How SMS Messaging Can Help Get Buyers Back
E-commerce businesses have a huge problem. Consumers fill up their shopping carts, then rudely abandon them before completing a purchase. Of course, they don’t mean to be rude, they have their reasons for leaving a full cart behind. But the trouble is that most people leave their carts behind. On average, about 67% of shoppers abandon their carts and cost retailers around $18 billion (approx. £12B) each year.
But what if it were possible to get some of those sales back?
What people do about it
Of course online retailers try to get those people to come back to their cart. I often get emails with the “Did you forget something?” subject lines. And it is commonplace to have email integration with the online shopping cart software. These emails get sent out automatically at some preset time after a shopper leaves.
But research shows that less than half of these reminder emails are ever opened. Even when they are, email conversion rates are in the low single digits. So if someone hasn’t already purchased the items somewhere else, they aren’t likely to click through and buy them based on an email either. Some small percentage will of course. And that’s better than nothing, but it could be better.
Another way retailers try to reach out to shoppers who leave their carts behind is using mobile notifications. If a shopper used their app to browse and fill up the cart, the app can send them a brief note asking them to come back and finish what they started. Of course not every online retailer will have an app. Even if they do though, 60% of people on iOS turn off or refuse app notifications. On Android, app notifications don’t require permission so users are overloaded with notification spam. Users of either mobile system just aren’t likely to see a notification.
SMS is different
SMS is the only form of communication that breaks through all the issues above you find with notifications and email (even voice calls don’t get the kind of response SMS does). This is true in general, but it can be especially powerful getting people back to their shopping carts.
Before we get much farther I wanted to share the reasons people abandon their carts in the first place.
A number of different sources say that high shipping cost is the number one reason shoppers fail to complete a purchase. Other reasons include time restraints, out of stock items, payment processing issues, or they are comparison shopping.
Given those reasons, you’d think that a quick reminder, or offer to help would bring most people back – if they saw the message.
SMS can deliver that message in the most direct way possible with today’s technology. People keep their mobiles within arms reach most of the time. Every time they hear that ding, ringtone, or song they look to see what the message is.
To make this more concrete let’s look at an example. Let’s say someone left their cart because they ran out of time when they were shopping. An hour or so after they left you send them a short SMS message asking if they need any help with their purchase and include a link to the cart. When they get the message, they’re sitting around with nothing to do for another 10 minutes so they go ahead and complete the checkout.
Now let’s say they left because shipping was too high. If that’s the case send the same message but offer them 10% off their purchase if they complete it using the link you provide in the message. That discount might make a difference in how the person perceives the total cost so they go ahead and finish the sale. If you have rampant abandonments due to shipping costs then consider sending a link with free shipping (you probably will have to do some testing to see what offers work best for you).
These are probably the same types of offers or content you’ve used or seen in email. The difference is how effective the message will be. With SMS, your customers are literally waiting for your message. Well, they’re ready to read every message they get, so it might as well be your message. With email or notifications they might see your message. They might not. And even if they do, it could be hours or days later.
Sending an SMS message around an hour after the cart is abandoned is what most ecommerce experts recommend. They also say that people who do return after seeing your message spend 55% more. It’s hard to imagine a better reason to start sending SMS reminders for abandoned carts!
Related Articles
SMS Marketing for Garden Centres
Why Your Startup Needs to be Using SMS Marketing
Are startups afraid of using SMS marketing? Is it because they’re afraid of annoying customers and breaking the regulations? I don’t think so. If your startup isn’t using SMS marketing already, it’s probably because you don’t know all the facts. Find out why SMS is actually perfect for startups.
The Role of SMS in Building Consumer Loyalty Programmes
The drive to earn and retain consumer loyalty is big business in the UK. Increasingly, companies are grasping the important role SMS text messaging can play in this. Customers’ mobile phone numbers are gold dust. The most forward-looking companies are developing systems to encourage customers to opt-in. Then, they are structuring SMS campaigns to build loyalty and reap maximum commercial advantage from it.
SMS Marketing and Mobile Wallets
In one of my blogs last week, I talked about a marketing study by Vibes and what it said about SMS marketing. This week I wanted to take another look at it from the perspective of the mobile wallet industry, also covered in the report. It turns out there is a strong case for integrating your SMS marketing with mobile wallets. Let’s take a look.
5 SMS or Mobile Facts You Need to Know
So many of us are used to having our mobiles around nearly 24 hours a day that it’s easy to forget it’s still a growing industry. And though SMS has been around for over two decades, the ways we use it and people’s willingness to use it continues to grow. So for this blog I picked out five facts about mobile and SMS that really make the case that SMS for business has come of age. Let’s see if you agree.
Avoiding Fraud on Mobile Coupons in Your SMS Marketing
SMS coupons have redemption rates ten times email coupons. Averages run around 30%, but they could be as high as 45% for personalised messages. Even with those great numbers, retailers can still lose money to fraud. Find out how make sure customers only redeem your coupon once.
How to Increase Retail Foot Traffic with SMS Marketing
Here's a great real life example of how a retailer used text messaging to offer out a discount voucher to customers who had visited their store. Their approach is simple and intelligent and very focused on one segment of their customer base, those who had recently visited a store.
Beginners’ Guide to SMS Marketing – July 2016 Update
If you've considered SMS marketing to new and existing customers by text message but dismissed it, it really is time to think again. SMS continues to outperform and outreach all the newer models of communication designed to replace it. The latest competitor to run into difficulties against business text messaging is mobile internet advertising.
Retailers Can Use SMS Marketing For More Than Just Coupons
Discount codes, limited time sales, special exclusive pricing...you may have seen, or used, all of these in a text message campaign. For retailers, it is the most obvious and direct use of SMS marketing. It works and it's cost effective. But are there other ways you can put your SMS channel to work for you?
SMS Messaging Makes for Great Customer Service
It was late Thursday afternoon on a busy week when I heard the familiar jingle. I received a text message from the company I rented a DVD from about a week prior (I know, who rents DVDs these days - but stay with me). They wanted to ask if I’d forgotten about it, since I hadn’t yet returned it. Indeed I had forgotten.