I Created an Improved Cart Abandonment Sequence for Estes Park Mountain Shop
This week I’m making a project for Estes Park Mountain Shop, a local outdoors store. They sell everything from camping, hiking, climbing, fishing equipment, and more. With my project, I am specifically attempting to increase sales through the use of a cart abandonment sequence. Estes Park Mountain Shop already has a single cart abandonment email, but it is ineffective and not strategically timed, and I’ll tell you why.
Email Text:
Estes Park Mountain Shop
You left items in your cart
Hi, you added items to your shopping cart and haven’t completed your purchase. You can complete it now while they’re still available.
「Items in your cart」 or 「Visit our Store」
Complete your purchase
[ITEMS IN CART]
This is the current cart abandonment email used by the company. As you can see, the message used is very bland and doesn’t make you want to buy the items. It also isn’t personalized, and lacks any kind of sales push whatsoever, it just feels like a robotic reminder. However, it isn’t all bad. They do show you what items are in your cart, and the discount on the items.
One thing that they did not get down is the timing. I received this email at 3:06 AM, approximately 10 hours after I abandoned my cart. Research has shown that it is ideal to send a sequence of cart abandonment emails, and that the timing is important to maximize the number of sales. Ideally, you want to send the first cart abandonment email one hour after the cart was abandoned. This results in the highest conversion rate, and a significant improvement over waiting 10 hours before the first email.
Here is my first email:
Email Text:
Estes Park Mountain Shop
Come Gear Up!
Hey (Name),
We couldn’t help but notice you left some items in your cart. Come back and get ready for your next outdoor adventure!
With free shipping over $99 and free returns, you won’t regret it!
[INSERT ITEMS IN CART]
「Update Cart」「Check Out」
As you can see, the email is personalized to the individual, and the message is friendly and upbeat, with additional information that could result in a sale about free shipping and free returns. Once again, this email is sent one hour after the cart is abandoned by the customer.
A second email should be sent 24 hours after the cart was abandoned. Currently, Estes Park Mountain Shop only sends one email. This results in large amounts of lost revenue from potential customers that just needed a little push more to purchase. Here is my second email:
Email Text:
Estes Park Mountain Shop
You deserve a break.
Hey (Name),
Come prepare yourself for the adventure of a lifetime. Your cart, and the outdoors, awaits.
[Image of a mountain and hiker with the text “Adventure awaits”]
[INSERT ITEMS IN CART]
「Update Cart」「Check Out」
This email further appeals to their emotions, and is friendly like the first one. Additionally, this one has an image of a hiker on the mountain, which can make the customer think about him or herself up there, taking a well deserved break. This email is essentially about making the customer crave an outdoor adventure, and associate this company and its products with making that happen.
Finally, one more email can be sent. Any more than three and the company starts to look desperate. This final email will be sent 72 hours after the initial cart abandonment, and is the last attempt to convert the indecisive buyer. Because this is the last email, a sense of urgency is beneficial. Here is the email:
Email Text:
Estes Park Mountain Shop
(Name),
Don’t forget the essentials. We’ve saved your cart for you, but our inventory is often limited, and we can’t guarantee your items will be in stock for long.
[Image of two people looking at hiking map with mountain behind them]
「Update Cart」「Check Out」
[INSERT ITEMS IN CART]
In this last email, we attempt to use the fear of scarcity to induce a sale. By mentioning that inventory may be limited and the customer’s items may go out of stock, we induce a sense of urgency to try and get the customer to complete the sale. This email is also less friendly intentionally, so the customer doesn’t feel like their purchase is safe anymore.
This email sequence is far superior to Estes Park Mountain Shop’s current singular email 10 hours after the abandonment. By sending a series of emails, and creating a sense of urgency, we are far more likely to actually convert these potential customers into paying customers.
