How much money are you losing to abandoned baskets? Over 76% of shoppers who add items to their online cart leave without purchasing. That’s $4 trillion worth of merchandise left sitting online.

Take back control of the timing, conversation, and sale with abandoned basket emails. Abandoned basket emails are intelligent, timed messages meant to prompt customers to complete their purchase.

Improve conversion—and customer connections—today with this step-by-step guide to your abandoned basket email strategy.

Abandoned basket emails: your stats to success

Even when shoppers show interest in your inventory, they will still bounce for several reasons: unwanted shipping costs, tedious purchasing process, distractions, and more. The good news is that over 75% of people who abandon their shopping carts say they intend to return—they just need the right reminder to do so.

Enter the abandoned basket email: a string of communication that has led many savvy retailers to success:

• Nearly half (44.1%) of all cart abandonment emails are opened.
• More than a tenth (11.61%) of cart abandonment emails are clicked.
• The average order value of purchases from basket abandonment emails is 14.2% higher than typical purchases.
• Nearly 30% of clicks lead to a purchase back on site.
• And just in case you’re not convinced yet: every single cart abandonment email sent, delivers more than $8 in revenue. (Econsultancy)

As intelligent, automated communication, the string of emails will stop once the lead completes your call-to-action: in this case, the purchase.

Improve conversion with abandoned basket emails: your step-by-step guide

Abandoned basket emails have the potential to win the sale—and further connections between you and your customers. In a time and age where spam mail dominates, understanding your customer enough to provide value, and to make them feel valued, will set your brand apart.

“The brands that last will harness technology for human connection; to provide a personalized, customer-first experience,” said Rick Wilson, CEO of Miva, Inc.

Harness the technology of Miva Merchant 9.7 for better connections with this step-by-step guide:

1) The Reminder Email

When to send: 20 minutes after cart abandonment

What it is: A short message reminding your customer of the item(s) they left behind, complete with images of the product and a link to their basket on your site.

Why it works: Oftentimes, distractions and casual browsing cause customers to stray. Strike the iron while it’s hot with a rapid reminder of the item(s) they just showed interest in.

When sent within 20 minutes of cart abandonment, the reminder email increased conversion 5.2%.

2) The Re-Reminder Email

When to send: 24 hours after cart abandonment

What it is: Another bump of your customer’s abandoned cart. Similar to the Reminder email, the only major difference is timing.

Why it works: If your customer was still too busy for the Reminder email, the Re-Reminder gives them 24 hours to tend to their to-dos before enticing them back to your site. Capture their attention with imagery and fresh copy to differentiate from the Reminder.

3) The Follow-Up Email: 2 Options

When to send: 4-5 days after cart abandonment

What it is: The Follow-Up email gives customers a week of breathing room before drawing their attention back to your site. After all, no one likes a bombardment of mail; it’s recommended to ease new customers into the relationship through strategically-timed communication.

Why it works: Unlike the first two emails, the Follow-Up Email provides even more reason to complete the sale in one of two ways.

Follow-Up Email Option 1: Peer Reviews

41% of customers who abandon their carts are not ready to purchase the product, while 27% are simply comparison shopping. And while price is a major deciding factor to shop a brand, it’s not the determining one, as 70% of Americans say they would spend more for superior service.

3 in 5 Americans (59%) would try a new brand or company for a better service experience.

Prove your brand worthy of the sale by sharing positive peer reviews in the Follow-Up Email. After all, glowing customer reviews or five-star ratings from your site prove one thing that low prices can’t buy: trustworthiness worth buying into for a long time.

Follow-Up Email Option 2: The Incentive

75% of consumers report scouring their inboxes just to look for relevant discounts. Beat your customer to the punch with an incentive they can’t find anywhere else.

The incentive should be so deep, or so time-sensitive, that your customer can’t help but click—or risk missing out. Copy lines like the following show that you value your customer by offering value in return:

“We want you back. Take 20% off your next purchase!”

“We don’t normally do this, but here’s 20% off the items in your cart.”

“Limited-time offer: 20% off these items in your cart.”

In lieu of a discount, you could also include a small gift, or even free shipping with their first purchase if you don’t offer it already. The purpose? To get over that first purchase hump, winning customer buy-in for the long haul.

On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase.

Take back control with abandoned basket emails 

The online marketplace is saturated with brands competing for customer attention. Take back control of the timing, conversation, and sale with abandoned basket emails from Miva, and you’ll be on your way to better conversion, and customer relationships, today.