13 Best Cart Abandonment Emails That Make the User Come Back and Close the Deal

There are many ways to recover cart abandonment, and cart abandonment emails are among the most effective. 

An abandoned cart occurs when a potential customer adds items from your online store to their cart but leaves without completing the purchase. An email can be used to remind users about items they forgot or convince them to come back with persuasive text, an enticing offer, or other tactics.

But how do you write an email that will return customers to their carts and checkout? Let’s take a deep dive into the fundamentals of these emails and examine the 13 best cart abandonment emails on the web.

Why Are Abandoned Cart Emails Important?

According to the Baymard Institute, over 70% of carts get abandoned. That’s a crapton of lost sales! You can calculate your own abandonment rate and see how much unrealized potential your store has. Meanwhile, there is a swifter solution to retain some leavers — email marketing. If a user receives a letter with products left in the cart, the store has a good chance of getting them back and improving sales. About 45% of people will at least open an abandoned cart email. 21% of opened emails will receive click-throughs. And roughly 50% of those who clicked through will actually purchase something. 

The stats speak for themselves. If you want to retain as many customers as possible, you have to use every trick in the book, including sending out shopping cart abandonment emails.

Benefits of Abandoned Cart Emails

Naturally, retained sales are the main benefit of abandoned cart emails. But are there other advantages to sending them out? Here are three unobvious benefits of cart abandonment emails.

Improve customer experience

A good cart abandonment email can significantly improve your clients’ user experience. If they genuinely want to buy something and forget about it, your reminder might be the shining beacon of light they need in their life. 

But to be less dramatic, life can get hectic at times, and a timely reminder about a thing they care about might make someone’s day just a tiny bit better.

Build brand equity

High-quality, engaging emails can positively affect your brand’s reputation and customer loyalty. The math is quite simple: if people like your emails, they’ll like your brand and come to you more often.

Set and forget

The best part about cart abandonment emails is that they are automated. You don’t actually need to manually remind each customer about their forgotten items (unless you’re feeling particularly bored). You just need the email addresses of all those abandoners. Otherwise, you can't follow up with your automated campaigns. Don't panic! Claspo has not one but two solutions for you. 

With our pop-ups, you can gather all the emails you want, transfer the data to your ESP, and have the opportunity to remind a greater number of shoppers about their abandoned carts.

But wait! There's more! With Claspo's exit-intent pop-ups, you can reach shoppers not on your mailing list yet, keep them on the site, and motivate them to continue the checkout process. Why bother returning them if they don't leave in the first place?

13 Best Abandoned Cart Email Examples

To learn how to write proper cart abandonment emails, you need to learn from the best. We’ll do this right now by examining the 13 best abandoned cart email examples.

1. ASOS

ASOS uses the literary device of personification to evoke a feeling of pity for the products that are seemingly waiting to be purchased. Admittedly, if you overthink it a bit, it does feel a bit weird when there is a model in the picture. However, that does not detract from the power of the headline and the overall design of the email.

Not only does it evoke strong emotions, but it also features a prominent CTA and mentions additional incentives to buy.

2. Google Store

Google Store created a clever headline that plays both on the catchy auctioneer phrase and FOMO. It also uses Google’s recognizable, slick and simplistic design with its signature colors. Overall, this email by Google Store is the epitome of “less is more.”

3. Casper

Casper will make potential customers laugh with the playfully humorous headline, “Come back to bed.” Not only is it funny, but it also tugs at the heartstrings of many. After all, who can refuse to go back to bed? This headline instantly sets the email apart from all the others.

4. Rudy's

“Don't put this off like a software update” is another humorous headline that wins us over with its relatability. For additional appeal, Rudy’s also offers free shipping and reminds you that your cart’s timer will soon run out.

5. Whiskey Loot

The Whiskey Loot’s email includes cool, personalized text encouraging customers to complete their purchases. It lists reasons to buy whiskey, answers frequently asked questions, and uses a minimalist design to draw attention to the CTA. The buyer has all the information they may need to make the purchase; the final step is pressing the conveniently placed button.

