Real-time communication and flexible checkout can cut abandonment

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Despite more than a decade of buzz around cart abandonment, there is still more than $4 trillion worth of merchandise being abandoned today. That’s more than the GDP of every country outside of the U.S. and China. And the real kicker, your program is recovering 3% of your contribution to this number at best.

Don’t get me wrong, that’s a solid amount of money, but most organizations have become complacent in their digital marketing effort to stem this challenge. Some estimates say that a savvy marketer can recover 63% of that revenue, a unrealistic target, while more than a few sophisticated marketers are recapturing a more realistic 5, 10 or even 15% of their abandoners. If all retailers were to replicate the results of their industry-leading peers, e-commerce sales could more than double.

So, that’s why I’m bringing this up again. It’s time to revisit this tortured subject with some fresh perspective:

Real-time interaction. Yes, this is possible. When a consumer closes their browser window with items still in their cart, it should trigger the email service provider to begin a cart abandonment series. The communication should remind shoppers in real-time about their abandoned cart before they purchase the item elsewhere. Launching this campaign within three hours of abandonment can result in an average open rate of 51%.

Recommendations for similar items. Put the right product front and center. After sending an initial notification about the abandoned items, marketers should consider including product recommendations based on product purchase trends of similar shoppers. By providing products consistent with the shopper’s past purchase trends in conjunction with what’s been abandoned most recently, a more relevant surrogate can be suggested. When combining high levels of personalization with overall trends, marketers can expect an average click-to-conversion rate of 23% with the potential to increase online revenue by 345 percent.

Offer additional avenue for checkout. Don’t push a broken process. Another common reason shoppers abandon items in their cart is due to complications with the checkout process. Knowing where in the checkout process your shoppers disengaged, marketers can trigger email messaging containing the number for customer service or the address for the closest store location. This type of personalized messaging can result in a 50% increase in triggered email revenue.

Even the simple adjustments of interacting in real-time, sending additional product recommendations when relevant and offering alternative ordering options will assist in creating a sense of consumer loyalty. Moreover, these are three places to start when it comes to creating the digital equivalent of a new country.