Personalization and timeliness can reduce cart abandonment rates
If there is any indication that the point of sale is the most important part of ecommerce, it is the fact that 67.44 percent of online shopping carts are abandoned, according to Baymard Institute. Customers will browse, pick items and then fall just shy of checking out.
There are a number of reasons this happens. Sometimes, it might be as simple as the shopper adding a product by accident. But many times, customers may question whether they want an item or have questions that are not easily answered while they are browsing.
Whatever their reasons, online retailer Land of Nod was able to increase its cart recovery rate by 22 percent by delivering custom messages to consumers, Retail Touch Points reported. When a cart is abandoned, Land of Nod immediately sends customers an email reminding them about one of the items in their cart. Should this not prompt the shopper to buy the item, the merchant follows up 24 hours later, and then again in a week with an offer of free shipping.
This strategy overcame the company's problem with emailing customers up to a week after a cart was abandoned, after shoppers may have forgotten about the item or already changed their mind and bought it. By tailoring messages to what consumers are shopping for, and in a timely manner, online retailers can improve their ecommerce initiatives.
