Did you know the vast majority of e-commerce carts are abandoned? (Seriously. We’re talking nearly 80%!)
This is a huge retention opportunity, yet many marketers struggle to recover these sales. Sales that were so close. In fact, major retailers — from Nordstrom to Gap — fail to even send cart abandonment emails, essentially leaving money on the table.
Why? It’s anyone’s guess, but chances are these retailers are hyper sensitive to the increasing sense of email overload permeating the market. They might just want to give their customers a break and prevent unsubscribes.
While well-intentioned, this strategy is flawed.
Nearly half of all cart abandonment emails are opened. Over 13% result in click-throughs. And, a whopping one-third of clicked cart abandonment emails convert. This is pretty remarkable, considering the fact that email marketing in general averages a measly 0.6% response rate, according to the Direct Marketing Association.
If you’re using a good marketing automation platform, setting up a shopping cart abandonment sequence is easy and effective. Done well, you will see great results without further alienating shopping cart abandoners. And by adding just one extra step, one that most of your competitors will skip, you can close even more sales.
Check out the sample sequence below to learn why direct mail is the secret weapon your cart abandonment series needs.
Email + Direct Mail Cart Abandonment Strategy: 3 Steps
Use this integrated email and direct mail series to reel in shopping cart abandoners and close more sales.
Step 1: The Friendly Reminder Email
Send your first cart abandonment message by email, and do it right away (within an hour of the abandonment).
Yes, we’re a direct mail automation software service, but we recommend starting your cart abandonment series with email. Time is of the essence and although we mail your postcards as fast as possible, we can’t get them to the consumer within the hour.
You want to reach the abandoner within the same Internet session if possible. This is because many people abandon carts without meaning to do so. Maybe the website was too complicated or they had to step away. Whatever the reasoning, they were just one click away from buying, and you want to reach them while they’re still in that mood.
This first cart abandonment email is not the time for a hard sell. Remember back when we talked about how people are getting overwhelmed by too many emails? A hard sell within an hour of walking away from a cart can be irritating. Additionally, triggering discounts upon abandonment can give customers pause in the future, leading to more cart abandonment.