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
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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Contents

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
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

Another great way to remind customers about their abandoned items is to send them an email prompt. 

Data shows that over 17.6% of shoppers who abandoned their shopping carts returned to make a purchase soon after receiving personalized follow-up emails.

Though it’s not as effective when compared to sending text messages, don’t overlook them. Couple emails with text messages and you could recover most of your lost revenue!

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
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

Similar to social media ad retargeting, you can place reminder ads on websites frequented by your target audience. 

This is a great way to remind people about the items they left in their carts and encourage them to come back and finish their purchases.

5. Create a landing page specifically for recovering abandoned carts

By having a dedicated landing page for abandoned carts, you can increase the chances of customers returning to finish their purchases. 

This landing page should include a reminder of the items left in their cart, as well as a strong CTA to encourage them to come back and complete their purchase.

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

If you make it easy for customers to find the link to your checkout process, they’ll be less likely to abandon their carts. This link should be prominently displayed on your website, and it should lead to a page that’s easy to use and navigate.

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

Pop-ups can be annoying, but they can also be effective in getting people to come back and finish their purchases. By displaying a pop-up with a reminder of the items left in their cart, you can increase the chances of customers completing their purchase.

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

In some cases, all it takes to get someone to complete their purchase is a little incentive. 

As mentioned earlier, you can offer a one-time discount on abandoned items to encourage them to complete the purchase. You can include this offer in your recovery text, email, or retarging ad.

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

Shipping costs are another major reason why people abandon their carts. If you can offer free or discounted shipping fees, you’ll be more likely to get people to complete their purchase.

If you don’t offer free shipping, the best alternative is to give an estimate or present a chart so customers can easily calculate shipping fees before checking out. This helps to manage their expectations better while browsing your site.

12. Use search engine marketing

Search engine marketing (SEM) is a great way to reach people who are actively searching for the products you sell. 

By targeting your ads to keywords related to the items in your abandoned carts, you can remind people about what they’re looking for and encourage them to come back to your site and complete their purchases.

13. Use an abandoned cart plugin

There are a number of abandoned cart plugins available for e-commerce platforms like WordPress and Shopify. These plugins can help you recover abandoned carts by automatically sending reminder emails, displaying reminder ads, and more.

14. Use exit-intent popups

Exit-intent popups are a great way to capture the attention of people who are about to abandon their carts. These popups can include a reminder of the items in their cart, as well as a discount code or other incentive to encourage them to complete their purchase.

15. Offer customer support

If a customer is having trouble with the checkout process, or if they have any questions about the products in their cart, offering a way to easily contact your reps can drastically reduce abandoned carts.

That said, you can make use of live chat software or chat widgets to allow your customers to reach out to you and get a solution almost instantly.

This can help increase the chances of them completing their purchase and prevent them from abandoning their cart altogether.

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!

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