Sherlock Holmes And The Case of The Abandoned Cart
“Data! Data! Data! …I can’t make bricks without clay.”
The abandoned cart: a highly regular and ongoing phenomenon for most online retailers and online marketplaces today. The Baymard Institute reports that the average online shopping cart abandonment rate is approx. 70%. Most predictably, the cart abandonment rate is about 9% more prevalent on mobile devices, as cited by Barilliance.
But fret not, you have the capacity to overcome this with targeted emails and advanced segmentation! Salecycle reports that the open-rate of emails specifically designed to re-engage shoppers who have abandoned digital carts is healthfully over 50% and the conversion rate is notably at a steady 30%! With the valuation of abandoned carts (already in the trillions) continuing to grow alongside the (dependable) projected growth of ecommerce it’s clear that everyone should be strengthening their email game.
“Come, Watson, come! …The game is afoot.”
The Discerning Newbie
There’s an equal chance that this person: A) purposefully visited your site after meaning to for quite some time, or B) found your site+brand by sheer happenstance (through a related search result, or random update/social story in their extended network). Either way, they probably have little to zero past experience with your site (maybe even your brand, maybe even the products and solutions you are offering). Furthermore they might not have expected to find themselves shopping at all! They are essentially the equivalent of someone who is ‘just browsing for the first time’ at a brick & mortar location.
Since they are a first-timer, there are unique aspects of their experience that must be taken into consideration. Specifically the possible reasons this character abandoned cart might be:
- a confusing UX/UI experience
- a perceived lack of security and/or encryption
- dislike of the offered payment methods/options/shipping costs
- technical difficulties like slow page downloads or page errors
Possible methods to use to re-engage:
- simply offer to help, or provide a guide
- ask for suggestions/feedback (along with incentives)
- run a quick & painless survey (along with incentives)
Example of advanced segmentation for the case of the discerning newbie:
You can diversify your approach based on how much time a person invested using your site and how much the cart was valuated at the end. Perhaps the user cut straight to the chase, pinpointed a specific item they really needed but found themselves disappointed by shipping costs. Or perhaps a user browsed for ages, enthusiastically discovering and picking various items to purchase, only to experience a slow loading or faulty payment page thereby giving up at the end.
The Cunning Bargain Hunter
You can bet this person: A) has multiple shopping automation/optimization apps downloaded on their mobile device, B) remains in the know of the ‘top-10 best shopping hacks online’, C) probably has about 50+ items saved on various wishlists, and D) calmly executes searches spanning 15+ browser windows at a time on their desktop. They shop in a time+cost sensitive dimension because they are exclusively interested in discounts, sales and promotions. They may be shopping on a whim, but it’s more likely that they’re on an active stakeout for the strongest deal to manifest. They are the equivalent of someone who shows up for a ‘scheduled doorbuster sale’ at a brick & mortar location.
If this person has visited and bought from you before (but only with coupon codes) or you recognize them as a frequent visitor and repeat abandoner, you can bet that this character’s reasons for abandoning cart might be:
- live real-time offerings did not match the advertised sale or discount offerings they had seen
- digital coupons failed/could not be applied or had expired
- the total was deemed unsatisfactory, even after discount was applied
- total was compared simultaneously to another marketplace/brand (which won the deal war)
- performed a “digital window shop” and saved ideas for later (i.e. when it becomes more affordable)
Possible methods to use to re-engage:
- utilize the wishlist creatively (i.e. show them similar items they may have missed that are on sale)
- if you have any sort of regular sale opportunities coming then hype them up
- provide competitive price-point comparisons (your price vs. average industry price)
- provide reviews of what they left behind to tempt them to stretch their $$$
- create a more thrilling bargain hunting experience: haggle to incite more store/brand loyalty (e.g. buy X amount of what was in your bag and “unlock” a special discount code to use with this store for a future purchase!)
Example of advanced segmentation for the case of the cunning bargain hunter:
You can diversify your approach based on how price sensitive this person actually is, i.e. begin gaging the ‘sweet spot’ which inspires this person to make a purchase. In turn, you can decide what kind of deal you are going to offer based on how many abandoned items are resting in the user’s cart, as well as the profit margins of each of the items.
The Capricious Loyalist
This person probably: A) has signed up for both your virtual newsletter and your snail-mail catalogue, B) has refined tastes and has decided that your store, service or brand fits the bill perfectly, C) celebrates improvements to your product or service, just as long as it doesn’t change the cost, quality or essence of what you’ve been selling, D) avidly follows what all their favorite brands are doing across all social media channels, and E) they live for the high-end advertisements you company puts out *hands up emoji*. They are the quintessential ‘valued regular’ at any brick & mortar location.
If this character is a proud evangelist and usually can’t live without you (even at full price), you may consider that the reasons they abandoned cart might be:
- any sudden unexpected technical difficulties
- changes to policies or payment options
- they underestimated pricing and realized they might have to wait for a sale this time
- the cost/speed of shipping tipped the balance out of favor for the purchase
- became distracted and forgot
Possible methods to use to re-engage:
- create sense of urgency (e.g. let them know if an item they abandoned may be low in stock, or the trial service is about to expire)
- A/B test on various combos of sales and offerings:
Example of advanced segmentation in the case of the capricious loyalist:
You can diversify your approach based on how often this user has shopped in the past 3 months, potentially offering up a targeted coupon code (seeing as they truly have shopped their way into your heart). Specifically you can offer specialized deals on ‘look-alike’ or complimentary items, or opt to encourage them to buy the most expensive item in their cart.
A Segmentation Cheat Sheet
“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.”
According to ADWEEK, 81% of shoppers will conduct online research before buying, yielding a modern trend of browser-window-shopping. This denotes that the power of wishlists may be largely overlooked — instead of sitting in a fateful state of flux, observing carts become full and then abandoned time and time over, you could encourage users to openly designate interest in items that they’re not ready to purchase right away (because if they were, they would have already thrown down money on it).
An elementary list of why wishlists rule:
- Users often browse on their phone or mobile device with an intent to engage later when they’ve reached a secure connection or a larger screen; wishlists will make this practice easy and enjoyable.
- Sometimes an item which peaked interest is out-of-stock; without a wishlist you might miss this lead.
- Sometimes the price is not right and waiting for a sale is the master plan; wishlists can help cost-sensitive users keep track of items.
- If it’s a potential gift idea that requires mulling over; wishlists can help a user recall options.
By allowing users to bookmark items, ‘favorite’ entire categories, and self-curate their ideal shopping lists, you can unlock neatly organized insights into the desires of your audiences. What’s more, tracking and studying how and when wishlisted items become purchases can help you design more sophisticated and nuanced approaches to selling (and emailing). In short the use of wishlists, and the active data collection around them, can help you strategize based on behaviours and less on guess work making you quite the master detective.
To learn more about sendwithus and how our platform can help you surpass all of your email nurture goals, please drop us a note at sales@sendwithus.com … or if you’re the shy type, lurk our website at www.sendwithus.com
