Have you ever experienced the frustration of customers abandoning their carts before completing their purchase? If so, don’t worry; you’re not alone. It’s a common problem that affects many online businesses. But fear not, because there is a solution!

Abandoned cart emails are a powerful tool that can help you win back lost sales and boost customer loyalty. By sending targeted, personalized messages to customers who leave items in their cart without checking out, you can remind them of what they’ve left behind and encourage them to complete their purchase.

Shopify Abandoned Cart Emails to Boost Customer Loyalty

In this blog post, we’ll explore the ins and outs of abandoned cart emails for eCommerce store owners. We’ll take a deep dive into why they’re so important, how to craft effective messages, and the benefits of using them.

Here’s a brief overview of everything we’ll cover:

1. What is an abandoned cart email?
2. Abandoned cart email templates
3. Abandoned cart email subject lines
4. Shopify abandoned cart email best practices
5. How to customize Shopify abandoned cart email
6. TrackMage and how it helps Shopify store owners

Let’s get started!

What is an Abandoned Cart Email?

An abandoned cart email is a message that is sent to a customer who has left items in their online shopping cart without completing their purchase. This type of email is designed to remind the customer of the items they left behind and encourage them to return to the website to complete their transaction. It is one of several kinds of transactional emails used by ecommerce businesses.

Abandoned cart emails can be a powerful tool for Shopify store owners to recover lost sales and improve customer loyalty. They are effective messages that speak to the customer’s needs and desires. Hence, store owners can increase their chances of converting abandoned carts into successful purchases.

While it’s good to know how to craft your own emails, having a ready-made set of templates helps. Here are some benefits of using abandoned cart email templates:

• Recover lost sales by reminding customers of items left in their cart
• Increase customer loyalty by showing that you care about their shopping experience
• Personalize messages to resonate with individual customers
• Improve the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns
• Generate more revenue without increasing traffic to your site
• Learn more about your customers’ shopping habits and preferences
• Increase your chances of converting abandoned carts into successful purchases.

Abandoned Cart Email Templates

These templates can work for a variety of niches. All you need to do is make a few changes and personalize the emails. We’ll cover how to do all that and more in this section.

Types

These emails can come in any form. We’ve covered some of the key types below:

1. The Reminder Email

This type of email reminds the customer that they left items in their cart and encourages them to complete their purchase. It can include a sense of urgency by reminding the customer that the items are limited in stock or on sale for a limited time.

2. The Discount Email

This type of email offers the customer a discount or coupon code as an incentive to complete their purchase. It can be a percentage off their order or free shipping, for example.

3. The Social Proof Email

This type of email includes customer reviews or testimonials to reinforce the value of the items left in the cart. It can also include recommendations for related products or accessories.

4. The Abandoned Cart Recovery Email

This type of email is sent in a series. The first email serves as a reminder, and subsequent emails offer additional incentives or reminders. It can include a countdown timer to create a sense of urgency.

5. The Personalized Email

This type of email uses customer data to personalize the message. It can address the customer by name or include personalized product recommendations. It can also include a personalized subject line to grab the customer’s attention.

Examples

In this section, we’ll review three of the best abandoned cart email samples from real-life companies.

1. Adidas’ Social Proof Email

Here you see adidas doing their best to make a cart-abandoned product look more appealing to the prospect. They used User-Generated Content (UGC) as social proof by including a bunch of 5-star customer reviews in the email. The copy also starts with a casual but eye-catching subject line, and the rest of it is simple and precise. Adidas probably used a tool like Trackmage to get these 5-star customer reviews after order deliveries.

2. Virgin Atlantic’s Reminder Email

The airline company, Virgin Atlantic, sends a reminder to the customer about their potential flight. They try to create urgency in the email by playing on the fact that flight prices tend to fluctuate regularly.

3. Dollar Shave Club’s Discount Email

Here, the Dollar Shave Club displays a bunch of offers to the prospect. You can see free shipping and full refund offers on display. They combine this with engaging copy.

