18 Battle-Tested Ways To Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment

Everyone receives those "your cart is waiting" emails.

Everyone has seen those "you are just a step away from unlocking a 40% discount" message .

eCommerce stores need to go beyond these.

So - we've been trying to get creative while preventing cart abandonment (while we consult our customers).

Some of them work, others just backfire (just like anything else in life :)

So yes - this article is about the ones that have worked to reduce shopping cart abandonment rates.

We’ll be looking at:

Preventing Cart Abandonment With Subtle UX Changes On Your Store

1. Let shoppers create personal deadlines (instead of pushing them)

2. Make cart detection more intuitive with AI

3. Incorporate a one-click “save & text me” option

4. Reframe “spending money” into “doing good”

5. Optimize trust signals for high-intent buyers

6. Trigger chat pop-ups to target specific behaviors

7. Show results-focused social proof 

8. Feature microcopy that draws attention to the current cart

9. Create *quick* cart regeneration nudges 

10. A/B test micro-incentives 

Recovering Abandoned Carts With Compelling Messaging

11. Retarget with cart content variants

12. Leverage Instagram story poll retargeting

13. Send SMSs with direct BNPL checkout links

14. Retarget frequent buyers with personalized WhatsApp sequences

15. Offer limited time “price freezes” instead of discounts

16. Skip single-shot ads for sequence-based retargeting

17. Make your abandoned cart countdown emails sharper

18. Leverage UGC in emails to prevent abandonment

Preventing Cart Abandonment With Subtle UX Changes On Your Store

1. Let shoppers create personal deadlines (instead of pushing them)

So far, we’ve mostly been exposed to cart recovery ideas to the tune of: “Your cart expires in 15 minutes.”

ASOS does it like many others, and frankly, it feels pushy to the average shopper:

But our audits reveal that in reality, it can go either way. 

At the core, it’s about how attached a shopper feels to your brand — which means if it’s a repeat buyer you’re targeting with a great offer, they’re likely to convert. 

But if it’s a first-time visitor and they’re still iffy about why they should engage, it may not make all that much of a difference. 

That’s why enabling shoppers to create personal deadlines either in the cart or way before it, is the way forward. 

Bloom and Wild primes shoppers to add reminders super early in the journey. It doesn’t show right away, but this way of preventing cart abandonment creates more ownership.

Here’s how you can take a stab at this cart recovery technique:

👉 Take a “Reserve Until” approach — and follow it up with multiple choices like “24 hours,” “2 days” and “until payday” to reduce overall cart abandonment

👉 Add a “reminder nudge” at checkout — you can skip the typical “receive emails / text”  and show “No emails, only a single reminder,” “Only a notification when stock is low” and "Remind me when this store is near” nudges instead

2. Make cart detection more intuitive with AI

In 2026, abandoned cart recovery will most likely fail unless shoppers find recommendations & offers exactly mapped to their behavior & preference. 

Lucky you, for there’s AI that can help in creating a product graph that instantly matches complementary items that a specific customer is likely to appreciate. 

Or, bring together only those products that heavily rely on each other to create a more wholesome experience. 

Essentially, AI is able to detect shopper intent easily and notice which use cases go with which products. 

Beauty brand, Glossier, for example, detects products that go well with the primary product and arrives at a lesser bundle price — something that’s attractive all the year round, but especially during the holiday season.

Here’s how you can use AI bundling to optimize shopping carts more effectively:

👉 Fill gaps that you wouldn’t manually be able to — from building a picture of what a complete bundle looks like to seamlessly adding recommendations and single cart additions based on continuity 

👉 Make the most of the intent the shopper is showing — and suggest bundles that serve it right away, like “trying to solve for winter dryness” and AI brings together the most relevant moisturizer and serum.

3. Incorporate a one-click “save & text me” option

With this one, you’re not just retargeting higher intent — you’re priming those who’re serious but are likely to abandon cart because of last-minute doubts. 

And that makes the success of this cart recovery method highly dependent on the positioning of the one-click option. 

