There is nothing more frustrating for an online seller than a customer adding products to their carts only to abandon them last minute for some unknown reason.
After all, it is not easy to convince buyers to reach the final stage of your funnel.
But no matter how much you try, cart abandonment is something you have to deal with at some stage of your ecommerce journey.
According to research, more than 70% of shopping carts end up abandoned in online stores.
But it's not all bad news.
You can still try to reduce cart abandonment with SMS and an abandoned cart email strategy to drive extra revenues and returns.
Ecommerce stores are constantly looking for ways (tools + tactics) to improve their cart abandonment recovery rates.
Sometimes all it takes is a well-crafted reminder email to prompt those confused customers to return and complete their purchase. Other times though, the problem gets beyond your control, and you have to implement more clever strategies to reduce the cart abandonment ratio.
Are you still relying on those old-school cart abandonment tactics, such as email sequences and Facebook Ads to reduce your cart abandonment ratio?
It's high time you switch to the new and more advanced approaches proven to be a game-changer for cart abandonment recovery. Yes, we're talking about two-way SMS marketing.
Two-Way SMS Marketing Explained
The biggest reason why people abandon their carts is they're not happy with how a brand responds to their questions about shipping, pricing, returns, and refunds.
When you follow an abandoned cart email strategy, you're basically trying to approach your customers with a one-way targeting tactic, which isn't going to help you win back those customers as they're looking for proper two-way communication between them and your brand.
That's where two-way SMS marketing tricks come in.
Two-way SMS marketing enables brands to focus on human interaction using conversational text messages.
The good thing about SMS marketing is that people open 90% of text messages within 3 minutes or less.
When you opt for two-way SMS tactics, it allows you to turn those high open rates into engaging conversations.
How Does Cart Abandonment SMS Work?
SMS cart abandonment works pretty much the same way as email cart abandonment. You'll need the recipient's details to forward a text a few days later when they have abandoned a cart.
You can even enclose specific product details to make your message personalized according to your visitor's needs.
Some sellers also send buyers a link to the relevant mobile app that improves their journey and ensures a better shopping experience.
SMS messaging is so versatile that you can even use it for post-purchase communication. For instance, you can send thank you texts, conduct a short survey to measure satisfaction scores, or even provide suggestions for future purchases.
All of this contributes to your customer retention rate and helps you earn buyers who stay loyal to your brand no matter what.
Before we start looking at some of the ways to reduce cart abandonment with SMS, let's see why people abandon their carts in the first place.
Reasons For Shopping Cart Abandonment
Hidden/Unexpected Shipping Costs
One of the reasons people leave your website is hidden costs and unexpected delivery and shipping charges.
Even if your product costs thousands of dollars, a few bucks in the name of delivery charges will drive your customers away. Sounds weird, right? But that's how things work on ecommerce platforms.
The simplest way to avoid this from happening is to declare all prices upfront. Do not charge separately for shipping, as you can always count and display that with your product costs.
Asking Buyers To Create A User Account
While it may be tempting to have more registered customers on board, asking buyers at the checkout time to fill out a page-long form can irritate them.
Don't force first-time customers to create a user account on your site. Instead, allow them to checkout as a guest. It will not only save them time, but they will also admire your customer-friendly policies.
Adding Items For Research Only
Some cart abandonment cases are unavoidable. For instance, some customers add products to their carts just for reference purposes (so they can compare prices with other websites later on).
You can't do much in that case as there is less commercial intent in buying a product from your website. But you can still offer a valuable deal through a text message to help those visitors convert.
Security Concerns
Payment security can have a dramatic impact on your site's cart abandonment ratio. Websites with no SSL certificate and poor web design may have a hard time converting visitors.
To avoid this, you can include as many social proofs on your website as possible. Use customer testimonials, trust badges, and case studies to build credibility and earn the trust of your potential customers.
Complicated Checkout Process
Long and complicated checkout processes may annoy your customers and drive them away from your website. Reduce the number of forms you have on your website and only ask for the required information.
Also, try to offer as many payment and delivery options as possible to your customers. Do not give your customer a single reason to leave your website without completing a transaction. You got that, right?
Website Crashes And Slow Load Time
Nobody is going to wait forever to wait for your site to load. Slow website speed contributes to poor user experience.
Websites that are not mobile-responsive also miss a chance to convert customers who use their smartphones for shopping.
Unavailability Of Return And Refund Policy
That's okay if you don't want to talk about returns and refunds. But the thing is you have to deal with them sooner or later.
