How Many Emails To Include In An Abandoned Cart Workflow?

If you plan to run template email campaigns, the short answer is 3. It’s way safer. 

However, if you’re looking to create hyper-targeted cart abandonment emails – strap in.

In this article, we won’t be talking about the kind of content to include in your abandoned cart emails (or the best practices) – instead, we will be talking about:

• What factors influence the number of emails in a cart abandonment flow?
• What is the right number of emails that should be in an abandoned cart flow?
• How long should you keep sending abandoned cart emails?
• How to design a correctly timed sequence for your abandoned cart flow?

1. What factors influence the number of emails in a cart abandonment flow?

👉 From which page did they abandon the cart?

Was it the cart or the checkout page? If it’s from the cart page, you’re dealing with subscribers who’re still researching the product (or expecting a discount). They just may come back again. 

This means you can send as many as 6 to 7 extremely targeted emails (but they need to be spaced out).

Whereas, checkout abandonment requires a more direct and shorter approach. 

A maximum of 3 to 4 emails may work better here. According to a Reddit thread, most eCommerce founders see conversions taper off after the second email.

Why: the customer is mostly sold on the product. You have a short but very high-intent window. The factors may be the price, delivery, or surprise costs. 

👉 How much time does it take to complete a purchase?

Most brands send up to 8 abandoned cart emails. Meanwhile, the average time to purchase goes up to 2 weeks. However, this time to purchase can extend over months for luxury items such as jewelry, expensive equipment, etc. 

Therefore, following up aggressively can scare a potential buyer away. Brands with a high dollar value in their AOV should consider sending 3 emails at max – but, they need to be spaced out. 

👉 How many products are in the cart – and the cart value?

If users have added many products to their cart, they may be saving the item for later. However, if the number of items equals or exceeds 1 SKU, and the order value is close to your average order value, send fewer (but more targeted) emails.

If the number of items is one – give them a break after 3 to 4 emails. If the amount is greater than three, send no more than 3 emails.

👉 During what time of day did they abandon the cart?

If it’s late at night – chances are it’s an impulsive buy. 

Therefore, it’s more useful to send up to 2 reminder emails with targeted content based on products viewed during their session. 

In case, you get more engagement, send up to 2 more at max.

👉 What was the time on page?

3 out of 4 shopping carts are abandoned – and 48% of cart abandoners cite that they were just browsing. 

This isn’t all bad news if you filter out people who are just using the cart as a wishlist (here are some things you can learn from Amazon's wishlist)

How: send your standard cart recovery flow to subscribers who viewed at least two pages – or, spent more than 30 seconds on at least one session before clicking add to cart.

For the rest, i.e. subscribers with low time on page, consider sending a longer flow to educate and engage shoppers who were just window shopping.

FURTHER READING: Converting eCommerce Window Shoppers Into Customers: 17 Practical Ideas

👉 Is the subscriber existing or new?

There’s no point in blasting brand benefits to someone who’s already aware of your brand. However, most purchasers may not open your emails regularly. 

Therefore, consider sending a maximum of 1 to 2 extremely value-driven cart recovery emails to regular purchasers with a high order frequency – and purchasers who open your emails regularly

👉 Is there an upcoming sale?

Upcoming sale means you’ll be sending out promotional emails. Which, of course, means, your abandoned cart emails can tease early access. Which of course, can lessen your flow to 2 emails. 

The first email will announce private early access (consider basing this on cart value – and the subscriber status as a purchaser).

Also, this also applies to subscribers who’ve just received promotional emails. Regardless of whether they have opened the previous emails or not, simply nudge them to take those offers up.

Why: There’s no point in offering repeat discounts – or giving discounts to people who’ll pay more in all probability. 

👉 Are subscribers opening and clicking through your cart abandonment emails?

This is a very quick yet effective way to send just the right number of emails without spamming. All you have to do is track the opens and clicks of your first and second cart abandonment emails. 

If the individual subscriber opens and clicks through – you can send them up to 3 additional emails. Why: they’ve shown intent. 

However, if they only open, but no clicks occur – send up to 2 more emails to end your flow.

Meanwhile, for those who didn’t open – consider triggering only one more email, and ending the flow. 

