Abandoned Cart Email Subject Line: 16 Practical Approaches with Examples

Cart abandonment email subject lines significantly impact the effectiveness of your recovery efforts. They determine the recipients’ answers to the eternal question, “Open or skip?”. So, how do you write subject lines for abandoned cart emails that will make users click them? Let’s see 16 proven techniques for abandoned cart subject lines.

Abandoned Email Cart Subject Line Tips and Examples

64% of recipients open emails based solely on the subject line. Due to the sheer abundance of information and everyone’s desire to grab a slice of their attention, users become more picky about what they open, with 33% of users opening emails only because the subject line is catchy.

Therefore, grabbing attention from the get-go is crucial for abandoned cart email subject lines. Let’s review some tips for the best abandoned cart subject lines with examples.

1. Use verbs

Like with CTA buttons, action-oriented verbs in subject lines tell recipients what specific step they need to take and motivate them to click and open your email. Examples include: “get,” “achieve,” “boost,” “elevate,” “enhance,” etc.

• “Jump at the opportunity to save” 
• “Run up that hill in new sneakers”
• “Discover the items you left behind!”
• “Maximize your style!”
• “Transform your shopping cart into a purchase today!”

2. Make them curious

Sometimes, a direct “don’t abandon your cart” subject line just won’t cut it. Hence, you have to become a bit ambiguous and create a mystery. Of course, you will not reach the level of excitement comparable to unboxing presents on Christmas morning or a thrilling detective story. But something like “we’ve got a special offer for you” can work wonders.

It works because humans are naturally curious and are likelier to click on something that intrigues them even slightly. Thanks to years of clickbait, we’ve started to build up a bit of resistance to this technique, but it still works.

• “Surprise inside! Open your cart now!”
• “We have a secret for you—finish your order!”
• “What's missing? Find out in your cart!”
• “Guess what? Your cart has a gift!”
• “Ready for a surprise? Check your cart!”
• “Your cart has a hidden treasure!”
• “A little something extra awaits in your cart!”
• “Uncover the secret inside your cart!”

3. Lure them in

Present users with discounts, coupons, free shipping, or easy return options to lure them. The more enticing and specific the offer, the better. Compare:

1. “Afraid it won’t fit? No problem, just return it.”
2. “Liked it? Don’t pay for shipping.”
3. “Psst… do you want a 30% discount?”

Each of these subject lines has its advantages. In particular, additional shipping costs and poor return policies are among the most common causes of abandoned carts. Therefore, if your subject line convinces shoppers that they don't have to worry about this anymore, they will not only open the email but also be more likely to complete the purchase. Meanwhile, 55% of customers willingly interact with emails offering discounts, so advertising them in the subject line can work in your favor.

4. Don’t shy away from humor, wit, and experiments

Figures of speech, word puns, and metaphors are your best friends when creating the best abandoned cart email subject lines. You want to avoid repeating your competitors or sounding like a broken record, right? So, go ahead and jazz it up.

Moreover, generic content can be exasperating. Tired of low-effort content, shoppers will be pleasantly surprised to see that you have exerted extra effort to impress them. 

Avoid sounding vulgar at all costs. Use the tropes with caution, and do not take creativity too far. Being bold and unorthodox can be rewarding in multiple respects. Yet, remember that the line between being charismatic and vulgar or cringy is incredibly thin.

• “Oops! Did you forget your cart again?”
• “Your cart misses you—it's feeling abandoned!”
• “Psst… your cart has separation anxiety!”
• “Come back! Your cart is doing the waiting dance!”
• “Your cart called—it wants a forever home!”
• “Your cart is throwing a tantrum—come back!”

However, don’t rely solely on humor for your subject lines. While it may get you a few ha-ha moments, it’s meant to be a supplement, not a substitution for other methods.

5. Personalize

Deeply personalized letters have a much higher engagement rate than generic ones. Simply including the receiver's name raises the opening rate from 10% to 39%. Just compare the first and second subject lines and see how your attitude changes.

Statistically speaking, 46% of users appreciate companies using their data to provide them with relevant recommendations, ads, and promotions. Therefore, your recipients will likely appreciate the references to their browsed items or other aspects that might be to the point. 

Analyzing your prospects or clients can help you determine a more individual approach. For instance, you can brainstorm different concepts depending on:

• visitors’ status (newcomers or loyal customers);
• cart total cost;
• number of items in the cart;
• whether it is a first follow-up email or reminders that you send later;
• other criteria (e.g., age, gender, occupation, purpose, etc.). 

With this information, you can create email subject lines that are vastly different for every group. 

Let’s compare it for different age groups:

• New customer: “Finalize your first purchase and get a 10% discount!”
• Name known: “Hey, Jim, get a 15% discount for checking out now!”
• Loyalty program member: “Get a 20% Gold Club discount for checking out!”

