It is quite the common knowledge amongst e-tailers that cart abandonment emails are the way to recover abandoned carts.

Barilliance’s recent studies show that our clients can convert up to 30% from their abandoned cart emails.

But what should you include in your emails?

The Must-Include:

1. The Cart Content

The main point of cart abandonment emails is to remind the abandoner they have left items in their carts that are worth purchasing.

So how can you remind them of how wonderful that shirt they forgot about is, if you don’t show it to them?

Include the cart content in detail to give the abandoner the full picture – a big, clear image of the product and a description of the color, quantity, price, size selected, how many left in stock, etc.

2. A Click-to-Action (CTA) to the Cart

And what would be the point of reminding the abandoner of their cart if you don’t provide them a way to return to the cart?

You must make it super easy for the abandoner to do what you want them to do.

Create a clear, big, stand-out CTA that when clicked on leads to the abandoner’s cart.

3. An Option to Opt-Out

You must allow your customers to opt-out of your emails. Provide a link to unsubscribe at the top or bottom of the email.

The Should-Include:

4. Great Copy

An excellent copy is a big player in convincing the viewer to take the desired action. Motivate the abandoner using customer service language, actionable words and persuasive language.

5. Great Visuals

Great visuals are as important as the copy if not more. This includes visuals of the product as well as the visual theme of the email itself, its design, etc.

Different colors can motivate the viewer to do different things. Remember to always be on-brand.

6. Personalized Product Recommendations

It is a wonderful plus to include personalized product recommendations in your cart abandonment emails. If the abandoner isn’t fully motivated to purchase the item they’ve left, they might be attracted to a different item presented to them.

Personalized product recommendations in emails can lead to 35% increase in click-throughs and 30% increase in sales conversion rates.

7. Customer Service Information

Your customer may have left due to an issue, concern or a problem. They might not actively seek help to resolve it but if you provide them help they might take it.

You may include: a link to the FAQ page, a summary of commonly asked questions and answers, the company’s email, phone number and a live chat.

8. Security Symbols

Shopping online can sometimes be risky in terms of identity and cart theft. So it is natural for shoppers to have security concerns about your site. Tackle these concerns with security proofs such as SSL and customer reviews of the site.

The Could-Include:

9. Ratings and Reviews

Social proof works extremely well in convincing a shopper to make a purchase. You can include the cart items’ ratings and a review or two to ensure the abandoner these items are worth buying.

10. Delivery and Return Policy Information

Similarly to security concerns and issues, some shoppers abandon their cart due to shipping and return concerns and issues. This includes costs, timing and options.

Provide your shoppers an easy access to this information to ease their concerns with a link to the delivery and return FAQ page on your site.

Ensure customers of your wonderful policies by highlighting the good aspects. Is your delivery free? Do you offer express shipping? Do you allow long and free returns or exchanges? Mention these assets in your email in big font to attract the shopper’s attention.

11. Incentives and a sense of urgency

As you probably already know, offering incentive is an easy tool to convince shoppers to convert. You can offer a discount, coupon or free shipping.

However, use this as a ‘last resort’ as you don’t want to offer discounted items for abandoners who might have converted without that discount.

Introduce a sense of urgency as well. You can have limited time on the saving of the cart items, limited time on the incentive or limited number of items. Use one of these three options and the abandoner will be more willing to make a purchase.

12. A Survey

Lastly, you might want to include a survey in order to receive feedback about why the abandoner has left their cart and to improve your site.

Of course, you can’t include all of these points in every cart abandonment email you send. That would be too much in one email. Especially since you will likely send the same shopper more than one cart abandonment email.

So, ensure to include the must-include points in every email but alternate the rest of the points throughout the three emails of your campaign. This way you’ll include most of the points but your emails won’t be too cluttered.