Here are a few one-click save locations that reduce shopping cart abandonment rate:

☑️ Cart drawer right below the checkout button — reassuring, non-pushy language wins here (Not ready yet? Save your cart & we’ll text you the link) even as you position the link subtly 

☑️ Checkout page right below express options — ideal to retarget shoppers who decide they want to finish their checkout on desktop. Something like “Short on time? Save your checkout and we’ll text it to you” is both reassuring and convincing. 

☑️ Exit intent pop-up — this is very effective for wheeling back people who’re still at the top of the funnel and haven’t created an account or signed up for your newsletter. “Going away? Save your list & we’ll text you think” creates recall that’s instant and sticky.

Further Reading: 6 eCommerce Brands Acing One Click Checkout

4. Reframe “spending money” into “doing good”

The typical cart abandonment scenario hinges on loss — the shopper’s mind screams, “here we go again buying what can wait!”

So, for effective eCommerce cart recovery, you’ll have to give shoppers reasons to buy beyond the product and the brand. 

Something that men’s grooming brand Every Man Jack does to great effect, especially because they include this feature within the total cost — improving brand perception and shopper investment in one go:

Impact reframing is also an underrated lifetime value strategy, by the way. 

However, getting the shopper in the precise mindset to think wider is absolutely important. To get this right for shopping cart optimization:

👉 Showing the cause as a hook on an exit-intent pop-up — a “before you go” reminder that follows it up with why the shopper should care about not leaving the cart can be a gamechanger. Imagine seeing impactful cart recovery messaging like: “Before you go—this order funds 3 kg of dog food for rescue shelters”

👉 Introducing a “round up for impact” toggle — this is highly compelling across customer segments because it doesn’t ask the sun and moon from a shopper’s budget. And an easy-to-spot toggle switch right below the total cost can make this cart recovery feature even more effective.

5. Optimize trust signals for high-intent buyers

Most eCommerce brands believe trust building should happen before a shopper adds to cart. 

However, cart UI that’s highly transactional often pushes shoppers into a cart abandonment mindset. 

On the other hand, brands assume trust concerns are necessarily almost always payment concerns. 

One way to look at it is, is to ask, “what are shoppers usually thinking right before they abandon cart?”

It’s usually 👉 “Should I trust this brand with my money?”

Wellness brand Ketone, for example, showcases their money-back guarantee. Alongside they also highlight payment logos that speak directly to their higher spending customer segments, to reduce cart abandonment:

Similarly, beauty brand ILIA offers a delivery guarantee but ensures to keep it optional, since it throws in an additional +$1 amount. Cleverly, they highlight BNPL too so that the burden of spending comes down for shoppers with a higher order value:

Other trust signals that high-intent shoppers really pay attention to, which can solve cart abandonment:

👉 Localized payment reassurance — this includes showing local payment players, fraud prevention guarantees and even norms that shoppers follow to pay (UPI, COD etc.)

👉 Success rate highlighted as a statistic — something as straightforward as “98% leave a 5* rating” or “98% say they love their order” is great last mile coverage for the shifty shopper mind

👉 Micro-tags for each product in the cart — for example, if it’s a fragile item bundle include a “Zero-break packaging” micro-tag. Similarly, for an athleisure product, something like “Color fully sun-proof” could work well

Further Reading: 30 Ways to Build Trust FAST (On Your eCommerce Store)

6. Trigger chat pop-ups to target specific behaviors

In this cart recovery method, the idea is to treat the live chat function as a last mile nudge. 

And this is why which behaviors you decide to optimize & trigger messages for, become critical. 

Here are a set of high-intent behaviors that your chat triggers can work on to convert faster:

☑️ Cart is $X away from free shipping — perfect for someone who has added to cart but is not moving further. 

This method of recovering an eCommerce cart may also need an additional incentive like “free delivery to select locations”. The messaging can go like: “Nice pick! Shall I recommend an add-on that’ll elevate the experience and also unlock free shipping?”

☑️ A high value cart that’s more than $X — in this case, bring in a “concierge” element where a human agent greets the shopper on chat. 