6. Nomad

The phrase “What happened?” immediately attracts attention and creates a sense of genuine concern from the seller. The text at the bottom also serves to reassure the buyer that they should take the plunge and try the product. After all, they have thirty days to return the item and two whole years of warranty!

7. Dollar Shave Club

Dollar Shave Club’s headline might be a bit cliché and look a bit like trying too hard. However, that is a matter of personal preference. What they do right, however, is what follows. The CTA is immediately at the top. The enticing bullet points showcase the main advantages of their business, as well as the satisfaction guarantees.

8. Jennifer Fisher Jewelry

This is another FOMO-inducing email used by jewelry brand Jennifer Fisher. The content of the email does a perfect job of convincing the client that this is their last chance to get the item and that the seller is genuinely concerned about them losing this opportunity. Moreover, it features a prominent picture of the model wearing one of the brand’s products.

9. Ann Summers

Ann Summers's cart abandonment email has a risqué headline, questioning whether you, the buyer, still want the product. But we all know the subtext. It’s an interesting way of personalization that very few brands are fitting or brave enough to explore.

10. Vans

Vans did a bang-up job with its cart abandonment email. Not only does it follow all the recommendations to a tee, but it also features alternatives and clever wordplay in the headline. If your clients didn’t find what they wanted, this email is your last chance to capture them, so showing alternatives is a great way to engage more clients.

11. Brooklinen

Instead of showing alternatives, Brooklinen decides to flex with their five-star reviews. However, five-star reviews are not enough to entice everyone, so the company chose the wittiest reviews, which even made us want to buy new sheets from them.

12. ThinkGeek

ThinkGeek knows its audience and uses this knowledge to the fullest in its cart abandonment email. The iconic Smeagol gibberish is crossed with other Lord of the Rings references and plenty of self-irony. As a bonus, ThinkGeek also offers alternatives. Although the design may seem a bit outdated, the witty humor and references compensate for it.

13. ThreadUp

ThreadUp is another brand that uses personification to its advantage, this time blending it with the UI of a messenger to add a bit more realism. The whole copy screams “desperate for attention,” and it’s honestly adorable, if a tiny bit depressing.

Abandonment Cart Email Tips

There are many aspects to creating truly effective abandonment cart emails, from the right sequence to the right components inside. Here are some tips for you to remember.

Choose the right timing

Timing is everything. Whether you’re sending a single email or an email chain, your first contact should be only after one hour of detecting an abandoned cart because this timing shows the highest conversion rate. If you opt to do a chain, your second email can be sent one day after the first, and your third email can be sent three days after the second.

Include the must-have components

Your email needs to contain all the necessary information. A good email typically has a strong headline, items left in the cart with prices and images, a call-to-action button, a way to contact support, and some additional persuasive text to dispel their doubts (like guarantees, return policies, bonuses, discounts, etc.). Each component plays a crucial role in the email response rate. For example, personalized CTAs can increase an email’s conversion rate by 202%.

Craft a winning sequence

Sending multiple emails is an effective way to ensure your message goes through. After all, it’s easy to miss a single email, but not opening three is usually a more deliberate action. However, long sequences can also annoy customers and lead to you ending up in their spam folder. Meanwhile, the three-email sequence shows the best results. Let’s see how to use these three to the most:

• First email: a gentle nudge, reminding the customer they left some items in their cart. Add images, product names, a short description, and their prices. Also, try to avoid offering a discount in this email, as you may lose some revenue from people who might convert without it. 
• Second email: use whatever you need to convert the customer. Offering free shipping or a small discount can have great results. 
• Third email: you can reuse your offer from the second one but turn it into a limited-time offer. This way, you appeal to the fear of missing out (FOMO), show them that this sweet price (or gist, or free shipping, you name it) will soon be unavailable, and thus encourage them to go to the checkout faster. 

If you use cart abandonment emails, you can supplement them with Claspo’s pop-ups. Our service allows you to target people coming from specific email campaigns, so you can show a personalized pop-up to those who came from this sequence. As a result, shoppers visit your site after getting your email, and our pop-up reminds them about your offer and invites them to checkout. 

