If you run an ecommerce site, you’ll know there’s nothing more frustrating than an abandoned shopping trolley. Unfortunately, this is common practice on the web, such is the ease with which people can leave your store, often unnoticed.
But imagine the same happening in a supermarket… Would they be happy to see full shopping trolleys strewn across their store? Obviously not, and the same goes for web-based shops, too.
Inactive customers do nothing for your conversion rates but, if they began filling a shopping trolley, there is always an opportunity remaining. An opportunity to tempt them back. Similarly, if someone was once a loyal customer but has since lapsed, you may be missing an opportunity to re-engage them.
Email marketing could be one of your closest allies, here.
We’ve got three tips which may just help you awaken those shoppers caught napping and call back those who have dumped their trolley…
1) Reactivate
Every web store will suffer from customers who no longer visit. They may have purchased once but have since vanished. However, the chances are, they may still be on your email list which means you can still reach out to them. Consider sending a reactivation email to such customers. Make it different to your usual newsletter (the one they are probably ignoring) – be bold and offer them something in return for coming back to your store. Be sure to point out what they are missing.
2) Mid-shop reminders
This is fast becoming standard practice, and for good reason. If a shopper begins to fill their basket and then disappears, providing your shopping cart system is able to recognise there is an incomplete order in progress, why not set up an automatic notification a day or so later to inform them that they haven’t finished their shop? There may be a genuine reason they didn’t finish (called away on an emergency, for example), and a reminder from you that they have a half-full shopping basket may just be enough to bring them back. Try it – there’s nothing to lose.
3) Reward loyalty
Giving something back to your most loyal shoppers can increase their return rate. If you can work out the average spend of your best customers and how often they purchase, you can set up an automated email response to any customer that triggers the reward threshold. Whether it be a discount or free trial of a product, it’s likely to get them coming back and will in turn increase your conversion rate.
