7 ways to recover abandoned carts

by Moises Hamui January 1, 2024

Abandoned carts are one of the major problems faced by online merchants. It is estimated that the average cart abandonment rate is 69.57%, which means that almost 7 out of 10 potential buyers leave their products without completing the purchase.

This represents a huge loss of revenue and opportunity for online businesses, which must look for effective strategies to win back those customers and increase their conversions.

In this article, we will show you 7 ways to recover abandoned carts, based on best practices and success stories from other merchants. These are:

Send recovery emails
Offer incentives and discounts
Show urgency and shortage messages
Simplify the payment process
Offer multiple payment and shipping options
Provide customer service and support
Perform A/B testing and optimize user experience

What are recovery emails and how do they work?

Recovery emails are one of the most popular and effective ways to recover abandoned carts. They consist of sending a personalized and timely message to the customer who abandoned their cart, reminding them of the products they left behind and motivating them to complete the purchase.

Recovery emails must meet a few requirements to be successful:

They must be sent at the right time, neither too early nor too late. Ideally, you should send the first email between 1 and 4 hours after abandoning, and then follow up with other emails after 24 and 48 hours.
They must have an attractive and clear subject that captures the customer's attention and indicates the purpose of the email. For example: “Did you forget something?”, “Your cart is waiting for you”, “Don't miss this opportunity”.
They should display abandoned products with images, names, prices, and links to make it easy to return to cart. Additional information such as reviews , testimonials or guarantees can also be included to build trust and credibility.
They must have a striking and visible button or link that invites the customer to return to the cart and complete the purchase . For example: “Return to cart”, “Complete order”, “Take advantage of offer”.

What types of incentives and discounts can be offered to recover abandoned carts?

Another way to recover abandoned carts is to offer incentives and discounts to customers who abandoned your products, to encourage them to come back and buy.

Incentives and discounts can be of different types, depending on the merchant's objective and budget. Some examples are:

Offer a percentage or flat discount on the order total or on a specific product. For example: “10% discount on your purchase”, “Save $10 on this product”.
Offer free or discounted shipping on the order. For example: “Free shipping on your purchase”, “Half price shipping”.
Offer a gift or free product upon completion of the purchase. For example: “Get this ebook for free”, “Receive a free sample of this product”.
Offer a coupon or promotional code to use on a next purchase. For example: “Receive a $5 coupon for your next purchase”, “Use this code and get 15% off your next purchase”.

Incentives and discounts can be offered in recovery emails, urgency and shortage messages, or on exit pages. The important thing is that they are relevant, attractive and limited in time, to generate a sense of exclusivity and opportunity.

What are urgency and scarcity messages and how do they work?

Urgency and scarcity messages are another way to recover abandoned carts, which are based on the psychological principle of loss aversion.

This principle states that people value what they can lose more than what they can gain, and that they act more quickly when there is a risk of losing an opportunity.

Urgency and shortage messages can be displayed in different parts of the purchasing process, such as on product pages, in the cart, at checkout, or in recovery emails.

These messages aim to create a sense of urgency and scarcity in the customer, so that they feel motivated to buy before time or stock runs out.

Urgency and scarcity messages can be of different types, depending on the type of product or service offered . Some examples are:

Show the time left to take advantage of an offer or discount. For example: “Offer valid only for 24 hours”, “2 hours left to complete your purchase”.
Show the remaining stock of a product or service. For example: “There are only 3 units available”, “Last places available”.
Show the number of people who are viewing or purchasing the same product or service. For example: “20 people are viewing this product”, “5 people have bought this product in the last few hours”.
Show the number of people who have left a positive review or testimonial about the product or service. For example: “This product has 4.5 stars out of 5”, “More than 1000 satisfied customers with this service”.

How to simplify the payment process to recover abandoned carts?

Another way to recover abandoned carts is to simplify the checkout process, making it as easy and quick as possible for the customer.

A complicated, long or confusing payment process can be one of the main causes of cart abandonment, as it can generate frustration, distrust or distraction in the customer.

To simplify the payment process, you can follow some recommendations:

Reduce the number of steps and fields required to complete the purchase . Ideally, the payment process can be done on a single page, or in a maximum of two or three steps. The option to purchase as a guest may also be offered, without the need to register or log in.
Show the progress and information of the order at all times , so that the customer knows what step they are in, how much they have left to finish, and what products and prices they are paying. You can also display a progress bar, an order summary, or a back button.
Offer multiple payment and shipping options , so that the customer can choose the one that best suits them and feels safe and comfortable. Options can be offered such as credit or debit cards, PayPal, bank transfer, cash on delivery, standard or express shipping, store pickup, etc.
Provide security and confidence , so that the client has no doubts or fears when entering their personal and banking information. Security seals, certificates, privacy policies, return and warranty, etc. can be displayed.

How to offer customer service and support to recover abandoned carts?

Another way to recover abandoned carts is to offer customer service and support, to resolve any questions, problems or concerns that customers may have during the purchasing process.

Good customer service and support can generate trust, satisfaction and loyalty in customers, and prevent them from abandoning their carts due to lack of information or help.

To offer customer service and support, different channels and tools can be used, depending on customer preferences and needs. Some examples are:

Offer a live chat or chatbot , so that the customer can communicate with an agent or virtual assistant in real time, and get quick and personalized responses to their queries. The live chat or chatbot can be displayed on product pages, in the cart, at checkout, or in recovery emails.
Offer a contact telephone number or email, so that the customer can call or write to customer service or support, and obtain more direct and human attention. The contact phone or email can be displayed in the website header or footer, or in recovery emails.
Offer a frequently asked questions section or a knowledge base, so that the customer can consult the most common doubts or the most common problems that may arise during the purchasing process. The FAQ section or knowledge base can be displayed in the main or secondary menu of the website, or in recovery emails.

How to perform A/B testing and optimize user experience to recover abandoned carts?

The last way to recover abandoned carts that we will show you is to perform A/B tests and optimize the user experience, to improve the performance and conversion of your website.

A/B testing consists of creating two or more versions of an element or page on your website, and comparing the results they obtain with the same visitors. This way, you can identify which version works best and apply the necessary changes.

A/B tests can be performed on different elements or pages of your website, such as titles, colors, images, buttons, forms, offers, messages, etc. The important thing is that you have a clear hypothesis, a sufficient sample and an appropriate tool to carry out the tests.

By performing A/B testing and optimizing the user experience, you can achieve several benefits, such as:

Increase the conversion rate and average order value by offering a more attractive and relevant offer to the customer.
Reduce bounce rate and cart abandonment by improving the navigation, design and usability of your website.
Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty by providing a more positive and personalized experience.

Written by Moises Hamui Abadi : I am an entrepreneur, founding partner of Viceversa and SoyMacho. After leading several digital businesses and advising several other businesses; I decided to form MHA Consulting, a digital marketing consultancy dedicated to growing and enhancing digital businesses in more than 7 countries and generating more than 1,500 million pesos.