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What To Send

You must take a tactical approach to the design of your remarketing campaigns. The tone of the email must be helpful and reassuring to the recipient, and should include:

• Pictures of the items left in the cart and links to product reviews
• Security icons proving online transactions are safe, such as Verisign, Cybertrust, McAfee SECURE trustmark, etc.
• A toll-free number for your customer service department
• Links to your return policy and privacy policy
• An easy way to complete the purchase
• An unsubscribe link so recipients can opt-out of your re-marketing campaigns without unsubscribing from your marketing list
• Personal information, such as the shopper’s first name

The emails can also include a notification that the cart will expire if action isn’t taken or a limited time offer or special discounts. All of these items can greatly increase the likelihood of a completed sale. Listrak studied the sending habits of the Internet Retailer 500⁶ companies to look at their shopping cart abandonment messages. It found that 23.81% of the messages received linked directly to the abandoned cart, 45.23% included an incentive with over half of them offering free shipping, and 60% were personalized with the shopper’s first name.

When creating your messages, you must approach the design with caution. In the past, consumers raised concerns about being “watched,’ and it was generally accepted that remarketing campaigns should be sent in a stealthy manner several days to two weeks after the cart was abandoned. Forrester Research⁷ published a number of reports in 2001 and 2003 offering advice on these campaigns. Those concerns aren’t as viable today as most online shoppers are aware of the web analytics tracking their actions and most appreciate the convenience of a saved shopping cart and an email reminder. But you still need to create remarketing campaigns that the recipients will find useful. The emails shouldn’t be too salesy or pushy, but the purpose must be designed to get customers to complete the sale.

There are a number of different tactics and types of campaigns you can use to re-engage your customers. Email marketing is the most versatile tool in your marketing toolbox and it is easy to test different campaigns to maximize your results. Here are some examples and tips for creating a successful remarketing campaign:

Williams-Sonoma entices shoppers with a
well-designed reminder email

Reminders – A picture reminding shoppers of what was left in their carts and a link that makes it easy to buy can be enough of an incentive for many shoppers. These emails work best when they are designed to put shoppers at ease. Remembering why people abandon carts in the first place – security issues, lack of customer service or sales representatives, fear that the real item won’t be as nice as the one in the picture, etc., the email should address all of these concerns by linking to product reviews, including security icons, and offering additional ways to complete the purchase. These emails could also include an urgency notice stating that the cart will expire within a certain timeframe to encourage shoppers to act quickly.

Improvements Catalog incentivizes shoppers with a coupon sent within 24 hours of an abandoned cart.

Special Offers – Some etailers are reluctant to include a limited time offer in their abandoned cart emails. They fear the customers will share the information with friends and soon all online shoppers will abandon purchases and wait for the discount to arrive via email. It is true that some customers may behave that way, especially now as the economy recovers; however, the additional revenue you’re bringing in should significantly offset the discount and make it worth your while. If your average sale is $100, with $50 of that being profit, and you sell 250 items each day online, you’re making a profit of $12,500 every day. However, if you can sell an additional 100 items each day at 10% off, you’re increasing your profits over 30% - even accounting for the discounted price and the cost of deploying the additional email message.

Series of Messages – In case your first message goes unnoticed, you can follow up a second and third time with other remarketing campaigns. Your first message could be a reminder of what was left in the cart, the second message could be a discount, the third message could state that the cart is about to expire, etc. You could even include an email offering shoppers an easy way to re-order previously purchased items. These emails should be designed to work together to achieve the common goal, and you must be sure to monitor results closely to ensure shoppers receive the right messages at the right time.