Messaging like “Hi I’m <agent name> and am happy to see you’ve added <product name> to your cart. Right here if you need specific questions around warranty / compatibility / returns answered” reassures quickly

☑️ A high value cart that’s been idle for over X minutes — very likely, the shopper is either doing last-minute price comparisons or trying to look up the return or exchange policy. Which is why it’s best to show a variety of radio buttons addressing cart abandonment concerns

Exactly what jewelry eCommerce brand Kinn leverages when shoppers build their cart but leave it behind:

7. Show results-focused social proof 

To prevent cart abandonment, this one can be a juicy tactic. 

As long as you’re clear about which kinds of social proof have the greatest bearing on the final stages of conversions. 

Plus, the positioning needs to be spot on so that last-minute customer objections find a way to rest.

Across audits, we’ve repeatedly noticed social proof that recovers carts tend to carry clear results instead of just praise. 

For example, a review snippet that goes like “have never managed frizz so fast (in 5 days sharp)” can sway many high-intent customers to finish paying.

Wellness brand Heights, for example, shows social proof on suggested add-ons that reduce the overall cart price. Since the latter is anyway a pull for high-intent buyers, the social proof acts as a boost to keep moving towards checkout:

To use social proof as a shopping cart abandonment strategy:

👉 Use an in-cart static banner headline — in most cases, it’s best to showcase something brand-level but also detailed enough so that shoppers find it relatable. So, something like “See why 12,000 customers report visibly healthier teeth in 14 days” can be really compelling

👉 Show micro-proof beneath cart CTA & checkout order summary — something that instantly draws attention to common consensus that’s positive, can be worthwhile. Consider using messaging like “⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rated by 10, 000 customers”

8. Feature microcopy that draws attention to the current cart

Shifting focus either because of scrolling, comparing, and other tabs open, is common amongst cart abandoners. 

So, precisely written microcopy becomes a critical element to help shoppers orient back to their purchase. 

Men’s grooming brand, Manscaped, inserts their VIP membership automatically on carts of a certain size and value, and also features a way for shoppers to switch back to a regular price. 

However, it’s what they do with their microcopy that undeniably increases the chances of cart recovery:

Here are some other ideas that you can apply in your shopping cart abandonment strategy:

👉 Reaffirm the shopper’s initial intention — this can be helpful if the cart sits for a longer time either because the shopper is distracted or intends to leave it awhile to come back. Either way, showing a micro-animated microcopy like “You picked this for daily comfort—still deciding on your size?” can re-engage instantly.

👉 Reduce cognitive load — eCommerce cart abandonment often goes up because the in-cart UI is so overwhelming. Sadly, many don’t talk about this and especially how this has an impact on shoppers feeling turned off. So, simple messaging like “Everything in your cart qualifies for free delivery” acts like reassurance when nothing else does.

👉 Reassure around perceived risks — will the jumpsuit fit me? Will the serum really take care of my blemishes? These questions are common amongst cart abandoners and to create comfort for their cart stage mindset, you need microcopy like “Free returns if the fit isn’t perfect” and “1-year replacement warranty included.”

9. Create *quick* cart regeneration nudges 

Once a cart is abandoned, a shopper is likely to come back and finish the purchase only if there’s real momentum. 

Reason why simple microcopy nudges like “You were just one click away from confirming your size—want to continue?” can help reorient quickly. 

Such nudges can also be helpful when there are subscriptions / upgrades involved. Many shoppers feel they simply don’t want to go back to the product page once they’re in the cart.

So maintaining separate subscription nudges that help the shopper build back the cart they originally wanted drives conversions — something that wellness brand Joy Organics leverages:

Other cart regeneration ideas that you can implement quite easily:

👉 Bundle nudge on return — this is a tactic we’ve seen work especially with shoppers who go deep into browsing as well as those whose carts reflect a very clear intent (for example, “skin repair”). However, this is going to be wasted if you’re targeting deal hunters and coupon gatherers.

👉 Make the nudge psychologically rewarding — nudges like “Add any item to your order & get free priority shipping” when a cart rebuilds will convert even the hardest hearts 👿

Further Reading: How To Retarget Abandoned Carts During BFCM: 15 Proven Strategies

10. A/B test micro-incentives 

Like we mentioned before, it’s a myth that as long as pricing looks attractive in an eCommerce cart, cart abandonments won’t happen. 