Best practices for creating effective abandoned cart emails

By analyzing some of these examples and more, we were able to create a list of best practices. These abandoned cart email best practices will help make your campaigns more effective.

Use a compelling subject line

The subject line is the first thing the customer sees and can make or break whether they open the email. Use a clear and attention-grabbing subject line that entices the customer to open the email and return to their abandoned cart. We’ll discuss subject lines in detail later in this article.

Keep the message simple and concise

Don’t overload the customer with too much information. Keep the message simple and focused on reminding the customer of their abandoned cart and encouraging them to complete their purchase.

Include a clear call-to-action

The email should include a clear call-to-action, such as a button that takes the customer directly to their abandoned cart. Make it as easy as possible for the customer to complete their purchase.

Include social proof

Include customer reviews or testimonials to reinforce the value of the items left in the cart. This can increase the customer’s confidence in the products and encourage them to complete their purchase.

Offer an incentive

Offer the customer a discount or coupon code as an incentive to complete their purchase. This can be a percentage off their order or free shipping, for example.

Create a sense of urgency

Use language that creates a sense of urgency, such as mentioning limited stock or a sale ending soon. This can encourage the customer to act quickly and complete their purchase.

Use eye-catching design

Use eye-catching design and images to grab the customer’s attention and make the email visually appealing. This can help the email stand out in the customer’s inbox and increase the chances of it being opened and acted upon.

Personalize the message

Use customer data to personalize the message. For example, you can address the customer by name or include personalized product recommendations. This makes the customer feel valued. It will also increase the chances of converting the abandoned cart into a successful purchase.

Other personalization tips include:

• Use purchase history to suggest complementary items
• Reference the specific items left in the cart
• Use dynamic content to display relevant information, such as local weather or current promotions
• Segment customers based on behavior or preferences to provide more tailored messaging
• Use retargeting ads to follow up with customers who don’t open or click on the email

Abandoned Cart Email Subject Lines

The subject line is one of the most important elements of an abandoned cart email. It’s the first thing that the customer sees, and it determines whether or not they’ll open the email. A compelling subject line can make all the difference in the success of the email campaign. 

Here are some reasons why:

• The subject line is the first thing the customer sees when they receive the email, so it needs to be attention-grabbing.

• A clear and compelling subject line can entice the customer to open the email and return to their abandoned cart, increasing the chances of recovering the sale.

• A well-crafted subject line can communicate the value of the items left in the cart and why the customer should complete their purchase.

• Personalizing the subject line can make the email feel more relevant and increase the chances of engagement.
• A lackluster or generic subject line can cause the customer to ignore the email or even mark it as spam, negatively impacting the store’s reputation and email deliverability.

So, how do you write attention-grabbing subject lines? We’ve got some pointers for you:

Here are some tips for writing compelling subject lines that grab the customer’s attention:

Keep it short and sweet

The subject line should be concise, ideally around 30-50 characters. This helps to ensure that the entire subject line is visible on mobile devices, where most people check their email.

Use action-oriented language

Use action verbs and language that encourages the customer to take action, such as “Complete Your Purchase Now” or “Don’t Miss Out on These Items.”

Personalize it

Include the customer’s name or reference the specific items left in the cart to make the email feel more personal and relevant.

Create a sense of urgency

Use language that creates a sense of urgency and encourages the customer to act quickly, such as “Limited Time Offer” or “Almost Sold Out.”

Make it intriguing

Use language that piques the customer’s curiosity and makes them want to open the email to learn more. For example, “We Have a Surprise for You” or “You Left Something Behind.”

Avoid using spam trigger words

Avoid using words that are commonly associated with spam, such as “Free”, “Buy Now,” or “Act Fast.” These words can trigger spam filters and cause the email to be marked as spam.

Test and iterate

Test different subject lines and track their performance to see which ones are the most effective. Use A/B testing to test different variations and iterate based on the results.

