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5 Top E-Commerce Strategies to Recover Abandoned Carts

Ali Shah - Writer for BeProfit
By Ali Shah
Kelly Hendrickse - Editor for BeProfit
Edited by Kelly Hendrickse

Updated February 27, 2023.

Close up of Hand SME entrepreneur working at home, part of an e-commerce team, online sales.

Abandoned carts are a major drawback for e-commerce websites. According to studies, just under 70% of online carts are abandoned. Abandoned carts refer to when a customer adds an item to their online shopping cart but doesn’t complete the purchase. This can lead to critical losses in sales and revenue, low customer retention, and increased customer acquisition costs.

There can be various reasons behind abandoned carts, such as unexpected extra costs, high shipping fees, technical issues, security concerns, slow websites, lengthy checkout processes, or a loss of interest.

So, let's look at some ways to help recover abandoned carts.

1. Sending Cart Abandonment Recovery Emails

Cart abandonment recovery emails are automated reminders that are triggered when a user abandons their cart. This email encourages them to complete their purchase with a call-to-action (CTA) button that reverts them to the product's website. These emails are most effective when two or three follow-up recovery emails are sent and can lead to a 20% conversion rate, on average. Even if the user does not complete the original purchase, these emails can help increase customer retention and revenue by providing a way for them to sign up for a newsletter or suggest product options they might prefer.

» Learn about rates, recovery, and plugins for abandoned carts on WooCommerce

2. Using Remarketing Ads

Remarketing ads use personalized advertising to target users who have already interacted with a business's website. These ads aim to remind the users about the business's brand and revert them to the site. This method is highly effective and has a 70% chance of a conversion. The user is more likely to complete their purchase because of the familiarity and personalization this marketing strategy adds. The click-through rate is also higher than regular ads because they are often more appealing to users, offering incentives or personalized product suggestions.

3. Using Personal Outreach

Personal outreach involves contacting a user who has abandoned their cart, often via a personalized email or a phone call. This is usually a one-to-one approach where a sales representative offers various incentives that encourage the consumer to complete the purchase.

This approach can result in increased loyalty, repeat business, and a chance of recovering a potential customer. This strategy also helps understand why the user left their purchase incomplete, which can help you improve your business's checkout process going forward. For example, let's say a user added some products to their cart but left because of a technical issue or payment authorization problem. When one of your sales representatives reaches out and detects the user's interest in the product, they can provide expertise and guide the user through the checkout process.

4. Using Web Push Notifications

A web push notification is a message that pops up on a user's device when they've left an e-commerce site and acts as a reminder of the products in their cart. This strategy can be highly effective in terms of reach, personalization, and cost-effectiveness. For example, you could offer an incentive, like free shipping, as a way to entice the user back to their cart, as well as directly address them by name for added personalization.

These notifications rely on timing and using urgency in push notifications could help recover abandoned carts. For example, a timed incentive like 20% off on the item in the user's cart for the next two hours. By securing more recovered carts, as well as targeting users on your site in a timely manner, you can help increase sales.

» Looking to improve profits? Find out how web personalization can help

5. Cart Abandonment Recovery SMS

A cart abandonment recovery SMS involves sending a friendly text message to users with abandoned carts. Immediate message delivery can improve conversion because most people read 90% of their SMS messages within 3 minutes of receiving them.

There are several other benefits, such as personalization, low costs, and real-time capabilities, like offering a reply option or live chat for any questions the user may have. You can also add value, like free shipping or coupons, which can encourage the user to complete their purchase. This tactic is highly effective because the information is sent through mobile, and mobile e-commerce sales account for about 41.6% of all e-commerce sales. By combining this method with others, like recovery emails, you can maximize the chances of users recovering their abandoned carts.

BeProfit Can Help Recover Abandoned Carts

Abandoned carts are missed revenue opportunities. When a user adds an item to their cart and doesn't complete their purchase, it shows their interest but also their hesitation. By personally reaching out to users, businesses have a high chance of recovering lost revenue, increasing sales, and understanding which site attributes are turning potential customers away. Personal outreach can also result in improved customer loyalty and future sales.

But implementing these strategies is just a start. And that's where BeProfit comes in. BeProfit is an all-in-one platform to help you track your business metrics, from expenses to profits. With the metrics managed, you can then focus on refining your strategies to increase your business's growth and provide your customers with the best user experiences to reduce future abandoned carts.

» Book a demo to find out how BeProfit can help