12 proven strategies for saving abandoned carts

Abandoned carts are one of those few e-commerce problems that haven’t been completely solved yet. Annual losses in sales revenue caused by abandoned carts reach $18 billion with an average shopping cart abandonment rate exceeding 88% for some industries.

That’s a lot of money left behind, this close to being put in your pocket.

But you’re not without options here. Tackling this challenge alone is a guaranteed way to grow your revenue. Even if you only manage to convert a modest percentage of abandoned carts, that still translates into quite a lot of money. That’s why we’ve put together these 12 tips on how to keep your abandoned cart rates to a minimum. Let’s jump right in!

Optimize the checkout process

18% of shoppers abandon their carts because the checkout process is too long, while another 24% bounce because they are forced to create an account to proceed. That’s why ensuring that your checkout is as optimized as it gets is a sure way to get more conversions!

Do you really need to know their last name to sell them that soap? Allow your customers to make a purchase without completing a 23-step sign-up process and watch your conversion rates grow.

Find new ways to motivate your customers

People love businesses that support an important cause. It doesn’t have to be as grand as TOMS’ “buy one give one” approach that as we all know was too good to last, but you can still connect your store and your customers to some kind of movement.

A shopping cart is an excellent place to remind buyers why they are shopping with you. United by Blue does so in a subtle yet very effective way:

Make your carts visual

Including an image of the selected products in the cart helps customers to identify with their purchase better and may contribute to the reduction of the abandonment rates. Also, in the case of returning customers and winning over abandoned carts, having the image will surely make the shopping experience more positive for buyers.

The more information you include in the cart preview the better. Featuring product specifics, such as the brand, the size, or the quantity in a visual and easy-to-understand way is the key to success here.

Add a progress bar

There’s another visual solution you could implement in order to save your abandoned carts: try adding a progress bar that would clearly demonstrate how many steps are remaining till the purchase is complete.

It can be anything from a barely-noticeable line on top of the screen or an elaborate design for each step – it’s your call. Just keep in mind that shoppers will be more likely to complete their journey if they can see the end of it.

Being unsure of how many steps are left is a big reason behind abandoned carts — don’t keep customers in the dark.

Include product ratings & reviews

89% of consumers would consult an online review before committing to purchase. That’s why ensuring that your e-commerce page features product ratings and reviews is a sure way to increase your sales rates.

However, not many shop owners know that you can take it a step further and include product reviews in the cart as well. This way, you get to remind your buyer about the high quality of the product they are about to purchase, thus saving yourself some abandoned carts.

The point is to avoid having reasons for second thoughts at checkout time. When questions are answered and doubts are addressed ahead of time, there’s a clear path to check out.

Prove that transactions on your site are secure

Do you know why Amazon is so successful? Because people trust it. They trust the platform with their personal details, card credentials, product preferences, and more because Amazon has proven again and again that it won’t abuse this information.

While you know your checkout process is fraud-proof and efficient, your first-time customer may need a little persuasion. Use the shopping cart area to remind them that you, too, can be trusted.

Use whatever shields, certifications or symbols from the online payment security services you use to remind customers that you have taken the appropriate steps to ensure the security and privacy of their information.

Offer free shipping

You probably know that shipping prices can be a decisive factor when it comes to e-commerce purchases. Many customers would prefer to buy a more expensive item with free shipping rather than a cheaper solution with delivery costs. It’s just our nature, we want to get something for our money and shipping costs just don’t make us feel like we’re getting anything.

This means that you don’t have to lose money on product delivery – you can easily include the cost of shipping in the original product price and watch your customers brag about the steal.

Making free shipping work financially on your end can be a challenge but, in the world of e-commerce, you have to find a way. Free shipping is a necessary ingredient in a lot of good things, including reducing abandoned carts.

Provide detailed info on the final price

Regardless of your pricing model and views on charge-free delivery, e-commerce buyers appreciate transparency. That’s why it may strongly affect your abandoned cart rate if you explain how the final price is estimated right there, within the cart.

Most stores provide product value as the final price of the cart and then add the shipping costs during the checkout. Instead, you could follow Chocolate Alchemy’s example, and save your clients some stress by allowing them to consider the shipping costs beforehand.

The point here is to avoid unwelcome surprises, like huge shipping costs, at the final stage of checkout. Make sure customers know what to expect ahead of time.

Integrate the most popular payment methods

While we’re on the subject of money, don’t forget about your customers’ convenience: the more payment methods you offer, the better. That said, you don’t really have to go overboard and consider every possible payment option. Instead, focus on the most common ‘extra’ payment methods such as PayPal, Apple or Google Pay, credit/debit cards, etc.

In case your store targets local markets or has numerous physical locations, you can also include the option to collect the item in-person and pay in cash, thus saving your customers shipping fees as well.

It’s all about being flexible and adjusting to the needs and expectations of consumers who are used to getting their way. Again, removing barriers is the key and if there is a certain portion of your customer base that expects a certain payment method to be available, make sure to give them what they want.

Set up creative push notifications

Never underestimate a good push notification! These timely smart messages are known to increase user retention, engagement, and open rates. While this form of marketing works best on smartphones, it’s been lately widely adopted by e-commerce websites as well.

The key is to be creative and specific: the message about an abandoned item is already personalized, but how about adding an image as well as a catchy text to accompany the reminder? Don’t limit yourself to “your cart is waiting for you” – try to go bolder, funnier, or simply more human to make sure more users return to your store and complete the checkout.

Use abandoned carts to remarket more efficiently

Honestly, if you were to choose just one strategy from this post, choose this one. Remarketing works wonders for abandoned carts if done right! Besides, there are so many great options you have to work with.

Looking for an effective way to retarget lost clients? Set up a remarketing ad that will ensure the abandoned items haunt the user for a few days. Or prepare an automated email campaign that will remind them of what they’ve left behind. Not only can this approach help you to save some of those abandoned carts, you can use it as an opportunity to promote more products in the future.

Skip the cart (wait, what?)

Finally, if you’ve tried everything and your abandoned cart rates are still high, how about giving your clients a chance not to interact with the cart at all?

Adding a possibility for an instant checkout with a simple “Buy Now” button has proven to be a great strategy for many e-commerce brands, as they encourage impulsive purchases, promote on-the-spot decision making, and simply save people a lot of time and hassle.

If there’s no cart, there’s no cart to abandon!

It’s not only about the cart

These are some of the most effective strategies for salvaging abandoned products, but don’t forget that e-commerce store optimization goes far beyond carts and checkouts. Your main goal is to provide your potential client with the most pleasant, simple, and personalized shopping experience possible. That’s why the guaranteed way to increase your sales rate is to optimize every step in your entire customer journey.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. What would the ideal shopping process look like for you, from start to finish? Improve each small step in the shopping and checkout process and abandoned carts will be kept to a minimum!