In truth though, to optimize recovery strategies, you’ll have to consider the lack of real intent. 

To this extent, A/B testing micro-incentives, their placement and their timing can improve your cart recovery efforts.

☑️ Do timing tests to check intent — for example, if you’re testing offering a freebie, trigger only when a visitor comes back to the cart versus when the shopper adds a second item signaling higher intent in both cases

☑️ Test different anchors that change price perception — the idea is to test different micro-incentives so that you can arrive at how shoppers internally anchor the offer. So, while a “$15 freebie with this order” can instantly enhance product discovery, “free shipping if you finish checking out within <countdown timer>” reduces overall friction

Further Reading: 153 A/B Testing Ideas for eCommerce (Homepage, PDP, Cart, Checkout)

Recovering Abandoned Carts With Compelling Messaging

11. Retarget with cart content variants

Many eCommerce brands that want us to audit their stores are under pressure to get their ad spending to work smarter. 

Which brings us to this offsite cart recovery strategy that requires showing cart abandoners options they didn’t think of before. 

When it comes to high-intent abandoners, doing a tweak to what you suggest for retargeting (over and above what the cart already contains) can be a gamechanger.

👉 Run a multi-variate test — this is worthwhile to see which variants and segments actually perform when you run ads to lower cart abandonment rates. So consider testing between the main product, a bundle containing the main product & something else that’s frequently bought together and a value pack of all variants thrown in (this works only if you have 5 or 6 variants of the core product)

👉 Auto-generate ads based on key points of hesitation — the data that comes before becomes key here for you to know which hesitations around price, quality or even urgency are holding shoppers back. The ad system can look into product metadata and fill the gaps in messaging like “Trending this week” and “Pairs really well with”

👉 Show a variant at a discounted price — in many cases, pricing is the primary reason why shoppers hesitate to move ahead with their cart. And showing them either a bundle with the core item and a color variant or even just a color variant at a reduced price can lead to a fast conversion.

Apparel brand Cottonworld, for example, retargets with Meta ads when a product has been added to cart. But they run a carousel ad where they introduce other close variants and even announce a % off, based on availability and seasonality. 

12. Leverage Instagram story poll retargeting

When it comes to cart abandonment strategies, many businesses naturally look towards bringing back more high-intent folks. 

However, in the process, they miss out on actually warming up high intent through engagement. 

That’s why this cart recovery strategy is right up there in terms of subtlety and traction, which often builds fast. 

eCommerce mammoth Sephora, despite its popularity, uses various story poll methods to reel back interest across segments, including cart abandoners. This approach can help a business optimize on retargeting recommendations & offers based on how a shopper responds to the poll:

Here are a few ideas you can work with when using Instagram story polls to bring back cart abandoners:

👉 Use product variants within the story — apart from bringing back interest through the either / or story hook, shoppers also feel exposed to a different variant, which they may end up wanting to buy

👉 Run a seasonal poll — when holiday marketing overwhelms, a poll to the tune of “Which holiday guide would you choose?” followed by options like A: Small batch specials and B: The ultimate gift guide, can regenerate interest in people abandoning their carts

👉 Gather interest towards bundles — when you make the poll about a core product and a mystery bundle, and then later follow it up with a poll with variants that have the core product in common, cart hesitation can reduce 

Further Reading: 36 Powerful Instagram Strategies to Drive eCommerce Sales (+Tips & Trends)

13. Send SMSs with direct BNPL checkout links

Most eCommerce brands are thinking about offers, and shoppers are thinking about affordability.

But when it comes to cart abandonment strategies, a business can offer affordability without necessarily offering discounts (and affecting profit margins).

It is by enabling BNPL payments through SMS that you can optimize shopping cart recovery offline.

