Top 10 Push Notifications For Cart Abandonment Recovery

While e-commerce has undoubtedly become the backbone of contemporary retail, cart abandonment still remains a significant challenge for online businesses.

There are many reasons why buyers leave their shopping carts without completing purchases; from unexpected shipping costs, long delivery times, to payment processing issues, the list goes on.

The good news is that with strategic implementation of push notifications and leveraging Hood’s detailed user behavior analytics, it is possible to significantly reduce cart abandonment rates.

And in this blog, you’ll learn how.

What Is Cart Abandonment?

Cart abandonment is a term for a scenario when a buyer adds items to their online shopping cart but exits without completing the purchase. It represents a critical metric for e-commerce sites, as high abandonment rates can indicate user experience issues or dissatisfaction with the checkout process.

According to the Baymard Institute’s research, the average documented online cart abandonment rate is around 70%. In the same survey, the 5 most common reasons for cart abandonment are:

• Extra costs too high (shipping, taxes, feed);
• Websites asking to create an account;
• Lack of trust with credit card information;
• Delivery was too slow;
• Too long or complicated check out process, etc.

So, as mentioned before, the reasons for cart abandonment can be many, but the goal of every e-commerce website is only one - bring the customer back to the cart they abandoned and convince them to complete the purchase.

This is where push notifications come into play.

7 Benefits of Push Notifications for Abandoned Cart Recovery

Push notifications are real-time messages sent to users’ devices facilitating direct communication between businesses and users to drive engagement with the website or app associated with the notification.

In the context of e-commerce, some of the main benefits of push notifications for abandoned cart recovery and overall, are the following.

1. Users don’t need to be on your website or app to receive notifications or to engage with them.

2. They are permission-based. Users must allow you to send notifications, which indicates they are more likely to engage with content they voluntarily consented to.

3. They can be highly personalized based on real data from the users’ behavior and browsing history.

4. Push notifications are short, crispy, and can drive immediate engagement.

5. Push notifications offer higher visibility compared to email or social media, as they appear directly on the user’s device screen.

6. Push notification tools allow you to divide users into segments based on shared characteristics, and deliver content that’s relevant to each.

7. You can utilize push notification technology, such as Hood, to automate sending targeted notifications for a specific event, for example - a customer spending too much time on the shopping cart page without completing the purchase.

All of the above (and many other advantages) are making push notifications at least 2x more effective than emails or other traditional communication channels (newsletters, sms, calls, etc.)

However, simply using push notifications as a communication channel isn’t sufficient on its own. You need to develop a strategic approach that addresses your clients’ specific pain points, helping them to resolve any hesitations and complete their purchases.

Here are 10 ways to do so.

Top 10 Push Notifications For Cart Abandonment Recovery

In this blog, we will present 10 different push notification campaigns that you can use or get inspired by for cart abandonment recovery.

Bear in mind that you can and should always combine several strategies to obtain the best and most immediate results.

Also, we’re not going to talk about personalization in push notifications, as it is not a recommendation, but an absolute must. Whatever strategy you choose, your user must feel as if you were talking directly to them, and no one else but them.

So, let’s get started.

1. Offer help

If you see that your customer abandoned their cart, you can start your push notification campaign by offering help.

This way, you can first make sure that they didn’t encounter any technical issues preventing them from completing their purchase.

If this is not the case, you can plan your push notification campaign in another direction.

If yes, you’ve not only (hopefully) resolved their issue and gained a paying customer, but you’ve also improved your customer service reputation, which significantly influences customer loyalty.

Here’s an example of such a push notification for cart abandonment recovery.

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Offer help

2. Send a reminder

Sending an abandoned cart reminder is probably the most common push notification campaign type in e-commerce. Often, it is also the most effective one!

Namely, customers get forgetful or distracted by other things more often than you would assume. So, sometimes, a simple reminder that they haven’t completed their purchase, such as this one below, can make all the fuss go away.

