Investing in a Short Message Service (SMS) marketing campaign is one of the best strategies to amp...
Abandoned carts represent missed opportunities for businesses. So, how do you recover the lost sales?
Abandoned cart SMS campaigns can be a transformative tool, swiftly reconnecting with potential customers and driving them toward a purchase. With consumers checking their phones nearly 100 times daily, SMS offers an unparalleled chance to capture their attention.
The immediacy, widespread availability, and familiarity of text messages make this approach vital in reducing cart abandonment rates and boosting conversion rates. Let’s unpack it all!
4 Advantages of Using SMS for Abandoned Carts
Abandoned cart SMS recovery messages equip your business with a leading strategy for re-engaging, waning leads, and capturing their conversions. Texting is a particularly potent method of reaching out to cart abandoners as it’s instant, but you usually contend with a rather short window of opportunity to change your potential customer’s mind.
Generally, consumers don’t spend long lengths of time shopping online. Less than a third spend even an hour at a time—so that’s how long you'll have to reach and convince them to make the purchase. Since consumers check their phones, on average, 96 times per day, text messages are the quickest and most reliable means of reaching a potential customer before their shopping session is over.
Speed isn’t the only factor that makes SMS messages an essential cart recovery tool, however; the following contribute likewise:
- Universal reach – 97% of Americans own a cell phone capable of receiving SMS messages—making them perhaps the most utilized communication medium in the country.
- Familiarity – Nearly everyone knows how to send, receive, and read SMS messages.
- Acceptance – 91% of consumers want to receive text messages from brands for marketing and other purposes—making them the preferred method of Business-to-Consumer (B2C) communication.
With so many upsides and much to gain from leveraging SMS for cart recovery, the only question remains: What will you include in your messages?
What to Include in Your Abandoned Cart Text Message
There are a few essential elements that no cart recovery message would be complete without. Next time you’re trying to convince a potential customer to return to your store and finish their purchase, be sure to include these elements.
1. The Shopper’s Name
More than two-thirds of consumers expect companies to personalize messages, over three-quarters get frustrated when they don’t, and many will simply not read an SMS if it doesn’t at least have their name. Including the shopper’s first name shows a level of personal care and encourages them to engage with your brand—often by returning to their cart and following through with their checkout.
2. The Product They Left Behind
If they have only one or a few products in their cart, be sure to mention them by name. Refreshing shoppers about what they have in their carts reminds them why they added those items in the first place, can reinforce their interest in the products, and net your brand another sale.
3. A URL Back to the Checkout Page
Including a URL to the customer’s cart or checkout page makes it simple for them to access your site again, review their selections, and make a purchase. Direct URLs remove the work of manually navigating to your page and the hesitation that may have caused them to abandon their cart in the first place.
4. A Call-to-Action (CTA)
A CTA is a specific request to take an action that will benefit your brand. It’s usually a quick, short line of instructions such as:
- Complete your order now
- Claim your discount
- Finish your checkout while supplies last
End your cart recovery SMSs with CTAs so your customers know exactly what to do after reading your message.
Abandoned Cart Text Message Examples + Templates
Depending on your brand, the products you sell, and several other factors, various messaging styles and formats may fit your audience better than others when reminding your shoppers to check out. Next time you notice a product left behind, try these abandoned cart text message examples.
The Gentle Reminder
The hard sell can be a bit aggressive and off-putting. Instead, gentle reminders help shoppers recall what’s in their cart without making your brand seem too pushy on its sales tactics. To give your shoppers a soft refresher, try a message like:
Hey (customer), are you still interested in (product)? If you’d like to complete your purchase, simply follow this (link) to return to (brand’s) site.
The Incentive Offer
Sometimes, a small percentage off is all it takes to wrangle up stray customers and convert on their interest. The Incentive Offer seals the deal by sweetening the sale with discounts or freebies. To try this one out with your shoppers, use a text akin to:
Hey there (customer)! If you still want (product), (brand) is offering it right now for X% off! Follow this (link) to return to your cart and claim your discount.
The Sense of Urgency
If gentle reminders and special offers don’t do the trick, creating a sense of urgency may be the technique your brand needs to bolster cart recovery. Generally, low stock and time-sensitive discounts are the main methods to fuel shoppers’ haste. To leverage this style with your customers, try:
Hi (customer), stocks of (product) are running low at (brand). To make sure you get yours, complete your purchase at (link) while supplies last!
The Feedback Request
The Feedback Request works in two ways: it both reminds shoppers of their abandoned items and helps you collect pertinent data to improve your organizational operations. Generally, feedback requests work by asking customers why they decided to abandon their cart in the first place—such as:
Hi (customer), you didn’t complete your purchase of (item) from (brand) at (link). When you have a moment, we’d love to know why with this quick survey: (link).
Best Practices for Implementing Abandoned Cart SMS Campaigns
SMS cart recovery messages provide an essential method to bolster sales and reclaim part of the 70+% of items that get abandoned every single day. However, you’ll have to adapt to its best practices to make the most of cart recovery.
1. Segment Your Audience
Segmenting your audience means breaking them down into several smaller, similar groups based on factors like:
- Age
- Location
- Purchasing history
Segmenting your audience allows you to craft targeted messages that are more likely to resonate with shoppers and convince them to return to the checkout process.
2. Measure and Optimize
Every business must attune its cart recovery strategy to the specific intricacies of its market, goals, and base. But you won’t be able to determine if your techniques truly achieve their desired effect without measuring your campaign’s performance. Track and measure relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) to see if your strategies work, such as:
- Cart abandonment rate
- Cart recovery rate
- Text message click-through rate (CTR)
- Overall sales
If these metrics don’t improve during your campaign, try new strategies like leveraging different message styles, sending texts sooner or later, or resegmenting your audience.
3. Ensure Compliance
Before you can send any messages, you must obtain permission, ensure it’s the right time of day, and avoid getting numbers from third-party lists. For full legal compliance standards, check out this guide to texting consent.
Advanced Strategies Beyond the Text
SMS isn’t the only channel to leverage for cart recovery. Nearly 40% of cart recovery emails, for instance, get opened and read by their recipients—making them another key channel to leverage in the fight against abandonment.
Retargeted ads—those that show shoppers the same products they were just browsing in your store—are also a salient technique for reclaiming forgotten products. As per HotJar, they can reduce cart abandonment rates by over 6% and boost overall sales by up to 20%—making them an essential part of most successful recovery strategies.
Just like your brand’s text message marketing efforts, your cart recovery strategy should be cohesive, far-reaching, and leverage as many relevant platforms as possible to contact shoppers.
Set Up Abandoned Cart SMS Flows With Mozeo
Ready to transform cart abandoners into loyal customers?
Mozeo’s text messaging platform lets you manage all your SMS marketing from one place. With our autoresponders, MMS capabilities, and 300-character limit, your abandoned cart SMS campaign will be the best around.
Get started with Mozeo today!
