Did you know that, on average, only three out of every ten people who add items to their online shopping carts actually make it through the checkout process? According to a Hotjar report, that equates to a cart abandonment rate of almost 70%.
Would-be shoppers abandon their online purchases for various reasons, including website glitches, slow-loading product pages and a complicated checkout process. Sometimes, they're just browsing and aren't ready to buy. Or they go to answer a knock at the door and get distracted.
Although cart abandonment is very common, it presents a huge challenge for eCommerce businesses around the world. It leads to lost sales revenue—as much as $18 billion annually. So, what can you do, as an online store owner or eCommerce marketer, to encourage lost buyers to revisit your website to finish what they started?
An abandoned cart SMS can help with successful retargeting. Keep reading to learn what abandoned cart messages are, why you need them, and the key elements that should be included.
What is an abandoned cart SMS?
An abandoned cart SMS is a well-timed, attention-grabbing text message encouraging recipients to revisit an online store and complete their purchase.
Abandoned carts are essentially missed opportunities for sales. An abandoned cart SMS can be used to try to recover lost customers and revenue. It acts as a friendly reminder that the recipient has left something they're considering buying in their online basket.
Not all abandoned cart reminders will result in conversions. However, they are very effective, especially if sent at optimal times. One study found that sending a reminder within one hour after checkout abandonment resulted in a 20.3% conversion rate.
Specific benefits of abandoned cart text messages
So, exactly why are abandoned cart SMS messages so good at getting online store visitors to convert? Here are seven compelling reasons.
Immediate and direct communication
Sending abandoned cart reminders by text enables you to reach potential customers directly on their mobile devices, which the average person always carries with them. Furthermore, texts are typically opened and read within a few minutes - even if they're not opened, they pop up on the mobile phone notification screen so recipients can easily get the gist of what the message is about (unlike email previews). This direct communication helps ensure immediate engagement and reduces cart abandonment rates.
Higher open rates and engagement
Text messages have incredibly high open rates, often exceeding 90% (much higher than email). Because they're concise and super quick to read, recipients are likely to engage with them, which often means higher click-through and conversion rates.
Personalisation and customer retention
Abandoned cart texts are easy to personalise if you can access web visitor data and insights. For instance, you can pull information from your database, including the recipient's first name and the item they left in their shopping basket. Personalised messages make customers feel valued and more likely to return to complete their purchases.
Note that in order to use web visitor or customer data in this way, you must legally capture such details. That involves getting express consent from anyone you intend to text. This can be done easily if the recipient creates an account with your store, as you can add an 'opt-in for SMS marketing' section to your data capture form.
Real-time reminders
For shoppers who are just browsing or were going to buy but then got distracted, abandoned cart SMS messages serve as effective real-time reminders, ensuring that interest isn’t lost by the time they revisit their cart. A gentle nudge with a clear call-to-action can be all it takes to prompt them to finalise their order - especially if you include a special offer (like free shipping) to sweeten the deal.
Cost-effective marketing
SMS is often more cost-effective than other marketing channels, such as online retargeting ads. If you use a platform like Messente, there are no setup fees to worry about; you'll only pay for the text messages you send. And while abandoned cart text alerts may seem more expensive than emails, the potential for revenue recovery far outweighs the minimal costs associated with implementation. You'll get more conversions with texts than emails and, therefore, an increased ROI.
It also requires minimal resources to send SMS messages. You can create a text in minutes – it’s a case of carefully crafting a couple of sentences. An email reminder, on the other hand, requires more effort in terms of wording and design.
Segmentation and targeting
A good SMS provider will offer audience segmentation and targeting tools so you can create different groups of leads and customers. For example, you might want to split your audience into segments based on browsing behaviour, purchase history, wish list content or demographics. You can then send highly targeted messaging (as well as abandoned cart reminders) to different groups.
How might this work? In the same way you can pull across the details of the recipient's online shopping cart and use it in your message content, you can pull across what they've added to their wish list or recently purchased. Then, you can create relevant campaigns based on what the recipient is interested in.
Enhanced customer experience
Reminding would-be shoppers about their half-completed orders demonstrates your commitment to customer satisfaction. Everyone appreciates timely reminders and personalised offers as they make them feel special and valued. A positive shopping experience leads to customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth referrals (advertising you don't need to pay for)!
Key elements of a good abandoned cart text message
To get maximum conversions, it's important to get four things spot on regarding your cart abandonment SMS. Check them out below.
1. Discount code or promo
You may not want to offer a discount or free shipping for every single potential customer who leaves an item in their basket for fear of reducing your profit margin. However, consider the alternative – no sale at all. If you can't afford to offer a monetary incentive that'll tempt the customer to buy the product(s) they were interested in, there are some other clever strategies to try that either just involve your time or aim to extract more value from the customer.