☑️ Pre-select BNPL and let them complete the order — consider crafting messaging like “Hi! Your cart’s still saved. Pay in 3 easy installments with Affirm—no extra fees. Your items: [Short List]. Complete order → [Deep Link]”

☑️ Position BNPL as a secondary but important payment option — position it apart from the payment method the shopper may have chosen but didn’t use to complete the final payment

☑️ Include BNPL nudge as part of an SMS flow — the SMS with the BNPL link can follow the first one that lets the customer know that their cart is reserved (pick a limited time window to convey urgency). This helps justify the BNPL link, which then becomes extremely attractive even if the shopper worries about spending

14. Retarget frequent buyers with personalized WhatsApp sequences

Sometimes frequent buyers become cart abandoners because they feel they’re overspending, or get targeted by a competitor brand, or, or…

The truth is that as an eComm business you’ll find it difficult to stop shoppers leaving, coming back, leaving again. 

But if you can build up Whatsapp sequences that combine the right timing, offer and personalized messaging, it might just become a winning cart recovery strategy.

eCommerce beauty brand Glamrs prevents cart abandonment this way, triggering messages when shoppers are also most likely to open and consider:

Other ways you can get WhatsApp to add to your abandoned cart recovery strategy:

👉 Trigger a sequence for higher value carts — start the flow with “noticed you added <product name> but didn’t checkout” and pair it with multi-choice options that the shopper can tap. Based on what the shopper clicks, throw in exclusivity & urgency in the second message like “We’re running low in your size / color, but because you’re so loyal to us, here’s 20% off if you checkout within the next <insert time>”

👉 Show a “1 click resume cart” link — this represents a quicker path than what many businesses do with redirecting shoppers to the product or cart pages. It’ll just show up the cart with pre-applied incentives, currency details and previously entered shipping preferences 

Further Reading: 7 Whatsapp Marketing Ideas For eCommerce Stores & Some Great Examples

15. Offer limited time “price freezes” instead of discounts

We all know this by now: when businesses offer discounts for every cart abandoned, something about the value of their products erodes. 

The alternate approach we want to suggest is a limited time price freeze — one where you hold the same price for X number of hours / days within which the shopper has to finish buying. 

☑️ Make it highly contextual & relevant — saying “Price freeze for 48 hours” almost always doesn’t cut it because shoppers don’t feel a personal pinch. A quicker way to get their attention? Messaging like “Price freeze before color X sells out” or “Price freeze before a price update next month”

☑️ Create a comparative scenario around the deal to create value — it’s important for the shopper to know what they’ll miss out on if they don’t revive their cart. So in-cart microcopy like “You get <product name> at $50 while others are paying $75 for it” draws their attention instantly

16. Skip single-shot ads for sequence-based retargeting

We recently worked with a pet store that was retargeting cart abandoners but was unable to convert even .2% of them. When we looked into their data, we realized they had been showing the same ad 5 times to the same people in a span of a week. 

Instead, the cart recovery strategy you need to bring in here is sequential retargeting. 

👉 The “still thinking?” creative — this should go out between the first two hours because otherwise recall becomes dicey. Feel free to add some social proof like star ratings or X units sold for impact

👉 The “price freeze” alert — this should go out no later than 48 hours from when the cart is abandoned because shoppers also have to see that you’re doing them a favor by holding the price

👉 The “low stock” notification — personalizing this message to suit preferred size and color should go out no later than day 5 

Pro Tip: Use a combination of creatives to keep the shopper engaged. For example, if your first ad is a static one, the second could be with video where you combine the elements of the price freeze and benefits of the product

Further Reading; Brilliant eCommerce Retargeting (and Remarketing) Examples

17. Make your abandoned cart countdown emails sharper

Shoppers hate being reminded of what’s sitting in the cart, and more so if a business appears to be pushy in their email. 

But email continues to be a super important touchpoint, which if optimized carefully in terms of hooks, timing and messaging, can still lead conversions. 

☑️ Show an actual countdown timer (if you must) — and not one that resets, because this is clear signal for the shopper to not take the communication seriously

☑️ Get the visual hierarchy right — too many businesses place the countdown timer right at the top of the abandoned cart email and it instantly puts the recipient off. Instead choose a product → value → timer → CTA flow for the email content

☑️ Amplify that the scenario is expiring — because shoppers are inundated by discounts from all sides, which means they need to see why buying from your brand is the main event and not that the discount is going away

Native ensures the above reflects in their "countdown" emails, which skip the timer but create urgency through precise language:

Further Reading: 52 Cart Abandonment Email Subject Lines That Actually Work

18. Leverage UGC in emails to prevent abandonment

While recovering a cart through user generated content is possible, you may not see as many email opens and clickthroughs if a shopper has decided to bounce.