Shopify Abandoned Cart Email Best Practices

Now, we’ll talk specifically about sending Shopify email marketing. You’ll learn to improve effectiveness and create urgency. We’ll also reveal the best ways to time these emails.

Improving Effectiveness

1. Timing is key:

Send abandoned cart emails within a day of the customer leaving the cart to increase the chances of them completing the purchase.

2. Be personal:

Use the customer’s name and show them that you care about their shopping experience.

3. Offer an incentive:

A discount code or free shipping can encourage the customer to complete the purchase.

4. Use eye-catching visuals:

Include product images to remind the customer of what they left behind and make the email more engaging.

5. Keep it simple:

Don’t overload the email with too much information or distractions. Keep the focus on the abandoned items and the call-to-action to complete the purchase.

6. Test and analyze:

Experiment with different subject lines, email copy, and designs to see what works best for your audience. Use analytics to track the success of your abandoned cart emails and make improvements accordingly.

Creating Urgency

One way to do this is by using time-limited incentives. This could be a limited-time discount or free shipping offer. Additionally, highlighting low stock levels or the popularity of the item can also push the customer to make a decision. However, use urgency tactics strategically and don’t rely on them too heavily, as customers may become immune to them over time. 

Optimizing Timing

• Send abandoned cart emails within 24 hours of the cart being abandoned
• Consider sending a series of emails with different messaging and incentives to encourage purchase
• Use customer data to personalize the timing of the emails, such as time of day or day of the week
• Test different timing strategies and analyze results to determine the most effective approach
• Be mindful of not sending too many emails, as this can be overwhelming and result in customers unsubscribing

How to Customize Shopify Abandoned Cart Email Template

Use this guide to customize your abandoned cart email template and improve its effectiveness.

Step 1

Log in to your Shopify account and go to the “Settings” section. From there, click on “Checkout” and then “Abandoned checkouts.”

Step 2

This is what the “Abandoned checkouts” page looks like:

Before you edit the email content, you can customize the recipients and timing.

You may choose to send these emails to:

1. All visitors who abandoned their carts
2. Only email subscribers who abandoned their carts

You can also time the emails to go out after the recipient has abandoned the cart for:

• 1 hour
• 6 hours
• 10 hours
• 24 hours

Remember to click “Save” if you make changes to these fields.

Step 3

Click the “Customize email” button by the right-hand side of the “Abandoned checkouts” page.

You will see the email template with HTML tags. Here, you can customize the following elements and more:

• Subject line
• Main body
• Colors
• Logos

Another way to access this page is to do this: From the settings page, click on “Notifications” and then “Abandoned checkouts.”

Step 4

Hit save, and you’re all set up!

Here are some recommendations for adding branding elements to abandoned cart emails:

• Use your brand’s colors and typography to create a consistent look across all your emails.
• Include your logo in the header of the email to reinforce brand recognition.
• Use high-quality product images that match your brand’s style and aesthetic.
• Add social media icons to encourage customers to follow and engage with your brand.
• Include a clear call-to-action button with branded text, such as “Return to Cart” or “Complete Your Purchase”.

Finally, you can incorporate dynamic content into abandoned cart emails with Shopify. Based on what the customer has looked at and bought in the past, this content will make personalized product suggestions and offers. You can do this by using apps or plugins that integrate with Shopify and allow for dynamic content to be added to the email templates. This type of content increases the likelihood of leads completing their purchase.

Conclusion

Automating your abandoned cart email campaign is just the first step to streamlining your ecommerce business. It will help kickstart a profitable customer relationship. However, to maximize customer lifetime value, you also need to improve the post-purchase experience.

Use Trackmage to send automated emails after the customer buys the product. Your buyer will receive regular updates about their shipment. We offer fully-branded tracking pages that you can use to recommend even more products.

After delivery, you can also automate the feedback request and sorting processes. That way, you can reach out to people unsatisfied with your products or services and make things right.