Personalize your emails

Personalized emails gain 30% more responses than generic, soulless abandoned cart email templates. Try to establish a genuine connection with your customers, even if the message is automated. Write like a good friend—with care, respect, and a desire to help. In the email's subject, indicate the name of the abandoned product so that the addressee immediately understands what it’s about. For example, “The LG 500 TV is waiting for payment in the store.”

To personalize your emails, you need to gather more information about your audience. This will allow you to divide it into narrow segments and create a tailored message for each one. And what better way to get information than using a pop-up from Claspo?

With our widgets, you can collect all the necessary data about your users with their full consent. Ask them about their name, date of birth, product preferences, and more in exchange for a bonus or discount at checkout. You can then easily automate the transfer of this information to the most popular ESPs for further personalized communication.

Improving your copywriting

Yes, the text of your email is very important for success, and there are several tricks to improve its effectiveness. For example, a subject line consisting of 7 words shows the highest open rate. With these 7 words, you need to catch shoppers' attention and clearly show what your email is about. Of course, identifying the ideal subject line is only possible through research and A/B testing, but you can use ChatGPT's help at the initial stage. Here's what it suggested:

• Complete Your Order Now for Exclusive Savings
• 🛒 Don't Miss Out! Your Cart Awaits 🛍️

Oh, this artificial intelligence! It's really smart because it suggests using emojis. And this is also one of the keys to email success. Are you surprised? Read our article on converting copywriting to get more tips on creating compelling email copy and more.

Add social proof

You can use customer feedback to strengthen your offer and engage customers who have abandoned their carts. 75% of people look for reviews when buying, so why not make their job easier? Try to provide reviews for the products in the cart. If that’s not available, you can resort to shop reviews to try to persuade customers using your good reputation.

You can use Claspo’s widgets to invite customers to leave reviews on special platforms or collect their feedback directly on your website. The more reviews you have, the more choices you have to show your potential buyers.

A/B test your emails

What subject line should you choose? What message better motivates shoppers to return to carts? There is no need to guess; just conduct A/B testing. It lets you verify your hypothesis and increase your email’s effectiveness step-by-step. Experiment with different parts to see how each of them influences your conversions. 

You can get meaningful results only with competent prep and a thoughtful approach. Thankfully, we have been there lots of times. So, our marketing team has crafted a template with all critical A/B test steps. Get it for free now and use it for all your future experiments with emails, landing pages, ads, pop-ups, you name it.

How Can Claspo Help You Create an Abandoned Cart Email? 

Okay, you caught us. We’re not actually providing any email services. But hey, we still have plenty of ways to solve your cart abandonment issues or assist your email campaigns.

Did you know that you can set up pop-ups that can reduce cart abandonment by up to 50% with Claspo? Yep, that’s us. Set up an exit-intent pop-up and offer something to a user before they quit. This allows you to reach and trigger even the shoppers not on your mailing list.

But, you know, cart abandonment still happens. It’s impossible to solve it completely. However, we can help you reduce it even further. Set up a pop-up to collect emails from your users while offering them something in return. You can seamlessly transfer their data to many popular ESPs, allowing you to automatically send a cart abandonment email. 

Start using Claspo for free now, test our features, and keep those carts rolling.

Abandoned Cart Email FAQ

What is an abandoned cart email?

An abandoned cart email is an email message you send to users when they add items to their carts without finishing the checkout in your online store. The main purpose is to recover potentially lost sales by convincing the customer to complete the purchase with either a reminder or an enticing offer.

Do abandoned cart emails work?

Yes, abandoned cart emails work. About 45% of people will at least open an abandoned cart email, 21% of clicked emails will receive click-throughs, and roughly 50% of those who clicked through will actually purchase something.

How many emails should I send for abandoned cart orders?

Creating a series of emails is the best course of action, and studies show that three is the optimal number of emails. One email risks getting lost in the client's inbox, so three emails allow you to create a better strategy, while four can be perceived as spam and annoying.