What’s better is if you begin to include UGC in your recommendation emails. 

Take a look at how Dermstore positions their bestsellers as “staff picks” and even includes review snippets for each chosen product. 

Since staff comprise the first users usually, this approach can be highly effective in relating to external shoppers:

Similarly, Act Organics prepares subscribers through their learning-led recommendation emails that include both social proof and educational content:

Here’s how you can leverage UGC to drive high purchase confidence so that cart abandonment comes down:

☑️ Go deep into the UGC you feature — in this approach, you can approach a bulleted list featuring a single long review but covering “What I loved most,” “Why I chose this over X” and “How it has helped me”

☑️ Feature one product, multiple kinds of UGC — mix it up with a static review, a short video and even images from the social wall. However, in this case, ensure there’s a clear narrative that hints at why the product absolutely needs to be bought (because this can essentially prevent cart abandonment)

Further Reading: 27 Brilliant User-Generated Content Examples (eCommerce)

Recommended reading:

40 Abandoned Cart Email Examples that Actually Win Back Lost Customers

Cart Abandonment Pop-Up: 19 Amazing Examples (That Actually Work)

Prevent Shopify Cart and Checkout Abandonment: 24 Tested Ideas

21 Clever Ways To Reduce Checkout Abandonment Rate

Cart Abandonment 101

1. What is “cart abandonment rate”?

Cart abandonment is when customers add products to their cart and start the checkout process but leave before completing the purchase.

The cart abandonment rate is one of the primary eCommerce metrics that identifies the percentage of users who drop off before completing the checkout process.

A high cart abandonment rate may indicate a poor customer experience.

2. How to calculate cart abandonment rate?

The shopping cart abandonment rate is calculated by dividing the total number of completed transactions by the total number of transactions that were initiated.

Shopping cart abandonment rate gives online retailers an idea about the percentage of users who change their minds after adding items to the cart.

3. Why is shopping cart abandonment a problem?

Shopping cart abandonment is a problem because of several reasons:

- It impacts your bottom line adversely (you end up with lost revenue)

- It gives your competitors an edge over your business

- It makes it tough to work on customer retention goals

- It pressurizes your business to acquire customers at a greater rate

4. How do you target cart abandoners?

Targeting cart abandoners is a three-step process:

Step 1: Send reminders to cart abandoners

When you’re targeting cart abandoners, the idea is to re-engage them in a conversation about the abandoned cart—through email, SMS, or WhatsApp messages.

Here are a few ways to ensure your communication is relatable for shoppers:

- A subject line that drives a benefit (they need to want to open that email or direct message)

- Content that instantly takes their attention to the abandoned cart (tell them what they could be missing out on if they don’t buy immediately)

Step 2: Offer something in return for checkout to resume

The only reason shoppers would sit up and take notice is if you give them an offer they can’t refuse.

Position this as an urgency nudge: say it’s a one-time offer or feature a subscription discount for the product they added but didn’t buy.

Prime with social proof: show some customer review snippets along with your average ratings.

Step 3: Create checkout ease to reduce cart abandonment rate

Make it easy for shoppers to go straight to checkout from the email or the SMS.

Feature a number of payment methods to simply move forward—and if it’s a return customer, consider auto-filling some crucial information to prevent fatigue. Above all, offer a guest checkout option. This way, you can streamline your art page’s functionality.

TIP - Create a separate recovery email flow for new customers and existing shoppers – for example, you could offer more loyalty driven benefits to existing shoppers.

5.What does a successful cart abandonment email flow look like?

In  2026, when eCommerce businesses attempt to recover abandoned carts more effectively through email, they’ll have to look at a flow that takes care of tone, messaging, UVP, offer and urgency. 

It’ll also mean that the hierarchy of information across the cart abandonment flow has to convince the shopper more than push them. 

