5 Steps Towards a Successful Cart Abandonment Program

If you’re like most retailers, you struggle with cart abandonment. And whether you’ve had a cart abandonment program running for years, or are just considering the idea, almost everyone can be doing it better.

In analyzing research gathered for Retail Touchpoints Exposed, we found that most retailers (over 70%) don’t have cart abandonment programs running at all. This is a huge missed opportunity! But, even among those retailers that have active campaigns, many are missing the mark in a number of ways, including:

Timing—Waiting too long or not long enough to send a communication. Timing should match the product that is abandoned—complicated product purchases can require more time to consider, but simple or highly-competitive products need immediate follow-up.
Messaging—Sending generic messages that don’t include personalization, images of the abandoned product(s), incentive to purchase, or recommendations of similar products.
Reason for Abandonment—Lack of consideration for the different types of abandonment. Each consumer’s browsing and buying behaviors are different, and the time spent on a page can be an indication of whether your consumer was simply browsing, or is perhaps a more serious buyer.

There’s no magic formula that will reengage consumers once they’ve left your site, but there are key elements that all successful abandonment remarketing campaigns possess—well-utilized data, a compelling message, and proper timing.

Here’s how to get started:

Step 1: Capture the Event. Abandonment events can be identified and captured through eCommerce, web analytics, and other platforms.

Step 2: Integrate Your Data. Data makes your remarketing messages compelling and relevant. Integrate the data you capture in Step 1 into your messaging platform of record (i.e. ExactTarget).

Step 3: Select Your Channel. Consider how subscribers interact with each channel to determine the best way to deliver this type of message—email, mobile, or social? Think about privacy concerns and the strengths of each channel to drive conversion. HINT: email is probably your best option!

Step 4: Design for Relevancy. Customize your imagery, pricing, and supporting content to match the specific product(s) abandoned. Consider purchasing hurtles and offer information or incentives to help buyers overcome these. Or, if your product has a lengthy buying cycle, offer customers alternative conversion options such as low inventory alerts, price change alerts, or updated model alerts.

Step 5: Schedule the Message. The higher the competition and lower the complexity of the product, the quicker you should send your message. Purchases that typically have a longer sales cycle should correspond to a longer wait between messages. Also, consider assigning a cadence or an ongoing drip campaign around the abandon event—especially for larger purchases that warrant two or three communications.

Don’t stop analyzing your eCommerce data once you have a cart abandonment program running smoothly. Remember that consumers don’t have to have something in their cart to be considering a purchase. Evaluate how to capture and re-engage interest with consumers who browse product detail pages, ask product questions on social networks, or browse in-store without making a purchase.

Learn more about changing your marketing programs with Acquisition, On-boarding, Re-engagement, Cart Abandonment here,