Online businesses continue to dominate markets around the globe, with over two billion people purchasing goods online last year. More and more people work from home, and other factors like digital payment expansion and increased web access have also had an effect. If you operate a D2C or online store, one key issue you are probably aware of is browser abandonment. In this article, we will take a look at what browser abandonment is and explain strategies for how you can run a successful browser abandonment campaign for your digital store.
What is browser abandonment?
Browser abandonment is essentially digital window shopping. Browse abandonment occurs when visitors come to your website and leave without placing any items in their cart or purchasing anything.
Sometimes browser abandonment is lumped in with cart abandonment and product abandonment, but these phenomena are separate and unique. Cart abandonment is when customers place items in their cart and fail to complete their checkout. Product abandonment is when a specific product is viewed, but the consumer does not complete the purchase. Usually, this is a particular type of browser abandonment.
It’s important to distinguish between these sales cycle problems because their causes are unique, and so are their solutions. By utilizing customer data and analytics tools, you can help monitor these issues.
Browser abandonment triggers: Why do prospects/visitors leave your website?
There are many reasons browser abandonment can occur:
1. Web design
Web design plays a crucial role in users leaving before even placing an item in their cart. Make sure you have a professional web design that’s also very user-intuitive and easy to navigate. There should be as few obstacles as possible for a customer to complete the buyer’s purchase.
2. Distraction
Another reason is that they may become distracted by something else, such as a telephone call. Honestly, this is probably a bit outside of your control.
3. Economic factors
Reduced spending due to inflation and economic factors can also be a reason. Again, this is something that’s largely outside of your control.
4. No product information
Finally, a lack of information about products, returns, or shipping policies can contribute to someone leaving without completing a purchase.
Browser abandonment is a marketing opportunity for websites
Browser abandonment is a huge problem for D2C and online businesses. However, you can use browser abandonment to your advantage by approaching the problem from a S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis.
First, browser abandonment is a chance to reignite a sale or the customer’s desire to buy. Your campaign will bring them back to your store and recapture lost sales conversions. Remember, browser abandonment campaigns are about leveraging the opportunity to reach customers. People are already viewing your products. How do you complete the purchase cycle?
Let’s take a look at an example. This is a sample S.W.O.T. analysis of a real estate company and why they might consider addressing browser abandonment for their website.
Real Estate Company S.W.O.T. Analysis:
STRENGTHS
- Highly personable agents
- An impressive inventory of listed homes
WEAKNESSES
- Agents fail to generate additional leads
- Homes are listed longer than the market average
OPPORTUNITIES
- Competitors rely on cold calls to generate leads
- Real estate supply cannot meet demand due to changing demographics in the region
THREATS
- Competitors hold a larger market share in the region
- A competitor recently launched a new marketing campaign
In this type of scenario, a browser abandonment campaign would be the perfect tool to generate additional sales and leads for the real estate company:
- The strengths of the company all point to a product and sales team that are prepared to deliver.
- The company’s agents are failing to locate leads, and their homes tend to be listed too long.
- Competitors aren’t running a browser abandonment campaign, and the market is hot.
- Competitors are holding a large market share and also just launched their own marketing campaign.
A campaign for this type of industry would be simple. You could send a follow-up email featuring one of your agents and their contact information and a recent customer review. This would highlight your strengths and also help generate leads. It would give you an edge over the competition because it would avoid unreliable cold calls. Finally, these leads could help chip away at the competitors’ larger market share.
Another option might be to email your leads about available houses in the area and give them a call to action. This S.W.O.T. analysis demonstrates how a browser abandonment campaign can be perfect for your business.
Recapturing sales through browser abandonment email campaigns
One of the best ways to recapture your customers is by using abandonment email campaigns. Typically, emails should be targeted at the browser based upon what might have caught their eye. Lulu’s, a popular online clothing retailer, regularly sends email reminders to browsers to generate sales.
These emails might mention sales or offer a coupon to drive a conversion. Using heatmaps and cursor tracking, you can determine what products a customer is looking at, even if they don’t click on it and view the product directly. Major retailers, like Nike, often send multiple emails to tap into that initial interest.
Online stores doesn’t have to just mean just goods either. Websites that offer services can also benefit from browser abandonment emails. Turbotax frequently sends browser abandonment emails as tax season approaches to help drive sales of its popular tax preparation software.
Crafting the perfect email for your browser abandonment campaign
A well-crafted subject line of your email is one of the cornerstones of a successful campaign. Many companies offer email campaign software to speed up the process. To start, we will take a look at email subject lines. Below, I’ve compiled a list of some samples and a brief explanation to get you started:
- “Oops! It looks like you forgot something!”
- This subject style works well because it circles back to the customer’s initial interaction with the website.
- “Hey [customer name], you’ve got a great eye! Why not try…”
- Personalizing your subject line will not only attract your customer, but it helps make them more likely to open your email. Find a way to convey empathy through your emails.
- “✨Gorgeous!✨We found these picks just for you…”
- Leveraging emojis is a great way to spice up your subject line and grab someone’s attention in a full inbox.
- “We found these top picks for you!”
- This email helps target items the purchaser might have viewed.
- “TAKE 20% OFF – Our BIGGEST sale yet…”
- Emails that mention discounts, sales, or coupons are a great way to get someone to view your webpage again and then complete the sales cycle.
- “Why not try [product]?”
- Recommending a product in the subject line helps suggest items to your potential client.
Typically, the email subject line is the first point of contact for your email campaign, so it is essential that your email doesn’t just end up deleted or worse marked as spam! Use customer data to craft an intelligent subject line that will grab their attention and help complete the sales cycle.
3 strategies to leverage in your browser abandonment campaign
I already discussed a few of these strategies when discussing subject lines, but we’ll review some of them below and discuss others. When conducting your campaign, these are some big-picture ideas to keep in mind.
1. Leverage customer data
First and foremost is to leverage customer data. By using data, you can personalize your approach to each individual. Customer and market segmentation can then flow from the data. Maybe you want to target only female customers or customers who have made purchases before. By targeting customers based on spending habits, you can tailor what types of promotions you send.
2. Provide recommendations
Another way to complete the sales cycle is to provide recommendations for related products. Related products combined with access to positive reviews of these products are essential towards bringing your sales lead closer to checking out.
3. Don’t overdo it
Lastly, here are a few final takeaways to remember. Avoid overly bombarding your customers. Sometimes email marketing can be considered spam. Don’t just utilize email; consider using texting or chatbots, and remember to offer coupons and discounts and highlight sales that are already running. Data is king in this arena. Monitor whether or not customers are opening your emails and track and compare campaigns to determine what is working.
Put your browser abandonment campaign together
Creating a browser abandonment campaign may seem daunting at first, but there are plenty of resources to help you. You can turn leads into sales by using marketing automation software to provide you with in-depth analytics of your customers.
Customer data is key to personalizing email journeys to remind web visitors about your products. You can tailor their experience to their individual preferences by tracking web visits and behavior.
Make sure to tailor subject lines to grab someone’s attention. When customers browse, use chatbots to engage with visitors, convert them, and pass them on to sales teams. Finally, strategies like using heatmaps and A/B website testing can determine what is causing abandonment to occur.
Having the proper software and a marketing support team can make a huge difference in turning browser abandonment into a marketing opportunity for your online business. Whatever strategy you adopt, you’ll be sure to succeed if you implement these proven strategies.
