Every online store has faced it; shoppers visit, explore your products, even add a few to their carts, and then disappear. No payment, no confirmation. Just crickets.
You might assume they changed their minds, but that’s rarely the case. The truth is most shoppers abandon their carts because of small, fixable issues and until you address these, you’re leaving serious money on the table.
Global data show that nearly 70.22% of online shopping carts are abandoned before purchase. That means nearly 7 out of every 10 shoppers walk away without buying. The good news is that these “almost buyers” are often recoverable with the right retargeting strategies.
Understanding Why Carts Are Abandoned
Knowing why shoppers abandon their carts is crucial to designing effective follow-ups. Common reasons include:
- Unexpected costs at checkout: Stats show that hidden shipping fees, taxes, or surcharges cause nearly 48% of shoppers to abandon their carts.
- Complicated checkout processes: Lengthy forms, mandatory account creation before purchase, or slow-loading pages create friction that drives users away.
- Distractions or indecision: Shoppers often leave to compare products, check reviews, or simply return later, never completing the purchase.
- Mobile friction: With a growing number of mobile shoppers, unoptimized mobile checkout experiences can drastically increase abandonment rates.
Many of these barriers aren’t about product quality; they’re behavioral and experience-driven. Addressing them through timely, personalized follow-up can significantly increase conversions.
What Abandoned Cart Retargeting Is and Why It Works
Abandoned cart retargeting is the practice of reaching out to users who left items in their carts via email, SMS, or retargeting ads, reminding them of the items and encouraging completion of their purchase.
Why does this work? Many shoppers abandon carts not because they don’t want the product, but because of temporary hesitation or distractions. A well-timed reminder can reduce friction and guide users back to complete the purchase.
According to recent benchmarks, well-structured abandoned cart email campaigns recover 10–20% of lost carts. That means for every 100 abandoned carts, 10–20 potential orders can still be salvaged, leading to a substantial revenue boost for growing e-commerce businesses.
Effective Retargeting Strategies
Here’s how e-commerce businesses can strategically recover lost sales:
1. Abandoned Cart Emails
Emails are ideal for capturing intent while it’s fresh. According to statistics, it’s important to send the first reminder within 30–60 minutes of cart abandonment.
Personalize those messages with the customer’s name and the exact items they left behind. Multi-step sequences sent over 24–72 hours outperform single reminders, and gentle urgency or incentives can increase conversions.
2. SMS or Push Notifications
These are direct, fast, and highly visible on mobile devices. Sending short and clear messages about items left behind, sometimes paired with a small incentive, can quickly nudge shoppers back to complete their purchases.
3. Dynamic Retargeting Ads
Retargeting ads visually remind shoppers of the exact products they left behind. It can be done via social media or display ads. These gentle visual cues keep the product top-of-mind without being spammy.
4. Improve Checkout Experience
A smoother checkout complements retargeting by reducing friction. Show shipping/tax costs upfront, enable guest checkout, optimize mobile experience, and offer trusted payment options. A seamless checkout increases the likelihood that users return after retargeting.
Measuring Your Retargeting Success
Monitoring performance ensures your efforts yield results. Key metrics include:
- Cart recovery rate: percentage of abandoned carts converted
- Email open and click-through rates
- Revenue per recovered cart
Tracking these metrics allows you to refine timing, messaging, and channel strategies for maximum revenue recovery.
Cart abandonment is a natural part of online shopping, but it doesn’t have to mean lost revenue. With strategic abandoned cart retargeting, you can reclaim 10–20% of lost orders, boost revenue, and improve overall conversion. With Revvy, this process becomes effortless. The platform tracks visitor behavior in real-time, segments audiences automatically, and triggers timely retargeting campaigns that convert. Stop leaving money on the table and start recovering lost sales today.
