader text, and create the email content.
At the end of this process, your new funnel will look something like this.
All of this is just a jumping-off point. You can and likely should add more messages to your sequence.
You can do that by clicking + button and follow the prompts for your setting up your follow-up email(s) in the abandoned cart workflow.
When to send abandoned cart emails
If you’re wondering how to time the flow of your email, here is an example of the timing sequence from our eBook:
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In this example, you’ll see there are five emails to the sequence, with each email sent at a different interval:
- 30 min - 24 hours after the cart is abandoned
- 2 days after the cart is abandoned
- 4 days after the cart is abandoned
- 5 days after the cart is abandoned
- 7-10 days after the cart is abandoned
Again, this is just an example, but it does give you an idea of how many emails you could potentially have in your cart recovery workflow and when to send them.
We’ve covered a lot today, but one thing to take away from all of this is that creating your email sequence and recovering lost sales is all within your grasp.
We hope these examples give you some inspiration for your funnel! Ready to jump in and start building out your emails?
Abandoned cart email FAQs
Are abandoned cart emails effective?
Yes! Abandoned cart emails yield increases to conversion rates up to 35%.
Is it easy to send abandoned cart emails?
Yes, setting up your first abandoned cart email is a simple process.
What needs to be included in an abandoned cart email?
We recommend including the product name, price, and image along with a clear CTA with a link to finish their checkout.
How can I get started with sending abandoned cart emails?
Use the tips from this article along with this guide from our knowledge base to set up your first cart abandonment flow.
Click here to sign up for your 14-day free trial and start creating dynamic cart abandonment emails inside Sendlane!
FAQs
How do I create an abandoned cart email? ›
- On your account dashboard, click the Automations icon.
- Click Classic Automations.
- Click Turn on an abandoned cart email.
- On the Single Email tab, type in a Campaign Name and choose a store.
- Click Begin.
Sending one email upon cart abandonment is better than sending nothing at all. Two messages, and you're heading in the right direction. But our rule of thumb is three. Omnisend merchants with a three-message cart abandonment have the best order rates.
What is an abandoned email? ›An abandoned cart email is an email sent to customers who have added products to their shopping cart but failed to check out. The email acts as a friendly reminder to consumers who may have been distracted and never checked out.
Do abandoned cart emails work? ›Abandoned cart emails re-engage potential customers
The great news is all your potential customers aren't lost. In fact, a lot of experts say you can get upwards of 10% of them back by using abandoned cart emails.
Abandoned cart emails work to draw customers back to the site, encouraging them to complete the purchase they were already on the brink of making. They typically include a friendly message, as well as images or descriptions of the items left in the cart (just for good measure!)
Can you send abandoned cart emails to non subscribers? ›Under the ePrivacy Directive, you can send abandoned cart emails to individuals without consent because individuals were already at the end of your sales funnel. You can send abandoned cart emails in a GDPR-compliant fashion as long as you have a lawful basis to do so.
What is an abandoned cart? ›When a user adds a product to the online shopping cart of an e-commerce site but doesn't proceed to checkout and complete the purchase. Users may abandon because they aren't ready to buy.
What is the best time to send abandoned cart emails? ›Your first email should be sent within an hour of the cart abandonment. Ideally, it should be sent before the shopper walks away from their computer. This is why asking for an email address as soon as possible is crucial. Without a valid email address, there's no way to follow up.
How long should an abandoned cart flow be? ›This is typically between 1 – 3 hours. It is important that in between each abandoned cart email, you detect if the customer has returned to complete a purchase. If they have, you need to make sure that these customers exit the abandoned cart flow.
What should be the strategy to win back customers who have abandoned the cart? ›- Remind them what they left and be specific with your value propositions. ...
- Time your re-engagement messages right. ...
- Provide an end-to-end customer experience. ...
- Offer a price beat pledge. ...
- Handle specific objections with exit-intent popup.
What is abandoned strategy? ›
When it comes to technology, sometimes it makes sense to welcome the concept of strategic abandonment. This means providing permission to stop doing things that have proved ineffective or inefficient. It doesn't matter if you've invested millions of dollars and tons of time.
How do I create an abandoned cart email Shopify? ›- In the Abandoned checkouts section, check Automatically send abandoned checkout emails.
- Under Send to, choose who you want to send a checkout recovery email to: ...
- Under Send after, select the number of hours that Shopify should wait before sending the abandoned checkout email:
What is abandoned cart recovery? Abandoned cart recovery is a sales acquisition strategy where ecommerce merchants use marketing automation and UX design to convert abandoned carts into sales.
Are abandoned cart emails transactional or marketing? ›While leveraging data helps develop more targeted and personalized email campaigns, specific rules are in place regarding how you should properly collect and utilize user data. The first thing to note is that an abandoned cart reminder is a transactional email, not a marketing one.
Why are there so many abandoned carts? ›High shipping costs - Customers often abandon shopping carts when they get sticker shock after seeing how much their order costs with shipping. Avoid this by offering free shipping promos. Complexity - Online shoppers have a short attention span and will abandon the checkout flow if it is too complex or time consuming.
What is an example of abandonment? ›An example of intentional abandonment is the refusal to see a patient after, for example, failure to pay for the received medical services.
What is a good abandoned cart recovery rate? ›The conclusion: If your abandoned cart recovery rate is above 10%, you are doing a decent job.
How do you capture an abandoned cart? ›...
- Exit-intent overlays. ...
- Email remarketing. ...
- SMS remarketing. ...
- Retargeting ads. ...