To this effect, we’ve identified a 3 to 4 email flow that an eCommerce business can leverage:

👉 Fix the friction with the first email — a headline like “Did something get in the way?” and multi-choice options like pricing, still comparing etc. can be helpful. Show micro-assurances (“Free returns available till <date>”) and brand-level promises to reduce objections

👉 Convey the value in the second email — since many shoppers bounce last-minute fearing post-purchase anxiety, value-based storytelling in the second email can be a real savior. Bring in a “here’s why people love <product>” block into the email and even iterate very specific brand-level assurances like “98% love our fits 100% of the time”

👉 Suggest contextual urgency in the third email — the idea is to introduce urgency that’ll make shoppers sit up and consider action right away. So something to the tune of “only 7 pieces left in size S” is likelier to create an instant impact. Also, for subtle persuasion, maintain a CTA like “rebuild my cart”

👉 Use an additional incentive in the fourth emailif needed) — you’ll have to judge whether to offer this to someone or not based on at what point they decided to abandon their cart. Someone who went until payment definitely has higher intent than someone who browsed several product pages and added items to their cart. Map the incentive to how the shopper has behaved in the past and also to make sure it’s not expensive on your bottom line

Further Reading: 28 No-BS Ways To Get More Email Subscribers in eCommerce

6. How do you improve abandoned cart flow?

When you’re trying to improve your abandoned cart flow, which is nothing but a series of messages you set into motion to reel cart abandoners back, you’ll have to look into the following:

- The time delays: A time delay is essentially the time window you choose for a message to be sent within an event—for example, how soon you send out the first abandoned cart email after a shopper has left their cart behind is a form of time delay.

The time delay for the first message is best kept within 2 to 4 hours of a shopper abandoning their cart.

Send the second message in the next two days, and the final message can be sent two more days later.

- The content you will use: It helps to use a tone that’s conversational, informative, and non-pushy.

Check out how, in the following example, this eCommerce business uses a tone that is humorously truthful about the situation:

‍- The persuasion techniques to use: Would you feature a dollar or percentage discount upfront? Would you feature an exclusive subscription price? Or would you offer an extended warranty to justify the extra costs? When, how, and what frequency you use can have an impact on a shopper’s intention to return to their cart.

Don't forget to read: How Many Emails To Include In An Abandoned Cart Workflow?

7. Does eCommerce shopping cart abandonment happen in stages?

In most cases, eCommerce cart abandonment behavior can be tracked to a number of stages instead of a single, sharp moment of decision. 

Having audited over 500 businesses across niches, here’s how we’ve seen this common pattern of behavior play out:

💥 Hesitation already exists pre-cart — this one’s really about the folks who’re unsure about the purchase to begin with. The reasons are multiple: they don’t know the brand enough, they like the product but don’t need it right away, they realize they fear spending more than wanting the product with them. But adding a product to cart is easy, so they do it anyway

💥 Started checkout but filled only the address — several reasons can contribute to this including a form layout that’s complex and shoppers attempting to checkout through mobile where the checkout flow isn’t optimized

💥 Sees cost that’s way higher when added to cart total — the problem here really is that many businesses don’t incorporate a shipping calculator earlier in the flow for shoppers to key in their address and see the delivery cost (especially if it’s a cross-border purchase)

💥 Abandons at the mouth of the final “Pay Now” CTA — this one’s really about the shopper trying to prevent buyer’s remorse while they can, and perhaps going back to the order summary, checking out the line items once more, and experiencing hesitation last-minute

8. How does cart abandonment change between mobile and desktop?

Between mobile and desktop, cart abandonment is definitely a more frequent phenomenon in the former.

While mobile cart abandonment stands at about 86%, on desktop the average cart abandonment rate is about 73%.

There are several common reasons that contribute to the numbers being so different:

- Most businesses have optimized sites for desktop use

- Shoppers are more wary of typing sensitive information like payment details on mobile

- Shoppers who check out products on mobile use the device for research and comparison

Before you go, here's something to think about:

98% of visitors who visit an eCommerce site—drop off without buying anything.

Why: user experience issues that cause friction for visitors.

And this is the problem ConvertCart solves.

We've helped 500+ eCommerce stores (in the US) improve user experience—and 2X their conversions.

How we can help you:

Our conversion experts can audit your site—identify UX issues, and suggest changes to improve conversions.