Cart abandonment is a massive problem for online retailers – but it doesn’t have to be.
According to stats, as many as 78.65% of consumers abandon their carts. This is problematic because, as an online merchant, you’ve worked so hard to get these consumers to your store… and now they’re just going to click the back button.
This is why a key part of your marketing strategy has to be the re-engagement of cart abandoners. If you can find out why your customers are abandoning their carts, you can work out a way to bring them back and clinch those sales.
Let’s take a look at how to do just that.
Create Urgency
Customers feel compelled to buy something when they’re told that a great deal is about to end. It’s human nature.
Take a look at this email from Pacsun and take note of the language used. By saying “Hurry back before they are gone” the ad is tapping into the customers fear of missing out (FOMO). Nobody wants to miss out on a great deal – especially a deal they’ve already shown interest in.
There are many reasons why a customer won’t go through with their purchase the first time around. One of them is simply that they assume they can just buy it another time. By retargeting customers with a sense of urgency, you’re pushing them to take action.
Create a Sense of Scarcity
Scarcity works in a very similar way to urgency when it comes to marketing.
Amazon – and many other eCommerce retailers – create a sense of scarcity by telling their shoppers that there are only a few items left in stock.
Not wanting to miss what might be their last ever chance to buy a particular product, customers are at last compelled to complete their purchase.
Offer a Price Match Pledge
Price match pledge remains a criminally underused tactic in the eCommerce world. And yet it can yield amazing results.
According to a survey in which retailers were asked which tactics led to the most sales, price matching came second.
The reason a price match pledge works so well is that it reassures your customers that they’re getting the best deal.
Look at it like this: If a customer makes a purchase from you and then gets targeted by a rival ad offering the same product for cheaper, they’ll feel as though they’ve lost out. From now on, they’ll shop with a rival.
So retarget cart abandoners with ads that reassure them you’ll match any price. This will build trust (which is key to a customer doing business with you) and it will satisfy any qualms the customer has about the price.
Price matching might cost you a little bit at first, but you’ll gain more in the long run as it can turn cart abandoners into long term customers.
Create Exit Intent Popups
An exit intent popup is one that displays when a customer is about to abandon a particular page, and thus a particular task – such as completing the checkout process.
Their aim is to have one last shot at persuading the customer to go ahead and complete whatever it was they were doing. To do this, the exit intent popup must come with a high-value incentive. In the case of abandoned carts, an exit intent popup will typically offer a 10% off coupon code.
An exit intent popup won’t always work because it won’t always be the price that’s causing the customer to stall. But they can definitely increase sales by creating that crucial moment of tension in the customer’s mind. 10% off is a pretty good deal, and it could be just the right offer needed to convince them to go ahead and make the purchase.
So display your exit offer when the shopper goes to leave your checkout page. It’s easy with a WordPress popup plugin. Present customers with a promo code that might entice them to stay. Make sure not to ask them for their email address first. Make this easy for them.
All they have to do is enter the promo code to enjoy 10% off this particular purchase.
Add The Right Payment Options
Few customers will hand over their cash if they can’t see their preferred payment option on your checkout page. Add the most popular payment gateways, such as PayPal, to build trust and lower your cart abandonment rate.
Also consider adding a POS card reader for seamless, faster transactions that make life easier for your customers.
A/B Test Your Shopping Cart Page
Your shopping cart page is crucial to land sales. Although a customer has made it this far, and although they might even be in the mood to make a purchase today, they might not go through with it if your checkout flow is poor.
Remember that the user experience is critical in 2019. If the checkout process is slow and complicated, some customers will bail out.
Elements to A/B test on your shopping cart page
Guest checkout vs Member checkout – Asking first-time buyers to register could drive people away. Add the option of checking out as a guest and see what effect it has on your cart abandonment rate
Remove distractions – What should be on your checkout page? It might sound silly but something like your navigation bar could be causing a distraction and preventing more conversions. Take a proper look at your shopping cart page and see what elements you could remove. Then test the results
Single vs multi-page checkout – While multi-page checkouts give you more info as to where the customer is dropping out in the purchase process, you might find that the single page checkout makes life easier for the consumer. Experiment with both and see what works best
Conclusion
This is how to re-engage your cart abandoners. It’s important to remember that customers who have made it as far as the checkout process are clearly interested in what you’ve got. So instead of giving them up, take the tips in this article and implement a retargeting strategy that brings a percentage of cart abandoners back into the game. Where cart abandoners are concerned, it’s never over until it’s over.
ranking diagram concept
