Published by Lovely Chauhan on February 3, 2015
Online shopping seems to getting bigger and better with brands extending the festivities and giving some hard-to-resist offers! During the season’s sale I was browsing through a website and found a real nice jacket. Its winters now and I had the perfect excuse to splurge on the jacket and proceeded to check out. I could only see credit card as a payment option. Sadly, I don’t have one and I ended up closing the browser with a heavy heart; I really loved that jacket.
This action of mine also made me do some research on what are the top reasons for cart abandonment and the importance of email marketing in getting these customers back.
1. Payment options unclear: This one is my personal reason that made me write this blog. Making the payment information available later on in the purchase process might annoy your customer and deter from making the purchase. Even unclear display of all the available payment options can lead you losing a potential customer.
How email can help: Track your customer’s purchase behavior to understand at which instance (webpage) he/she is abandoning the cart. If a user abandons the cart at the payment page, trigger an email inquiring whether the user faced any difficulty and guide through the payment options (COD, eWallet)Â to assist the user in completing the purchase.
2. Lack of Trust: The biggest challenge ecommerce faces is to get people to trust online as an alternative channel to purchase goods. While most of the brands address the concern of customers for a secure payment gateway, not much time is spent on addressing their other concerns such as uncertainty over genuineness of the product.
How email can help: Plan an email communication to reinforce the quality checks and reassure customers. Such emails are highly effective and can infact drive sales as high as 25%. (Read our case study)
3. Hidden unexpected costs: You see the price quoted and think it’s a steal. Finally at the checkout, the price shoots up and dampens your spirit. Why did it happen? The site did not include the shipping costs / taxes. Declaring the additional costs upfront increases transparency and reduces cart abandonment.
How email can help: Ensure there is consistency in the message communicated. In our previous blog, we shared example on how setting the right expectation about the offer in an email can increase click and conversion rates.
4. Just browsing: These are the window shoppers of the virtual world who shop and browse anytime armed with their mobile devices. Remember these users are already one step into the sales cycle.
How email can help: Watch their behavior and convert them from browsers to transactors. Target them with exactly what they are looking for by tracking their website behavior. Pursue sale through emails that-
– reassure with product review and recommendations
– highlight easy return policy and clear their apprehension get the drift?
Cart abandonment remains one of the biggest challenges for online retailers. Use email marketing smartly and convert the challenge to an opportunity to increase conversions.
