When users visit an ecommerce site, there is a chance that they may not complete their conversion or sale.

If we can capture their email upon site entry, through an account creation or modal pop-up, then there is a good chance that we can retarget these potential customers using cart abandonment emails.

Cart abandonment emails have the potential to be highest ROI driver for an email campaign since they are engaging with subscribers that have not only already shown interest in the brand, but also a specific good or service.Once the user enters their email address on the site, we have the ability to follow them throughout the site and see what item or items they have added to their cart, but failed to purchase.

A good way to send a friendly reminder to these people is to send an email 3 hours after the cart is abandoned. It is not recommended to have any offers in this first email.This email can be as simple as, “Hey, looks like you forgot something!” This and the proceeding emails should be simply structured, showcasing the highest priced item in the abandoned cart, a prominent checkout button and possibly some related items in a secondary position.

Friendly subject lines tend to have a higher open rate while offer based subject lines tend to be ignored. The potential customer has already engaged with the brand and therefore has a pre-existing relationship.

If there is no purchase on the first email, the next emails should be sent 2 and 5 days after abandonment. Also, the subscribers receiving these abandonment emails should be suppressed from your regular scheduled sends during the 5 day span as not to overwhelm them.

If the subscriber has never made a purchase from your site, you may consider adding an incentive, such as free shipping, 10% off or free gift with purchase. However this tactic should not be made standard since it has the potential to teach the subscriber that if they abandon the cart they will receive a better offer.

If you choose to offer deals in these emails, they should be in the form of a single use coupon code so it cannot be duplicated. Phrase codes will most likely end up on sites such as retailmenot.com for the use of the general public.

For more email marketing advice, be sure to also see our posts on Mastering the Art of Email Marketing and The Automated Emails You Should Be Sending.