Distractions are an increasing part of shopping online and it is harming your profitability
Users getting distracted whilst shopping online is extremely common, especially as the likelihood is high that most users are shopping on their phones.
Shopping on mobile means your users are less likely to be focused on their task. Often, they will browse on their phone whilst watching TV, listening to a podcast, commuting, or generally engaging with their environment more than if they were dedicated enough to start up the computer.
Factor in notifications that are overlaying the top of your webpage, and you can start to understand why basket abandonment is so high for e-commerce, (especially on mobile). This experience was no different for our client who saw that most of their users were on mobile, and that there was significantly poorer engagement on this device.
Not having an abandoned basket sequence reduced our client’s chance of winning back users
Our client was, like many e-commerce stores, struggling with abandoned baskets. They only had a single abandoned basket email, which was the default one set up by Shopify.
Whilst having a default abandoned basket email is better than having none, the lack of personalisation and one time appearance in the user’s inbox is unlikely to generate the returns you would hope for. In this instance, our client’s existing abandoned basket email was only pulling in a handful of win-back conversions over several months.
We knew we needed to create an email sequence that used copy to tap into the target audiences’ interests (these interests were quite clear from the products sold on the site). We aimed to bring the emails more in-line with the brand and use a conversational tone to connect with users on a human level, encouraging a liking for the company. We also needed to promote a sense of urgency to encourage users to act.
The implementation
We built the email sequence using Recapture as this allowed us to easily see how much revenue each email in the sequence had generated (and therefore demonstrate the value of sending multiple emails).
As this client was reluctant to offer discounts, we couldn’t use a discount incentive. We also couldn’t guarantee that the user’s items were safe in the basket (that no one else could buy them); although this actually worked in our favour when creating urgency.
* If you are willing to offer a discount, we would recommend waiting until the second email at least to give users this option. In our experience, most users will return on the first email, (but plenty return on the second and third too).
**If you are able to put a hold on stock that is in someone’s basket, you can also play with this idea, letting them know that it is only safe for the next 24 hours on your last email.
Email 1 – 1 hour after abandonment:
The email subject and preview were based on the idea that the user may have simply forgot the item due to being distracted, as is so easily done. It suggested an altruism in that we had saved the item or items for the user.
The body of the email thanked the user and celebrated their decision to add the item/s to their basket in the first place. We used words that conveyed a sense of familiarity and community, and suggested that checking out would make them happier.
Email 2 – 24 hours after the first email:
We wrote an email subject line and email preview that tapped into a likely value the user was pursuing whilst using a small amount of loss aversion. We were crafting a customised email experience, something that seemed more genuine and stood out from the crowd of conventional abandonment emails.
Using loss aversion at this point helped increase the urgency to buy. We let the user know that we are unable to keep hold of the items for them and that we sell out quickly.
Email 3 – 23 hours after second email:
We amped up the loss aversion in our last email, dropping some of the more conversational copy in favour of punchy reasons to checkout now. This was the most urgency we could generate given the restrictions, but even this brought back users who would have otherwise have likely not returned.
The results
In just over 90 days, we could demonstrate that the abandoned basket email sequence increased the amount of revenue being brought back into the store by a whopping 1,727% over the previous abandoned basket email.
The personalisation, appeal to the target audience’s interests, frequency, and increased urgency all combined to deliver this impressive result.
Abandoned basket sequences can be tweaked and remain effective for years
You wouldn’t want to send the exact same messages out to users for years, as the emails may reach the same users. Updating them occasionally keeps them fresh and increases how genuine the sound to repeat visitors.
So long as the client continued to follow the structure and content type provided, they would be likely to be able to tweak the sequence successfully and see consistently positive returns.
To benefit from a similar approach, get in touch today.
Graphic provided curtesy of: pch.vector