COME BACK! - 5 cart-recovery tips

GetElastic.com posted some handy tips recently on how to recover abandoned carts in eCommerce with email responders as statistics are showing that cart abandonment is on the increase from last year.

Here’s what they suggested:

Strike fast

Analysis of over 60,000 abandoned carts by SeeWhy found 54% of all carts that are successfully recovered are won back within the first few hours after abandonment. Another 10% can be saved within the first 48, with 82% recoverable within a week.

Your own days-to-purchase analytics or testing may reveal what the best strategy is for your business, even down to the category or product level.

However, the research also shows immediate, real-time recovery rates are 11% vs 6% at 24 hours, open rates 60% vs 55% for the same, and revenue-per-email $11 vs. $4.

Serialize

A series of triggers, such as one real-time, one after 24 hours and one after 7 days is recommended, along with segmenting out those that ignored the first email, opened without a click, and opened and clicked. Experiment with other mixes, such as a shorter or longer series, or introducing progressively more aggressive incentives to those that open and don’t act.

Don’t over-incentivize

Avoid sending juicy incentives in the first triggered message – this may encourage intentional abandonment to receive a discount, which will over-inflate your ROI stats for your recovery program while eroding your margins.

Capture email early

You can’t send a triggered abandonment email without one, so try — but don’t forget you can still attempt cart recovery without knowing an email address, with retargeting and exit pop-ups.

Segment and test different creative

Test subject lines, headlines, product presentation, offers, call-to-action styling, merchandising (similar products) value propositions and persuasive messaging.

Read the full article here

by Jennifer McMillen on 17/07/2014