Your email marketing campaign is a triumph. Your click-through rate is the best you’ve ever had. Yet it was all wasted because of the high number of abandoned shopping carts. Don’t despair; most problems are easily fixed and with some careful changes your rate could drop considerably.
A report suggests the average rate of abandonment was around 70%. If yours is somewhere near that, then you have work to do. However, don’t think that because yours is around 50% there’s no point in doing anything. There’s always a Improve.
If a customer has shown interest in a product, enough to click the ‘Buy’ button, then an abandoned cart should be viewed as a failure. You had the customer, and then you lost them. You need to up your game.
The most given reason for abandonment of shopping carts is hidden costs. Hidden here means that they were not apparent until it came time to buy. It is surprising how often shipping being extra is not stated until the last moment. If you want to mess up a sale, this is the best way to do it.
So the first step in attacking abandonments is to ensure that the total cost of a transaction is apparent from early on. Remember that we are dealing with subscribers to an email marketing list and if they feel they have been short-changed in any way, there is always the unsubscribe button.
Free is a lovely word. Make this the cost of postage and packing and advertise the fact.
Ensure that the buying process is slick and simple. We already have the subscriber’s details so don’t ask questions you know the answer to.
Remember that customers might want to compare prices. You might resent them doing it at the last moment, but if your pricing is strong there’s every chance they will return. Make sure the cart retains the items for a period. It is surprising how many companies delete carts when the window is close.
If someone on your email marketing list does abandon their cart, then find out why. Asking them directly is one way but also consider offering them alternatives, both higher and lower priced, or a product with different strengths. If they are one of your good customers, make them an offer. It is not an option you should opt for without careful consideration, but once in a while it might have other benefits.
Check your returns. If one particular segmented email marketing list has a high abandonment rate then try and work out why. Change details, although only one at a time. Try varying the type of image. Make them brighter, more colourful, include technical details or do away with them altogether. I find videos interesting and will normally watch them. It should be on a page earlier so that the buying process is kept free from unnecessary distractions, and especially information. Remember, they’ve already made the decision to buy.
There’s no nice way to put this; an abandoned cart is a failure on your behalf. It is also an opportunity, honest feedback if you will, telling you to improve your processes.