For example, you could offer a unique piece of content like a free tutorial or eBook related to the product. Or offer a promotion that gives customers a discount if their order reaches a certain threshold (you can even cross-sell related products to bump up the order value).
2. Timing
The timing for SMS messages is crucial, particularly when they're about abandoned carts. Potential buyers need that reminder while your product is still fresh in their minds. You should also get increased conversions if you send more than one abandoned cart SMS, for example:
First reminder: within one hour of cart abandonment.
Second reminder: after 24 hours of cart abandonment.
Third reminder: after three days of cart abandonment.
The above cart abandonment strategy should achieve maximum impact. However, implementing it depends on your budget and whether your audience will tolerate this number of messages.
Messente's Head of Marketing, Taavi Rebane, offers this advice: "You'll need to find that sweet spot for sending the perfect amount of reminders – not too many, but not too few. Above all, don't be pushy. The aim of the SMS cart recovery message is to give a nudge to help the store visitor do what they were thinking about in the first place. Also, bear in mind seasonal timings. If it's near Christmas, visitors must receive your message within the optimal time window to take advantage of any sales you're running."
3. Personalisation
A personalised message gives you a better chance of engagement. At a minimum, you should address the recipient by name and reference the product they left behind. Make the copy interesting and fun to grab their attention. Take a look at this abandoned cart SMS template:
Hi [Mike], you've got great taste! You left the [Chestnut Leather Wallet] in your shopping cart. Checkout by 10pm today and get free shipping: [CART URL]
4. A clear call-to-action
You can't beat about the bush with text messages, as you only have 160 characters to play with. Always add a clear, impactful CTA to invite the recipient back to their cart. The language and visual message should be clear, as in the example above, which explains precisely what the customer needs to do and by when.
Here are a few other examples of clear CTAs:
Revisit your cart. (Straightforward.)
Check out while stocks last! (Adds a sense of urgency.)
Complete your purchase. (Suggests the order can be finalised quickly).
Tip: don't use wording such as 'BUY NOW' or 'PAY HERE'. These are high-friction phrases that don't add value or benefits to the customer. They also sound pushy.
Abandoned cart messages: best practices
Let's summarise the key points covered above and review some other 'must-dos' for successful abandoned cart message campaigns.
Build your own subscriber list—it'll become one of your business's biggest assets. Not only will your subscribers be receptive to abandoned cart reminders, but they'll also be willing to receive other SMS campaigns (as they're already interested in your brand and products).
Obtain consent – ensure web visitors can easily opt-in by displaying a signup form on your website. Spell out what you intend to use visitors' phone numbers for, i.e., to send SMS marketing, including relevant promotions and store news. Getting explicit consent enables you to send SMS messages legally.
Offer the option to unsubscribe – it's a legal requirement to offer subscribers the chance to unsubscribe if they no longer want to receive abandoned cart SMS alerts or other campaigns. You can do this by adding an unsubscribe link to your message content.
Personalise messages – as mentioned earlier, personalisation is critical to achieving maximum impact. Potential customers want to know that your business recognises and values them.
Leverage automation – abandoned cart text messages work by integrating an SMS API with your eCommerce platform (e.g., Shopify, BigCommerce or Magento). Once integrated, you can set up an automation that triggers an alert automatically when an abandoned cart is detected.
Comply with data protection telemarketing regulations – obtaining subscriber consent is just one of your obligations. You'll also need to collect, store and use customer data legally (as set out in the GDPR) and ensure you have a comprehensive (yet easy-to-understand) privacy policy.
A/B test SMS campaigns – it's wise to experiment with the copy and call-to-action for your abandoned cart text message to see which performs best. Change one variable at a time and monitor performance over a set period of time, for example, two weeks or one month.
Track and analyse campaigns – this is important to do regularly so you can identify any potential issues. For example, if you notice a spike in your subscriber opt-out rate, it could indicate that you're sending too many abandoned cart reminders.
Continuously improve – use your analytics to determine what's working and what isn't. Then, make any necessary changes to improve customer satisfaction.
Recover lost revenue with abandoned cart text messages
Abandoned carts are an inevitable challenge for all eCommerce businesses. Although you won't know the exact reason people leave items in their online basket without finishing the checkout process, you can try to recapture them. One of the best ways is to send cart abandonment messages that drive them back to your store.
Using SMS to recover abandoned carts is a good option thanks to the channel's high open rates and cost-effectiveness. Remember to add an incentive, personalisation, and a strong CTA that clearly explains what the recipient should do next. Personalise the content of your abandoned cart SMS to ensure it grabs attention and set up automation if possible so this type of campaign is sent on autopilot. Finally, use the best practices above as a checklist for achieving the best possible results.
Did you know you can set up automated abandoned cart SMS alerts by integrating Messente's SMS API with your online store? Learn about our text alert system.
