Shopping basket abandonment is an issue faced by a number of online retailers and can seemingly represent missed revenue opportunities. But, if retailers take a glass half full approach, these consumers in fact represent an audience that is open to purchasing in the near future with a bit of extra incentive.

We will look at the common causes of shopping basket abandonment and how email remarketing can help to resolve this issue for the retailer, turning the consumer into a high-value purchaser.

According to Forrester Research, 87% of consumers abandon shopping baskets, and 70% of baskets are abandoned just before checkout. On the surface securing a conversion can seem difficult but, in reality, this presents an interested pool of potential customers that may just be in the window shopping stage. Just because they’ve seemingly abandoned their purchase doesn’t mean they won’t return. This is supported by research from SalesCycle that found the click-to-open rate of basket abandonment emails is 10% higher than a traditional email – the consumer is interested in purchasing at some stage just maybe not quite in that moment.

For companies to tackle the issue of basket abandonment, they must first understand the factors that could be causing it. A survey conducted by eConsultancy and TolunaQuick found that the top reason for shopping basket abandonment is high delivery charges (75%), followed by technical problems (55%), high prices (50%) and the need to register before making a purchase (26%).

However, there are also behavioural factors that can affect this increasing level of shopping basket abandonment. Consumers may treat online shopping baskets as a wish list and use this list to find and buy products in-store. It may also be used as a method of comparing prices with other online retailers or monitoring the price, perhaps waiting for the product to be discounted.

The growing trend of consumers using their mobile or tablet devices to conduct product research before making a purchase is adding to the increasing rate of shopping basket abandonment, however, research conducted by eMarketer found these consumers are often switching to a PC or laptop to complete their purchases.

Email remarketing can play a pivotal role in tackling the issue of shopping basket abandonment. Businesses are able to respond in real-time at the point of abandonment using visitor data to drive relevant, bespoke messages and incentify the customer to return to the website to complete their purchase.

When considering email remarketing, businesses should keep in mind that there are factors that could influence the effectiveness. Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology[6] prove that timing is everything when it comes to email remarketing – 90% of leads grow cold in just one hour yet within 12 hours, the majority of customers who intend to make a purchase, will do so. This research suggests remarketing can have its biggest impact within a 12 hour window and according to Forrester, retargeting programmes such as email remarketing can return as much as 40% of email programme revenue, making this a worthwhile opportunity for the retailer.

Businesses should also consider the frequency of email campaigns being sent out to consumers. Sending multiple emails, targeted correctly, as subtle reminders may encourage consumers to return to complete the purchase more effectively than a single message. Research from Listrak found an increase of 30% in the amount of retailers choosing to remarket to purchase abandoners since 2011, in addition to this, retailers are sending a series of messages to re-engage consumers rather than a single message. The same study found that retailers are decreasingly using discounts within their message, finding instead that a simple reminder is often enough to prompt the consumer.

Finally, email remarketing should be personalised beyond the contents abandoned in the basket and include products the shopper looked at throughout their visit. For example, a consumer could be searching for leather jackets using a search engine, these actions are noted the moment this search takes place and through every page thereafter. After the individual has viewed more than three products they are scored as a high-value customer, triggering a relevant offer based on their in-session behaviour, such as “for 24 hours only, receive up to 60% off all jackets”.

Businesses also have the ability to combine historical, offline and in-session data to achieve a unified view of customers and deliver highly targeted and relevant experiences in real-time.

The content of the message will depend on whether the customer is scored as a high or low value purchaser. The retailer will be able to see from analytics data that people who purchase coats or long-time customers score as high-value purchasers, triggering a specific message. If, however, the visitor is a lower-value customer, reminder emails or smaller discount offers can be sent within the optimal window of time for remarketing, and maximise revenue potential as well as increasing customer loyalty through relevant and targeted marketing.

According to SeeWhy, only 1% of new visitors will make a purchase when visiting a new site, 90% of conversions come from repeat customer and 66% of eventual conversion comes through email marketing. It is important for businesses to capture email addresses of visitors and this can be done through the use of incentive techniques such as wish lists, rewards through loyalty schemes and memberships to promote, upsell and convert shopping basket abandoners.

Shopping basket abandoners are a source of untapped revenue but companies should view this as an opportunity, rather than a loss. Consumers adding products to their online basket are motivated to buy and while they are browsing, should be viewed as window shoppers. Email remarketing provides the retailer with an opportunity to encourage these window shoppers to complete their purchase and providing a personalised and relevant message can lead to increase of customer loyalty and revenue, converting the consumer to a high-value purchaser.

 

By Hugh Kimber, UK Sales Director, EMEA at Webtrends.


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