Many customers leave just because they don't find a return or refund policy on your site. Even if it's there, many sellers copy/paste them from other websites so they're either irrelevant or do not contain information your potential customer might be interested in.
Lack Of Customer Support
Another factor that contributes to your cart abandonment is the lack of customer support.
A LivePerson study revealed that more than 83% of customers need help while they're exploring options on a site. Out of those, 51% said they're more likely to purchase from a brand that offers excellent live chat support.
Now that you know the obstructions that hinder your way when converting customers, it's time to see how you can reduce cart abandonment with SMS marketing tricks.
Eight Smart Ways To Drive Extra Revenue From Your Abandoned Carts With SMS
1. Send Texts To Resolve Failed Payment Transactions
As mentioned above, payment issues and security concerns are the most common reasons customers abandon their carts.
After going through the entire checkout process, it could be frustrating for anyone to see a transaction failure notification in the end.
SMS marketing enables you to reach out to frustrated and annoyed customers and inquire about what made them leave your website without completing a transaction.
If the issue was because of the poor website design, you can consult your development team and get that issue resolved at your earliest to avoid this happening again in the future.
2. Send A Friendly Reminder
What we love about SMS marketing tricks is that you can use them along with your email marketing strategy. As soon as you see your buyers leaving a site without taking any action, you set an automated email cart abandonment reminder on your email service.
Add a note reminding your customer that the products they have added to their carts are still available. Now take a step forward and send a text alert the next day to remind customers to complete the checkout process before the cart expires.
You can even make this message more personalized by including a customer testimonial of the same product reviewed by any other customer.
3. Personalized Product Recommendations
Choice overload is another reason why many customers feel overwhelmed and leave your site without completing a transaction.
Do not limit your SMS marketing tactics to website and product promotion only. You can also use this channel to help your customers navigate your e-store and find answers to questions they have in mind.
Present-day customers have many product-specific questions, and it is easy for them to leave when they don't find relevant information on your website.
Sure, some of them might think about revisiting your site for further investigation, but the fact is most of them don't.
The biggest perk of SMS marketing is you can act as a personal shopping assistant for your customers. You can use this channel to communicate product recommendations to help your potential buyers understand technical product details, features, and more.
4. Provide Timely Support Using Two-Way Text Messaging
Modern customers hate waiting. They know there are hundreds of other brands out there they can reach out to for their needs. So keeping them waiting is not an option for your business.
Yes, you can communicate with them through email, but the process is time-consuming as it usually takes 2-3 days for a business to respond to emails.
That is where SMS marketing tricks come in.
With SMS, you can maintain two-way communication with your buyers and engage with them in real-time. The best bit? They will get a chance to communicate with a real person and not a bot.
5. Send Delivery Updates And Shipping Information
Many online businesses have already been using SMS to send order updates to their customers. Most of the time, this is one-way communication. A brand sends out a notification about an order and forgets about a message, not considering the recipient might have some other questions.
With SMS marketing, you can reach out to customers and see their orders. Who doesn't like personalized attention? Of course, we all do. When your customers see your brand showing interest in their transaction, they will feel motivated and remain patient while waiting for their order to arrive.
That goes without saying that one positive experience will help them stay connected with your brand for their future purchases.
6. Upsell/Cross-Sell
Upselling and cross-selling must not be new terms for you if you have been working in the ecommerce space for some time. These techniques help you retain your existing customers.
Obviously, when you're able to retain your loyal customers, you don't have to spend extravagantly on customer acquisition.
Guess what? You can also use SMS marketing tricks here to strengthen your bond with your existing customers.
How? Let us tell you.
When you see an existing customer with a filled cart leaving without completing a transaction, you can reach out and ask to get them a discount.
Who doesn't like a good deal?
In an attempt to sell the stuff your customers have already added to their carts, you can also offer them bundle deals, including some other expensive items.
7. Value Their Feedback
When you show your visitors you value their feedback and are willing to improve to make up for their poor experience, they're likely to come back and complete their transaction.
8. Offer Discounts
The most obvious strategy to reduce cart abandonment with SMS is to offer discounts.
Seeing a customer leaving your site is a disappointing situation. But your goal as a seller is to turn that visitor into a loyal customer.
Offer a discount on the current incomplete transaction, or you could also offer a future discount in the form of a voucher or promotional code to win back a dissatisfied customer.
Trisha Ballesteros