26 May 2022

19 Best Abandoned Cart Recovery Strategies

Abandoned carts are the most common challenge e-commerce businesses face, but it doesn’t mean you’re doomed. Find out how you can turn these abandoned carts into sales!

Anisha Bhandari

Content Writer

Reading time: 5 minutes

As an e-commerce business owner, abandoned carts can cause a real headache. Statistics show that the annual losses resulting from abandoned shopping carts amount to $4.6 trillion worldwide. 😩

But, don’t be discouraged by that amount — of the $4 trillion losses, about $260 billion is recoverable.

To help you recover abandoned carts, we’ve compiled a list of the 19 best strategies you can turn these abandoned carts into sales. Let’s dive right in!

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19 strategies to turn your abandoned carts into sales

1. Send automated abandoned cart recovery texts

Many businesses are turning to chat marketing not only to market their business but also to recover abandoned carts. That’s because chat marketing is a more personal and direct way to communicate with customers on their preferred messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp or Messenger.

Here are some statistics to back up this claim:

82% of people open every text message they receive
Chat has a 10% conversion rate
43% of people said they have proactively texted a business
58% of people feel more confident messaging a business than making a call

Because there’s a high open rate, using messaging apps to prompt your customers about abandoned carts means there’s a higher chance they’d see your cart abandonment message reminder and ultimately, make a purchase.

An example of an abandoned cart recovery message. Source: NovoChat

You can even offer an exclusive discount code in the message to further encourage them to cart out their items.

2. Send automated abandoned cart emails

3. Use social media retargeting ads

Retargeting ads target web visitors based on their past behavior on your website. This could be the amount of time they spent on your page, the number of pages visited, or in this case, not going through with their purchase.

Remarketing ads are 76% more likely to be clicked compared to regular display ads because they’re specific to each customer.

That said, use retargeting ads on social media to present the item(s) they’ve abandoned. Add an actionable call-to-action (CTA) that links them directly to their shopping cart for easy checkout.

An example of a retargeted ad. Source: RealiseMarketing

Keep in mind that you should focus on the social media platform that your customers frequent.

4. Place reminder ads on websites frequented by your target audience

5. Create a landing page specifically for recovering abandoned carts

6. Add a link to your checkout process that's easy to find

7. Use pop-ups to remind customers of their forgotten items

8. Use web-push notifications

To start sending push notifications to your customers, they first need to opt in to receive your notifications. You can encourage customers to opt-in by displaying a notification when they enter your website, after browsing, or when they attempt to exit the page.

Web-push notifications allow you to deliver personalized messages to customers who have abandoned their shopping carts and encourage them to complete the purchase.

Furthermore, since they’ve already consented to receive such notifications, you can also send them other notifications in the future like sales or marketing-related messages.

9. Offer a discount

10. Make the checkout process easier

One of the main reasons why people abandon their carts is because the checkout process is too complicated or time-consuming.

Your checkout process should be as seamless and frictionless as possible, from the time they land on the checkout page until they enter their payment details and head to the thank you page.

To keep your checkout page clutter-free, here are some best practices:

Use a one-page checkout
Let your customer checkout as a guest
Avoid asking unnecessary questions or fields
Have an auto-fill function
No long paragraphs or chunks of text
Avoid including ads that can distract your customer

11. Provide free shipping

12. Use search engine marketing

13. Use an abandoned cart plugin

14. Use exit-intent popups

15. Offer customer support

16. Display customer reviews

Customer reviews are a great way to instill trust in your customers so that they have greater confidence to shop with your business. After all, 88% of shoppers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

To add to that, the same study shows that customers are likely to spend 31% more if a business has good reviews.

That’s why showcasing customer reviews on your website will increase your trustworthiness, which in turn increases the likelihood to go through with their purchases.

17. Add trust badges to your checkout page

The increased risks of online phishing, scams, and security breaches are stopping customers from going through with making the payment. A study shows that 17% of respondents didn’t make a purchase because they didn’t trust the site with their credit card information.

Hence, including trust badges on your checkout page can positively impact the way customers shop with you.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) badges, accepted payment badges, and secure payment icons increase the credibility of your website and prove to your customers that you are legitimate.

18. Allow guest checkouts

Another common reason for cart abandonment is the need to create an account.

Not all customers want to commit to a brand they just found — they don’t want to be included in newsletters and receive notifications. Also, this can lengthen the checkout process as shoppers have to go through the hassle of keying in their details.

That said, offer the option of allowing your customers to check out as a guest if they wish to. Of course, you can provide incentives such as discounts or points for customers who create an account with you.

19. Use customer segmentation

Customer segmentation is a great way to send targeted abandoned cart texts, emails, and other marketing messages. That’s because sending the same abandoned cart recovery content to all shoppers will not be effective — every shopper has different needs and motivations.

By segmenting your customers based on data such as their purchase history, interests, and website behavior, this helps you craft more relevant and personalized messages that are more likely to encourage them to recover their carts.

Conclusion

So there you have it! Not all hope is lost with these 19 different ways to convert abandoned carts into sales. 😉

Some of these strategies might work better for certain businesses than others, so experiment and see which ones produce the best results. And remember, even if you only adopt a couple of these strategies, you could see a significant increase in your bottom line.

For more of such tips and advice, check out our blog!