13 Best Subject Lines for Abandoned Cart Email Campaigns
Email marketing is one of the cheapest ways to allure customers and it is the same with getting back customers who have abandoned their carts when shopping online. Abandoned cart email campaigns always do well when planned the right way.
The planning of an abandoned cart email campaign should start off not with the content of the email but the subject line. If that impresses the customer, then there is no looking back. Open rates will soar high followed by returning customers.
Here are some abandoned cart subject lines used by top retailers to reduce cart abandonment.
13 Subject lines from best abandoned cart emails
A look into these subject lines will change your general perspective on how to craft one. Think crooked but remain wise.
Dive in.
1. Lemme Teleport You Back To Your Cart. Free Of Charge.
Sent by: Chubbies Shorts
This abandoned cart email subject line makes the reader feel like being part of a movie based on science fiction. ‘Teleport’ is the word that makes all the difference here.
The use of informal language (lemme) resonates a friendly and fun-loving approach by the company to connect with the customer. Of course, we do know that a link back to our cart is free but even then the phrase ‘Free Of Charge’ strikes a chord.
2. Don’t leave without this
Sent by: Away
Away is a company that sells travel bags and accessories. An apt name I must say.
They decided to use an authoritative tone for their abandoned cart subject lines. It works for them simply because they have built a good rapport with their customer base. You probably would not listen to anyone whom you despise. No one will. So, when credibility is established this abandoned cart email subject line is a CLEAR winner.
Moreover, by saying ‘Don’t leave without this’, the content of the email is not revealed and so readers get intrigued to take a peek which itself spells success.
3. Don’t open this email
Sent by: REBEL8
The human mind is always inquisitive. It generally tends to take action on when something is opposed to. Some people call that nature reverse psychology and yes, it does work out with this abandoned cart email by a US clothing brand.
Another fascinating point here is that the tone of the abandoned cart email subject line is in line with the name of the brand, REBEL8. This is a smart marketing strategy to imprint the brand name in the customer’s mind.
4. Let’s check this off your list
Sent by: Kate Spade
Kate Spade never fails to impress with their effective abandoned cart emails. The subject line is one aspect that catches the readers’ attention. It sends out a message that reads like ‘let’s do this together’ or ‘we can help you get through this’.
As expected, the copy of the abandoned cart email too addresses checkout issues with the lines ‘trouble checking out? customer care is standing by.’ — a real issue to be considered from the customer’s perspective.
5. Emma, thanks for visiting 100% PURE
Sent by: 100% Pure
This one is just plain you might wonder. Notice the personalization? It does create some magic. When it is personal, it tends to feel like the initiation of a real conversation. The brand, 100% PURE, is thankful and it seems obvious that there is some surprise waiting in the email which makes a customer click.
The mention of the brand name in the abandoned cart email subject line too sets high expectations for the customer, acting as a bait to get tricked into clicking the email open.
6. Sorry to hear about your Wi-Fi
Sent by: Adidas
Adidas addresses a concern by saying ‘Sorry to hear about your Wi-Fi’ in the abandoned cart email subject line. Has really something gone wrong? The fact here is that nothing is wrong with the Wi-Fi of the customer and Adidas very well knows it. After all, it is [] email marketing .
The email also starts with a header that supports the subject line and it reads ‘Is your wi-fi OK?’. Other details to shop again follow the heading. It is one of the best and unique abandoned cart subject lines which demands the attention of the user instantaneously.
7. Choose or Lose! Free Gift Worth up to $210, with your purchase.
Sent by: Estée Lauder
According to yourdictionary.com, exclamatory marks were originally called the ‘note of admiration’. No wonder why people pause when they read a sentence with an exclamation mark because of which 29% of marketers used ‘!’ in the subject line according to Unific.
Estée Lauder put this into practice to create their abandoned cart subject lines. The above subject line conveys a ‘do or die’ message and the exclamation is the one that reinforces it. With the mention of the free gift, it would be absurd if people don’t click open this email.
8. Ending in 10…9…8…
Sent by: AYR
The tick of a clock literally pumps the heart at a faster pace. Similar is the purpose of a countdown which generates fear — the Fear Of Missing Out, dearly called FOMO.
AYR is a US-based clothing store known for denims meant for women. The store has used this abandoned cart email subject line to convert more of their visitors into customers. One thing to make sure is that this subject line ‘Ending in 10…9…8…’ is meant to be used when customers have abandoned products that are on a flash sale.
9. Still Deciding? Your Dolce & Gabbana Three-Button Wool Blazer Is Waiting!
Sent by: The RealReal
It could have been just ‘Still Deciding?’ to make it short and sweet like a little nudge. Why should the product name be there?
The answer is this. The RealReal is an online store that sells out clothes and accessories from various brands and designers. So, it is a necessity to let the customer know the product in the abandoned cart. In addition, it also acts as a reminder to entice the customer into completing the checkout.
10. Your Cart’s Loaded & Ready To Go — Free Shipping. No Minimum.
Sent by: Under Armour
People are obsessed with offers and when there is one they never let go. It is estimated that around 60% of people accounted for extra fees as the reason for cart abandonment and shipping cost tops the chart.
With this in mind, Under Armour has done it right by mentioning ‘Free Shipping’ in the subject line. The point here is that the subject line indicates the reward that the customer gets for proceeding to checkout. This can never go wrong.
11. Heading out without checking out?
Sent by: Huckberry
Rhyming words never fail to catch a person’s attention and Huckberry has used this element in the subject line of an abandoned cart email. Some marketers term this as the ‘oops approach’.
This kind of subject line is useful when the customer is assumed to have been interrupted during the checkout process. To say in detail, the cart is abandoned when the attention of the customer is diverted due to some other issue that is unrelated to the shopping done. In such cases, this subject line is the right one to go for.
In reality, it is not possible to do this research separately for each customer and so the abandoned cart email with such a subject line is usually sent as the first one in the cart recovery campaign.
12. The price dropped for something in your cart
Sent by: Target
Customers go on a shopping spree when the prices hit the lowest mark, be it the bricks and mortar store or online. A price drop, without mentioning the rate of reduction, is a good way to get customers back into the store.
The 8th largest retailer in the US, Target, uses this tactic to increase the open rates and get people shopping again for what they like.
13. Blink and you’ll miss it
Sent by: Happy Socks
Happy Socks nails their abandoned cart email with the subject line which is short yet classy and creates a sense of urgency. It is a way of conveying that the product in the cart is in high demand and there is hardly any time left to grab the stuff.
Here is a bonus!
Scheduling of a cart recovery campaign must be given prime importance to get the desired results from it. A campaign must contain at least 3 effective abandoned cart emails set at certain intervals of time. Below given is the suggested time interval between emails.
Email 1: 1 hour after abandonment
Email 2: 3 hours after abandonment
Email 3: 24 hours after abandonment
Go on, think of some striking abandoned cart subject lines and deliver the best of the lot to your customers’ inboxes before time runs out.
