Abandoned Shopping Carts Offer Opportunity
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Published on Retailer Daily 10/15/2010
Online retailers can significantly improve revenue by automating the process of converting sales from abandoned shopping carts, according to a new white paper from Listrak.
Consumers Frequently Abandon Shopping Carts
Findings from “Recovering Lost Sales Through an Automated Shopping Cart Abandonment Strategy” indicate shopping cart abandonment is a significant problem for online retailers. The paper cites a study by PayPal and comScore which found 45% of US online shoppers had abandoned shopping carts multiple times.
In addition, the paper references another study by the e-tailing group showing 64% of US online retailers experienced cart abandonment rates of more than 20% in 2009, with nearly one-third of them reporting rates more than 50%. Furthermore, 22% of online retailers did not know their shopping car abandonment rate.
Email Retargeting Can Lead to Shopping Cart Recovery
Listrak recommends automated email retargeting of customers who abandon shopping carts as an effective means of reclaiming some of these otherwise lost sales. Specifically, Listrak advises that an email sent within 24 hours of the abandoned cart reaches customers when they are still considering the purchase, and can prompt them to take immediate action to complete the sale.
Listrak studied the sending habits of the Internet Retailer 500 companies to look at their shopping cart abandonment email messages. It found that about 24% of the messages received linked directly to the abandoned cart, roughly 45% included an incentive with over half of them offering free shipping, and 60% were personalized with the shopper’s first name.
Steps to an Effective Automated Retargeting Email Campaign
Listrak recommends the following steps for online retailers seeking to use email automation tools to target customers who abandon shopping carts:
- Include pictures of the items and links to product reviews.
- Include verified security icons that indicate the email is safe.
- Include a toll-free customer service number.
- Provide links to return and privacy policies.
- Provide an easy way to complete the purchase.
- Give the option of unsubscribing from future retargeting emails.
- Use personal information such as the customer’s first name.
Listrak also advises online retailers may want to consider providing special offers, such as an extra discount, to persuade customers to return to abandoned shopping carts. While some retailers may fear customers will purposely abandon carts to obtain these discounts, Listrak analysis indicates extra revenue generated will offset the discount.
In addition, Listrak recommends follow-up messages if the first message does not convert the sale.
User-generated Video Product Reviews Produce Sales
User-generated online video product reviews can produce sales results better than those typically seen in the rival digital format of banner and rectangle display ads, according to data from comScore ARS and consumer-generated video platform EXPO Communications, Inc.
Twenty-five user-generated product review videos were scored on a scale of 1-100 based on comScore ARS’s validated elements of video persuasiveness and memorability, such as the presence of rational, emotional and structural attributes. Results indicate that 17 videos, or 68%, scored in the average range of 30-50. Another eight videos, or 32%, scored in the above-average range of 51-100. No video scored in the below-average range of 0-29.