Key Strategies for Recovering Abandoned Carts and Boosting Sales

Tricks & Tips
August 8, 2023

What is cart abandonment

Lots of people go on shopping websites, put products in their carts, and then just...leave. Cart abandonment is a common challenge faced by online businesses. This behavior can be frustrating for businesses, as it represents a missed opportunity to convert interested shoppers into paying customers.

Why abandoned carts occur

The prevalence of cart abandonment is a reflection of the complexities and considerations involved in the online shopping process. From the perspective of shoppers, two major factors play a role in cart abandonment: cost and emotional ambivalence

The cost factor involves considerations such as price fluctuations, including free shipping options, and variations in prices across different channels. While emotional ambivalence refers to the hesitation and uncertainty that shoppers experience when making the final decision to complete their purchase.

For businesses, cart abandonment has a direct impact on sales and revenue. It not only hampers immediate conversions but also disrupts the overall customer journey and brand relationship. 

However, it's important to note that cart abandonment does not necessarily indicate lost customers forever. With the right strategies and solutions in place, businesses can effectively recover abandoned carts and boost their sales.

How to recover abandoned carts

Understanding your shoppers is the key to recovering abandoned carts. For both price-sensitive shoppers and emotionally ambivalent shoppers, there are different yet effective methods that you can adopt to reclaim them.

1. For price-sensitive shoppers

1.1 Abandoned cart email:

  • Send emails to remind shoppers about their abandoned carts, encouraging them to complete their purchases.
  • Offer exclusive discounts or promotions to incentivize customers and make their decision-making process easier.
  • Regularly remind shoppers of their wish lists, keeping their desired items top of mind and increasing the likelihood of a future purchase.
Use SmartPush, SHOPLINE’s easy-to-use EDM & SMS marketing tool, to automate email marketing across your customer lifecycle and save your effort. Enjoy the automated 24/7 uninterrupted reach and professional automation templates for abandoned carts in SmartPush.

SmartPush automation templates

1.2 Cart upsell:

  • Use a progress bar that shows customers the required purchase amount or quantity to reach specific goals. This creates interest and encourages customers to make additional purchases.
  • Set different types of discounts based on the number of items or total amount in the cart, such as percentage discounts, fixed amount discounts, or free shipping. 
  • Showcase recommended products on the cart page to guide more browse and purchase.
  • Customize the progress bar's color, text, and style to seamlessly match your store's branding and make your store interesting and enticing.

SHOPLINE Australia offers Cart Upsell, CartSee, and other effective and professional cart-selling plug-ins in its App Store. Cart Upsell, for example, offers the progress bar feature, discount features, and easy customization, to comprehensively reduce abandoned carts through cart settings as many as possible.

SHOPLINE's Cart Upsell feature

1.3 Payment options:

  • Reduce bank transaction fees and introduce convenient payment methods like Paypal or Alipay to provide shoppers with better currency choices.
  • Collaborate with banks to offer additional checkout discounts, making the purchasing process even more enticing.
  • Consider integrating Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options to cater to the preferences of shoppers who prefer flexible payment arrangements. 

SHOPLINE Australia offers an integrated payment gateway with multiple payment methods like credit/debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Zip, and After Pay and helps you enhance the checkout experience for your customers.

Payment method that SHOPLINE provides

1.4 Delivery options:

  • Provide transparent options for covering delivery fees, giving shoppers the ability to choose the most suitable method for their needs.
  • Clearly communicate your return policy to alleviate concerns and build trust among customers.

SHOPLINE's delivery solution offers tailored rates features of separating shipping methods and setting different rates for each delivery area, an on-page shipping calculator, diverse options, and fast in-store pickup for a seamless and exceptional customer experience.

SHOPLINEs delivery solution

2. For emotionally ambivalent shoppers

2.1 Streamlined and safe checkout:

  • Use the simple and trusty checkout surface so as to clear customers’ worries about security.
  • Optimize the checkout flow, allowing customers to proceed directly to payment after adding items to their cart.
  • Simplify the shop page in order to adapt small screens of mobile devices.

Leverage SHOPLINE’s Checkout feature to offer user-friendly and customizable checkouts that are fast and easy to use and safeguard your payments process with PCI and 3D checkouts. Safe and hassle-free.

Safe checkout with PCI and 3D checkouts

2.2 Simple data collection:

  • Provide a clear and straightforward checkout process, avoiding forced account creation.
  • Minimize data collection to only contact and standard address information for delivery.

2.3 Security announcement: 

  • Highlight security measures beneath each payment method to assure shoppers of their safety.
  • Include links to the “Privacy Policy” under the payment options.
  • Displayed security seals to reassure customers.

You can add important policies to your SHOPLINE store. These policies include the Refund Policy, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and Shipping Policy. These policies will be displayed as links in the footer of the checkout page, allowing customers easy access to them. Remember to review and customize these policies as needed to align with your business practices and legal requirements.

The final words

Prioritizing your customers' needs is essential. Understand their preferences during the checkout process and aim to provide a seamless experience. Address their concerns by offering secure and reliable payment options that instill trust and provide a hassle-free environment for placing orders, considering both cost-related and emotional factors.

SHOPLINE Australia offers an easy-to-use customizable checkout page design that will help you to optimize your customer journey. Start SHOPLINE’s 14 days free trial today, and turn your losing orders into profits with the help of SHOPLINE!

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