Do check out: Reducing Online Jewelry Store Cart Abandonment: 19 Proven Strategies

2. What is the right number of emails that should be in an abandoned cart flow?

According to Nicolas Cole, the average number of emails it takes for a shopper to buy is 20. Meanwhile, other experts opine that three emails are way too short:

However, there is no right or wrong number of emails. Statistically, the first and second cart abandonment emails drive the most amount of revenue for most brands. 

But, here’s another fun stat from CXL: abandoners who have dropped off more recently are more likely to come back and buy. The ideal window ranges between 10 minutes to 2 hours. 

This means there’s no point in blasting extra emails to those who are ready to buy. What you should do instead is consider segmenting your cart abandonment emails based on existing purchasers, inactive subscribers, and more. 

For example, you can consider sending:

• 3 to 4 emails for converting smaller cart values
• A maximum of 5 emails for purchasers with larger order values
• Up to 7 emails for winning back customers and re-engagement cart abandonment campaigns
• Up to 4 emails for replenishment cart abandonment campaigns
• 2 emails to people who were already in a cart abandonment flow
• Send fewer emails to purchasers of the same product/other products

Quick Tip

Offer discounts to new customers – and loyalty points to existing customers. 

3. How long should you keep sending abandoned cart emails?

As long as your unsubscribe rate doesn’t blow up – and, your open rates keep shooting up. 

But, how do you know how many emails are too many?

• Continually run checks on how long a subscriber has been in the abandoned cart flow – check if they have taken any actions – if not, remove non-engaging subscribers from your flow, as early as possible
• Change your flow by triggers and conditions – triggers are based on future user interactions – and conditions are based on user history like no. of times a user made a purchase, what products were purchased, the AOV of the subscriber, etc
• Checking the status of a subscriber on the customer funnel – for example, the bottom of the funnel is characterized by fewer emails – because you wouldn’t want to seem desperate

Quick Tip

Don’t just rely on emails for your cart recovery – target parallel channels like WhatsApp or SMS.

Adjustments like these helped us drive 35X ROI for Bean Products Inc. 

Learn how: Bean Products Inc. Case Study

4. How to design a correctly timed sequence for your abandoned cart flow?

If you want to send the right number of emails – and, not seem too salesy, your only option is to segment your flow. 

Research indicates that the greater the cart value – the longer they’re going to wait it out. This is why we have come up with these segments to help deliver your cart abandonment emails in the right quantity.

New subscribers:

Did not:

• Begin Checkout
• Purchase {item_in_cart}
• Receive flow during last X days
• Purchase any items since signing up

Did:

• Open an email in the last Y days

Existing Purchasers:

Did not:

• Begin Checkout
• Purchase {items_in_cart} in the last X days

Did:

• Purchase any product since subscribing
• Receive flow during last X days
• Open an email in the last Y days

Inactive purchasers:

Did not:

• Begin Checkout
• Receive flow during last X days

Did:

• Purchase {items_in_cart} before XX/XX (set it up for the last 1 month to avoid duplication)

Replenishment:

Did not:

• Begin Checkout
• Receive flow during the last X days
• Open an email in the last Y days

Did:

• Purchase any items since XX/XX

Inactive Subscribers:

Did not:

• Begin Checkout
• Receive flow during last X days
• Open an email in the last Y days
• Purchase any items since signing up

Here’s an example of an abandoned cart workflow for new subscribers:

Quick Tip

For checkout abandonment, all you have to do is check if the user has been in a cart abandonment flow. If not, you can simply replace the trigger and continue with the segments we have shown above. 

In case a subscriber has been in a cart abandonment flow like the one above, consider sending a 1:1 follow-up email to get in touch with them personally.

Recommended Reading

52 Cart Abandonment Email Subject Lines That Actually Work

40 Abandoned Cart Email Examples that Actually Win Back Lost Customers

15 High-converting examples of automated emails

Lastly: Keep A/B Testing

There is no perfect number – if you’re adjusting continually to user behavior. 

Unfortunately, most eCommerce store owners don’t even consider setting up a custom cart abandonment flow.

Ask them about the importance of cart abandonment emails, and you'll hear: “we don’t really have a major strategy,” “we mostly use generic templates,” or “we just send emails to people who began checkout.”

BUT AT THE SAME TIME:

There are stores out there that drive a third of their revenue from abandoned cart emails.

Engage can help you do the same – Book a free demo.

We’ll show you:

• workflows we can create for your store,
• proven ways to drive 30% or more $$ from email alone, and
• successful templates and strategies from your industry (and others).