- Live chat or chatbot service. ...
- Social proof and trust badges. ...
- Transparent checkout process.
If you already have their email, you can rely on legitimate interest to send a cart abandonment email. On this basis, you do not need to have the customer's consent to send a cart abandonment email. However, your email must contain an unsubscribe link.
Are cart abandonment emails GDPR compliant? ›Is sending abandoned cart emails still allowed under GDPR? Yes, according to the European Commission's definition of legal grounds for processing data you're compliant as long as you have explicit consent from the visitor to receive those emails.
Does Mailchimp send abandoned cart emails? ›
Can Mailchimp send abandoned cart emails? Yes, Mailchimp can send abandoned cart emails to users who didn't complete their shopping or proceed to checkout.
Why do customers abandon carts? ›80.68% of retail shoppers abandon purchases after adding items to their cart. 34% of shoppers abandon checkout because they are forced to create an account. 23% of shoppers abandoned carts due to issues with shipping. 18% of shoppers abandon carts because they wanted to compare prices.
How does cart abandonment affect businesses? ›The effects of shopping cart abandonment
When potential customers select the exit button instead of the “complete your order” button, it's lost revenue for your business. It's reported that ecommerce stores lose $18 billion in sales revenue each year because of cart abandonment.
We usually recommend about 24 hours from the time of cart abandonment and tweak it in accordance with the success rate. But 24 hours is definitely a good place to start.
How do I create an abandoned cart email in Omnisend? ›To create the Abandoned Cart workflow, proceed to the Automations tab -> click on the Create workflow button and pick it from the list. Abandoned Cart automation is triggered when the customer adds products to the cart and leaves your store before completing the purchase.
How can we stop abandoned checkout? ›- Provide guest checkout options. ...
- Include thumbnails of products throughout the checkout process. ...
- Include progress indicators on the checkout page. ...
- Be transparent about all costs. ...
- Show total savings at checkout. ...
- Offer several payment options. ...
- Offer free shipping.
- From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Abandoned checkouts.
- Click the number of the checkout that you want to recover.
- Click Send a cart recovery email.
- Remind them what they left and be specific with your value propositions. ...
- Time your re-engagement messages right. ...
- Provide an end-to-end customer experience. ...
- Offer a price beat pledge. ...
- Handle specific objections with exit-intent popup.
Under the ePrivacy Directive, you can send abandoned cart emails to individuals without consent because individuals were already at the end of your sales funnel. You can send abandoned cart emails in a GDPR-compliant fashion as long as you have a lawful basis to do so.
Is the email sent when visitors fill up the cart then leave website without checking out? ›Abandoned cart emails are emails that are sent to re-engage shoppers who left items in their carts without completing checkout. According to research on 500 leading global brands, 44.1% of abandoned cart emails are opened almost a third of clicks on abandoned cart emails (29.9%) lead to a recovered sale.
Can you send emails from Shopify? ›
You can use Shopify Email to create email marketing campaigns and send them from Shopify. You can design your emails to match your brand, and link directly to products to share them with your customers. All merchants with a paid Shopify subscription plan have 10,000 free emails to send at the beginning of every month.
What is an abandoned cart sequence? ›An abandoned cart email is an automated reminder email sent to visitors who do not complete a purchase. Typically, a cart abandonment email sequence has three emails. Abandoned cart emails increase your chances of recovering a potential sale by 63%.
How do you address an abandonment cart? ›- Show Clear Calls to Action.
- Provide a Choice of Delivery Options.
- Offer Guest Checkout.
- Be Clear About Total Costs.
- Show a Persistent Reminder of Cart Contents.
- Use Analytics to Monitor Abandonment.
- Smooth Checkout Forms.
- Offer Help Where It's Needed.
- Provide guest checkout options. ...
- Include thumbnails of products throughout the checkout process. ...
- Include progress indicators on the checkout page. ...
- Be transparent about all costs. ...
- Show total savings at checkout. ...
- Offer several payment options. ...
- Offer free shipping.
- Be transparent about all costs. ...
- Include progress indicators on the checkout page. ...
- Include thumbnails of products throughout the checkout process. ...
- Make navigation between cart and store effortless. ...
- Optimize page load speeds. ...
- Provide guest checkout options.
While leveraging data helps develop more targeted and personalized email campaigns, specific rules are in place regarding how you should properly collect and utilize user data. The first thing to note is that an abandoned cart reminder is a transactional email, not a marketing one.
What are legitimate interests under GDPR? ›The GDPR highlights the following as specific types of processing that are considered legitimate interest: Fraud prevention. Network and information security. Indicating possible criminal acts or threats to public security.
Are abandoned cart emails transactional Australia? ›Sending your customers (or potential customers) abandoned cart emails is considered transactional since the transaction has already been initiated – meaning that your customer has added items to their cart with the intent to make a purchase.
How many emails does abandoned cart series have? ›The abandoned cart series includes three emails, but you can add or remove emails, or change the settings for each. The default automation features emails with the following triggers.
Why abandoned cart email is important? ›Abandoned cart emails work to draw customers back to the site, encouraging them to complete the purchase they were already on the brink of making. They typically include a friendly message, as well as images or descriptions of the items left in the cart (just for good measure!)
Why are there so many abandoned carts? ›
High shipping costs - Customers often abandon shopping carts when they get sticker shock after seeing how much their order costs with shipping. Avoid this by offering free shipping promos. Complexity - Online shoppers have a short attention span and will abandon the checkout flow if it is too complex or time consuming.