The average cart abandonment rate has been increasing steadily since 2014, and in 2025, it is estimated to be 70.19%. More specifically, the e-commerce stores lose about $18 billion in sales revenue annually due to cart abandonment . These two statistics alone show the deep impact of shopping cart abandonment on e-commerce businesses.
Therefore, it is important to be familiar with the strategies to reduce cart abandonment, such as sending engaging follow-up emails and text messages. Let's explore the different ways to reduce shopping cart abandonment in detail.
Why Does Cart Abandonment Happen?
There are numerous reasons why cart abandonment happens in the first place. Being familiar with the top reasons is key to reducing the cart abandonment rate with effective strategies.
1. Complex Checkout Process
A complex checkout process or an online shopping app with a lack of a user-friendly interface can deter customers from placing the order. Ideally, the checkout process should flow smoothly from shopping cart to payment and confirmation.
If an online store is asking for too much information, like you have to enter the address multiple times in creating your profile and before each order, and add payment details again and again, then it means the checkout process is complex and time-consuming.
Here's an example of a cluttered and complex checkout process:
Source:amazonaws
2. Unresponsive Design
The mobile e-commerce sales are about $4.9 trillion , which makes 66.5% of the total e-commerce sales. It shows the importance of having a responsive online store that users can access on any of their devices, including desktops, smartphones, tablets, etc.
Yet, many e-commerce stores, especially the new ones, make the mistake of entering this highly competitive industry without a user-friendly and responsive design, leading to a high cart abandonment rate.
3. Account Creation Requirement
Not every user wants to go through the entire process of entering their details to create an account before placing an order. Customers also have to remember the passwords for different sites in such a situation, so they can end up abandoning the cart when an e-commerce store makes it compulsory to create an account.
4. Undisclosed Shipping Charges
Let's be honest: no one likes paying shipping charges. This situation becomes even worse if an online store does not disclose the shipping cost until the very last checkout step. Most of the users are likely to abandon their cart if they get to know about extra tax or shipping charges at the last step.
Here's an example of an online store showing an additional fee at the last step of the checkout process:
5. Security Concerns
No doubt that online payments have become quicker than ever because of digital wallets. But there is still a large number of customers who are concerned about the privacy of their personal and financial information. If an online store is not properly secure, there is a high chance it will have a high cart abandonment rate.
These are the top 5 reasons why many potential customers choose to abandon their carts. But there are multiple other reasons, including:
- Poor website or app performance, leading to unexpected delays or load times
- Strict return and refund policy
- Limited shipping options and slow delivery
- Limited payment options
- Alternatives offering better prices
- Lack of discounts and/or coupon codes
- Unexpected restrictions on product quantity
How to Reduce Cart Abandonment: Industry-Specific Strategies
Every industry and business has its way of reaching customers. For example, an individual buying sneakers online will behave differently from someone booking a hotel or buying a highly expensive item.
Moreover, there are multiple reasons for cart abandonment, so there is no one-size-fits-all strategy to reduce cart abandonment in the e-commerce industry.
Nevertheless, SMS and emails have emerged as the top two channels to reduce shopping cart abandonment in most industries. Let's look at their advantages, disadvantages, and use cases:
Industry-Specific Recommendations
The following are some of the key industry-specific ways to reduce shopping cart abandonment:
- Retail & E-commerce Stores : Send personalized emails with engaging visuals and offers. Follow up with SMS after 24 hours if the customer does not take any action.
- Food Delivery & Restaurants : SMS and push notifications are the best ways to reach potential customers because speed matters in this industry. Emails can be used to provide loyalty rewards and for upselling.
- Hospitality : Emails, including travelling details and itineraries, can reduce abandonment in the travel and hospitality industry. SMS can be used for quick reminders.
- Subscription-based and SaaS : Send messages with engaging visuals and details of benefits, discounts, and testimonials to persuade the clients and minimize cart abandonment rate.
Best Practices for Abandoned Cart Email & Abandoned Cart SMS
Timing and messaging of your marketing campaigns can make or break your customer recovery efforts in e-commerce stores. Shoppers nowadays typically explore multiple stores for the same product to compare prices. Moreover, most users can simply forget after adding a product to their cart.
That's where abandoned cart emails and SMS are important make the customer come back to your store and complete the purchase.
