• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 18, 2012

Findings from the e-tailing group Annual Merchant Survey and the 14th Annual Mystery Shopping Study reveal a mixed bag of results in regard to cart abandonment tactics as a means of coaxing customers to come back to complete their purchases.

Though shopping cart abandonment rates held steady, and 52% of the surveyed merchants said that a reminder email was sent to customers who abandoned their cart. However, this runs somewhat contrary to the Mystery Shopping results, showing a slight decline in the number of abandonment emails that were triggered; 20% for 2011 versus 23% for 2010.

The biggest changes in the study occurred at the category level with Food/Gifting and Home/Garden taking big jumps forward while most other categories seemed to scale back their abandonment efforts. 

On average, the initial emails were received 5.65 days after leaving merchandise in the cart which is nearly 1 day longer than last year’s 4.96 days. A second reminder email came, on average, five days after the first which is 3.5 days fewer than last year’s 8.4 days. Clearly merchants have come to believe in the importance of immediacy and urgency particularly in reference to this final reminder.

An image of the item left in the cart was displayed in 50% of the emails, a 43% increase from last year where only 35% of the emails included an image and is likely the result of greater HTML sophistication and understanding the importance of visual reminders. However, perhaps due to sensitivity concerns, only 20% personalized their emails with the customer’s name, a 43% decrease from last year.

Some type of incentive to complete the transaction was provided in 20% of the emails. All of the incentives received offered a limited time percentage discount of the items left in the cart. One merchant of note upped the ante on the second by offering a larger discount. 

The e-tailing group provides an abandonment checklist for use in developing a plan:

• Establish a strategy for saving items in the cart
• Understand current technology's ability to trigger abandonment email
• Message cart strategy to ensure customers know when and if their cart will be cleared
• Include an urgent call to action
• Utilize HTML and photos to visually enhance abandonment emails
• Review abandonment opportunities from branding to customer service
• Include merchandising tactics to foster the customer relationship and encourage purchasing beyond the abandoned item
• Provide a link to the abandoned cart and direct to cart links for additional product recommendations
• Integrate cross-channel elements and social engagers to elevate the brand
• Use promotional incentives to save the sale if important for your brand and strategyEstablish a strategy for saving items in the cart

For additional information and more detail from the e-tailing group, including access to the complete report, please visit here.