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Send a reminder

3. Attract with discounts

Yes, discounts can impact your total revenue but not nearly as much as incomplete purchases.

As you may already know, many buyers are price-sensitive, and offering deals in discount ladders can significantly recover abandonment rates, while, at the same time, safeguarding your revenue to a point.

Here’s an example of a discount ladder for cart abandonment recovery.

1. Initial Reminder: Send a gentle nudge without offering any discount, as some visitors may simply need a reminder to complete their purchase. See the Send a reminder section for reference.

2. Second Reminder: Offer an initial discount to attract those who may need a little extra incentive to proceed with their purchase. For example:

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Offer a discount, example 2

3. Final Reminder: If the previous reminders haven’t been effective, offer a more substantial discount to encourage remaining hesitant visitors to complete their purchase. For example:

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Offer a discount, example 3

Or, another option is to offer 2 products for the price of 1. For example:

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - 2 for the price of 1

4. Free shipping option

As mentioned above, the #1 reason for abandoned carts are unexpected costs, among which are high shipping costs or not providing free shipping.

Therefore, for particularly indecisive customers, consider providing this service. Surprise them with a free delivery option and watch your conversion rates go up.

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Offer free shipping

5. Leverage special occasions

Major holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Valentine’s Day, and customers’ birthdays, anniversaries, and milestones present a great opportunity to remind them of the items they once wanted to buy but changed their minds at the last moment.

You can also offer discounts, but don’t have to, just be like - hey, remember when you wanted to buy these? Treat yourself or treat someone else.

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Leverage special occasions

6. Boost sales with FOMO

When we talk about recovering abandoned carts and boosting sales with FOMO, there are 3 ways you can go around with it.

Way #1, use push notifications to instill a sense of urgency. Notify your customers that the product they’re eyeing is rapidly selling out, and that this might be their last chance to purchase.

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Instill a sense of urgency

Way #2, promote a limited-time sale on that item to motivate users to complete their purchase. Let them know it’s the best moment to buy.

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Limited-time sale

Way #3, utilize push notifications to inform them that a specific item is almost out of stock and that only few more is left. To add to that, you can highlight that many people are looking into those few.

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Out of stock

7. Cross-sell

Display complementary products that pair well with the item customers left in their cart. Offer a special deal on these related products or on the entire set of products to incentivize the purchase.

This approach both stimulates purchase intent and encourages them to finalize their transaction.

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Cross-sell

8. Play on emotions

Buyers often hesitate to complete a purchase due to guilt. By reassuring them that they deserve the item, and that everyone is entitled to a little splurge occasionally, you can help overcome their reluctance. This approach can go a long way in converting abandoned carts into sales.

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Play on emotions

9. Loyalty points

By offering the loyalty points that come with finalizing a transaction, you can make the customer feel they are getting more out of the transaction than just the product.

For example, a notification might alert customers that completing a purchase now will earn them double loyalty points, which can later be redeemed for discounts or exclusive offers.

This not only adds immediate value to their purchase but also fosters ongoing engagement and loyalty by integrating them more deeply into the rewards program.

Here’s an example of such push notification for abandoned cart recovery.

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Double-up loyalty points

10. Customer reviews

Use push notifications to share positive reviews or ratings of the items in their cart to reinforce the value of the purchase.

When customers see that others have had positive experiences with the products they’re considering, it diminishes their uncertainty about buying it.

This approach not only validates the product’s quality and user satisfaction but also leverages social proof, a powerful motivator in consumer behavior.

Push notification example for cart abandonment recovery - Customer reviews

Summary

Cart abandonment is undoubtedly a major pain point of every e-commerce website owner. Luckily, there’s a solution to it!

With the right tool and effective strategies, abandoned cart rates can be significantly reduced while, at the same time, elevating the level of client care and user experience on your website.

And to make your abandoned cart recovery an absolute success, partner with a powerful ally - Hood. Schedule your call today to get a 1-on-1 personalized, live Hood demo, completely tailored to your business.

Start reclaiming your lost revenue today!