Recommended timing/frequency for different channels
You can reduce your cart abandonment rate by following this recommended timing and frequency:
- First Email : Send the first email within 1 to 3 hours of cart abandonment. Focus on the product being left behind and add a clear CTA.
- Second Email: Send after 24 hours and consider offering a discount or free shipping.
- Third / Final Email: Send after 48 to 72 hours . Add a suitable CTA that creates urgency, such as "Only 2 items left in stock" or "Offer expiring".
- First SMS : Send within 30-60 minutes after cart abandonment. Keep the message short.
- Second SMS: Send after 24 hours only if no action is taken by the customer.
Keep in mind you should not send too many emails or SMS at the same time. Space them strategically to win over the customer.
Analysis of Excellent Cart Recovery Use Cases
Gymshark, an athletic apparel retailer, was able to recover 20% of abandoned carts and boost open rate by 40% by sending personalized reminder emails after one hour and 24 hours of cart abandonment.
HappyChien, a pet supply store, achieved a massive 86% cart recovery by automating personalized follow-up emails. These emails included social proof and loyalty incentives.
How to Use EngageLab MA Templates to Reduce Cart Abandonment?
EngageLab Marketing Automation is a powerful omnichannel automation platform that can help businesses, including online stores, reduce cart abandonment by reaching users strategically.
Here's how you can configure EngageLab MA templates to rescue the cart abandonment rate:
1 Create Your EngageLab Account
First of all, you will have to register for EngageLab. Creating your account for the platform is free, and you can explore its numerous features. Once you log in, you can reach your marketing automation dashboard.
Get Started For Free2 Complete the Marketing Automation Configurations
Before you create your user journeys, you will need to complete the marketing automation configurations. EngageLab provides you with detailed instructions on what you need to do. When you are ready, click the "Create Now" button. Now, you can even take advantage of our tool's streamlined access feature.
3 Utilize Quick Access
After setting up marketing automation, you can click the "Start Editing for Free" button at the top of the page to go directly to the abandoned cart workflow template. This way, you can start creating your workflow directly from this guide.
Return to Top4 Create Your User Journey
You will then reach your user journey list, where you will find all the workflows you have created on the platform. To create a new automation workflow, click on the "Create a Journey" button.
5 Select Your Automation Template
Even though you can start from scratch, you can also choose one of the pre-built automation templates in EngageLab. One method to increase revenue is to reach out to users who have abandoned their carts. In this case, you click "Select" in the abandoned cart template. This workflow is most suited for retail brands or e-shops.
6 Set Up Triggers
Manage all the templates' parameters by setting up triggers, adding wait times, and choosing which messages to send and in which channels. Click on "Entrance" to set up which users should enter the workflow. Then, click "Trigger" to choose when the workflow will get triggered. For an abandoned cart workflow, you can set up a waiting trigger for users who have added items to their carts but haven't completed a purchase for some time. Once you are done with that, add the communications by selecting the corresponding channel from the sidebar. For example, if you have an app, a push notification would bring you better results than an email. If you are a B2B company, though, an email communication will be better.
7 Publish & Start Your Automation Workflow
When you are ready, click the "Publish" button to activate your automation workflow.
Key Precautions
Some of the key things you need to keep in mind while automating marketing messages to reduce cart abandonment are:
- Make sure you choose the best abandoned cart email template to engage your customers.
- Be careful while configuring the actions that prompt the cart abandonment to get triggered.
- Never overwhelm your target audience with marketing messages from multiple channels. Be strategic. For example, you can send an email first, followed by an SMS or push notification after a few hours.
- Create and maintain a list of target users under EngageLab MA's User Management section. Clean up the list from time to time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Which has a Higher Reduced cart Abandonment Rate, Email or SMS?
A: The best results come from using both SMS and email to reduce cart abandonment rate. SMS has a higher open rate, while emails are useful for conversions via detailed and engaging content.
Q: How Can I Avoid SMS Messages Being Marked as Spam?
A: Ensure maximum compliance by asking customers to opt in and identify your brand to avoid being marked as spam.
Q: What Are the Advantages of Using Engagelab MA Over Directly Using Engagelab SMS or Email Channels?
A: With EngageLab MA, you can send personalized SMS and email from the same dashboard and also automate the process. It will provide detailed and unified analytics. Using the channels individually can take up more time.