If you need help writing the email, we have plenty of email examples to ensure the customer comes back for the deal. 

Speaking of segmentation, Claspo can help you. With our interactive web widgets, you can collect not just users’ emails but also their names, preferences, dates of birth, genders, etc. Since Claspo is easily integrated with numerous ESPs, all the data gathered will transfer to the chosen platform for further segmentation and personalized email campaigns. It’s easy as pie!

Try this template

6. Keep it concise

Open your email box and look at your incoming letters. If all the subject lines contain more than 15 words, how long would it take you to check your mail? Do you have that much spare time? Probably not.

While no definitive perfect subject line length exists, most consumer goods brands write subjects up to 40 symbols long, netting them 20% open rates. However, this does not apply to every industry. For example, industries like financial services use lines over 55 symbols long and still get 39% open rates. The caveat is that those subject lines are usually more personalized, returning us to the previous point.

7. Avoid being confusing

The ability to grasp the meaning of the message right away brings the viewers a sense of immediate satisfaction. The decision-making process is simple if they know what the content is about. Readers will dismiss the nonsensical message if your intentions are obscure or your words do not make sense. Obviously, this rule does not apply to intriguing subject lines where the mysterious manner of speech is intentional. Here are some bad subject lines and some ways to improve them.

• “Don't forget something”—Thanks, email! Now I remember to water my plants! This subject line tries to be vague and lure you in but goes a bit overboard with the vagueness.
• “You have things in your cart”—This subject line has no character, is too generic, and doesn’t actually tell you what you have in your cart. There is no reason for anyone to open it unless they actively remember the items in their cart.
• “Finish what you started”—Does this email try to motivate you? Does it threaten you? This subject line has the potential for a spooky holiday subject line if you add a knife, blood, or pumpkin emoji. That way, it is not just vaguely ominous but also quite on point.
• “Don't miss out”—This one was so close to greatness. Just add what you don’t want your clients to miss out on, like a personal discount, an ongoing seasonal event, or whatever other special offer, and this one will be great.

Don’t worry—even big companies like Virgin Atlantic make mistakes. “You’re nearly there” is possibly the most overused subject line in the history of subject lines. At this point, it tells you nothing and makes you want to send the email into spam. 

For businesses like Virgin Atlantic, we suggest extending the subject by adding personalization and showing convenience: “You’re nearly in [DESTINATION]—get there in 2 clicks,” with the phrase in brackets changing to the destination your customer chooses.

8. Appeal to emotions

As much as we love pretending to be rational human beings, emotions are a part of us. This also extends to the effectiveness of abandoned cart email subject lines. Emotional content will engage 94% more people than rational content, so appealing to emotions is your go-to for effective subject lines.

You can try to incite happiness, excitement, nostalgia, or even guilt. With the final one, be careful not to overdo it. It’s fine when done in good spirits, but guilt-tripping your customers as if not completing their purchase makes them the worst person ever is never a good idea.

Check these examples out and see which emotions they incite in you:

• “Your cart misses you!”
• “Your cart is ready to make you happy!”
• “Your items feel abandoned!”
• “Get excited—your cart is full of goodies!”
• “Your new favorites are just a click away!”
• “Remember these? They’re still in your cart!”

9. Highlight exclusivity

Exclusive treatment can be a real open-rate booster, allowing you to get 22% more clicks. People love feeling special, so tell them that they are. You can do it in different ways:

• “Exclusive offer just for you. Complete your purchase!”
• “Your VIP access awaits—checkout now!”
• “Members-only discount inside—complete your purchase!”
• “Finish your purchase for exclusive benefits!”

10. Incite urgency

While many companies use limited-time offers as their email marketing strategy, only 10% remember to include them in the subject line. And this is their mistake! Including a sense of urgency in subject lines increases email open rates by 22%. Your propositions have value because they represent a limited-time opportunity. Let them know that the items in the cart will not stay there forever.

• “Hurry! Your cart is waiting!”
• “Only a few hours left—complete your purchase!”
• “Act fast! Items in your cart are going quick!”
• “Your cart is about to expire!”
• “Time is running out—check out before it's too late!”

11. Show scarcity

Using scarcity in abandoned cart subject lines is highly effective because it creates a sense of urgency, triggers the fear of missing out (FOMO), and increases the perceived value of the items. When customers believe that an item is in limited supply, they are more likely to act quickly to secure their purchase before it's too late. 

This approach encourages quick decision-making, highlights the product's popularity and high demand, and boosts engagement with the email. Be careful not to overuse this tactic—scarcity has no value when it is in abundance. 

• “Only a few left—complete your purchase now!”
• “Scarce supply—check out before it's gone!”
• “Low stock alert—complete your order now!”
• “Going, going… almost gone! Check out now!”
• “Low inventory—grab your items before they’re gone!”
• “Last of their kind—check out your cart now!”

12. Give them the numbers

Subject lines containing numbers gain almost double the open rate of those without. Sure, a special offer is sweet, but when people see a 10% discount, they say, “Now we’re talking.”

• “3 items are still in your cart!”
• “Only 2 steps left—complete your order now!”
• “You have 5 hours left to save on your cart!”
• “Finish your purchase now and get a 10% discount!”

13. Be careful with punctuation and capitalization

Capitalization is a tricky issue. All caps will not pass spam filters. Lowercase words sound more friendly. Using more than 3 punctuation marks can make your email look like spam, especially when it comes to exclamation marks. Moreover, repeated exclamation or question marks might leave an impression that you are yelling at the recipients, so avoid that as well. 

Using special characters like “#, $, %, &” is typically ill-advised for cold emails. However, cart abandonment emails are typically considered hot emails since they indicate a customer’s potential interest and intent to purchase. Therefore, you can safely use these, especially the “%,” which is often needed for special deals.

Let’s compare how the same subject line looks and feels depending on these criteria.

• “Don't miss out—complete your order now!”—Since we are trying to incite urgency, regular sentence capitalization fits best, and an exclamation mark doesn’t feel out of place. Overall, this is the best subject line for an abandoned cart email in this example list.
• “Don't miss out—complete your order now.”—Lacking an exclamation mark only slightly reduces the urgency of the statement, but it won’t noticeably affect your open rate.
• “Don't Miss Out—Complete Your Order Now!”—Some people like using the title case for subject lines. However, there is no statistical evidence, as of now, that either sentence or title case statistically affects open rates. This is up to your preference.
• “don't miss out complete your order now”—Lacking proper punctuation and capitalization will make you look unprofessional and reduce your open rates.
• “DON'T MISS OUT—COMPLETE YOUR ORDER NOW!!!”—Using all-caps is basically a death sentence to your subject line. The chances of it passing the spam filter are incredibly low, and even then, the open rates would be abysmal since people don’t appreciate getting yelled at. Plus, using 3 exclamation marks further reduces the letter’s chances of being opened.

14. Use emojis sparingly

Using emojis can positively impact viewers' perceptions of your subject line. 56% of companies using emojis saw a statistically significant increase in open rates for their campaigns. Conversely, this means that the other 44% either saw no or negative impact of emojis.

This tool provokes emotional responses, helps you outsmart spam filters, and makes your line fit better on mobile device screens. Just remember that one emoji is cool, but more will likely seem unacceptable.

• There is a 🎁 inside
• For our ❤️ customer
• Don’t miss this bliss 💫

15. Choose your words carefully

Suspicious or displeasing cart abandonment email subject lines will motivate people to mark your email as spam. Plus, spam filters become more advanced with time. The only solution is to sound like a human, not a bot or a scammer, and avoid using the triggering words and expressions from the table below. 

Conversely, certain words will bring you a higher open rate. For example, mentioning the word “video” in your subject line can net you a 7–13% open rate increase. Funnily enough, using the word “free” gives you a 10% open rate boost but also increases your likelihood of being marked as spam, both manually and automatically. On the other hand, using the word “newsletter” brings a steep 18.7% open rate decrease.

16. Test multiple options

Remember to A/B test your different options. First, if stats say something works for some businesses, it doesn’t mean it will work for you. Besides, the customer is always right. So, instead of relying on your intuition and guesswork, check how people react to different subject lines and choose the best ones.

A/B testing your subject lines can improve user experience and reduce the company's monetary and reputational risks. In the long run, you will learn what your audience likes and learn to create better subject lines faster and with fewer testing rounds.

If you are ready to become an A/B testing adept or are already an avid practitioner, we have a little something for you. Claspo has prepared a template to fit any type of A/B test you might want to run for your business, saving you precious time. Feel free to use it for subject lines, product descriptions, or pop-ups from Claspo.

Abandoned Cart Email Subject Line: How Can Claspo Help?

Okay, you got us. We’re not an email platform—we’re actually a widget builder. But there are still things we can help you with to make your emails interesting, memorable, and converting.

For example, you can use our builder to create pop-ups to gather emails for your database. If customers leave the cart before arriving at checkout, you can still get their email addresses with a well-timed exit-intent pop-up. Or, even better yet, you won’t need to send an email if they don’t leave in the first place! Let them jump into your website’s rabbit hole and redirect them where you want them with a well-placed informing widget.

Moreover, Claspo easily integrates with all popular ESPs, so you won’t need to spend time manually transferring your mailing list from Claspo—our platform can do it for you automatically.

The best part is our free lifetime plan. It provides access to all features and allows you to see the first results without spending a penny. So jump in right now and see for yourself!