The abandoned cart problem in online stores occurs when users add items to their cart but do not complete the purchase and leave the site. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as unexpected additional charges, a complicated checkout process, lack of trust in the store, or a change in plans. For businesses, such situations mean lost sales, so setting up abandoned cart remarketing is essential to help bring potential customers back and encourage them to complete their purchase.
Content
Why do you need remarketing?
Remarketing allows you to target ads to users who have already interacted with the site but have not completed a certain action, such as a purchase. It works with different groups of users depending on at what stage they left the site. Here are the main groups for which remarketing can be useful:
- Viewed the product card but did not buy The goal of such remarketing is to return users and encourage them to make a purchase. To do this, users are shown ads with a reminder of the viewed product, possibly with additional details or a more advantageous offer (discount, promotion). This encourages those who are already interested in the product but have not made a final decision, primarily because of the high price, to make a purchase. Displaying such ads can be supported by attractive visuals and calls to action.
- Those who added the product to the cart but did not complete the purchase The goal of remarketing in this case is to stimulate the completion of the purchase. Displaying ads with specific products that remained in the cart, with additional incentives to complete the purchase, is the best solution in this case. This could be a reminder that the item is in the cart, or information about its limited stock and the importance of finishing what they started right now.
- Those who have made a purchase but may potentially be interested in additional items This is done to increase the average purchase value due to cross-selling or upgrading. These customers are shown ads with customized items that complement their previous purchase, or similar but more expensive models. This can encourage them to repurchase or purchase more premium items instead of the ones they previously selected.
- Users who haven’t visited the site for a long time The main goal of such remarketing is to return customers who have lost interest in the site. To return them, you should show advertisements with new products, promotions and discounts to interest them again and remind them about the store.
Remarketing to each of these groups allows you to maintain the interest of users at different stages of the path to purchase, from viewing a product to a previous purchase. By adapting advertising to the behavior of buyers, you can increase the likelihood of completing the desired actions.
Setting up Abandoned Cart Remarketing (RLSA)
If a shopping cart has been found on the site where items were placed but the purchase was not completed, you can set up search remarketing for abandoned carts (RLSA – Remarketing Lists for Search Ads). To do this, we recommend following these steps:
- Creating a remarketing audience In Google Ads, you need to go to the “Audiences” section and create a new list of users who abandoned the cart. To do this, set up criteria for tracking actions on the cart page (for example, specify those who added an item to the cart but did not confirm the purchase).
- Setting the duration You should specify the period of time during which users remain in the remarketing list. For example, 7-14 days may be optimal for quickly returning those who postponed a purchase for a short time.
- Launching a campaign using RLSA In Google Ads, you need to create a search campaign, adding RLSA settings for the target list. You should specify search queries that are typical for the audience that abandoned the cart. This will allow you to show ads to users who were already interested in making a purchase.
- Ad personalization Ads should remind about the products in the cart or offer discounts or other incentives to encourage completion of the purchase. During remarketing, you should use Google Ads analytics to evaluate the effectiveness of RLSA for abandoned carts and optimize campaigns. If necessary, make changes to the campaign to improve user return rates. Correctly configured remarketing will help remind about abandoned products and encourage customers to return to complete the purchase.
Setting up remarketing on the Display Network (GDN)
You can also set up remarketing in the Google Display Network (GDN). To do this, you must first collect an audience, and then work with it in the following order:
- Creating audiences to which remarketing will be directed To do this, you need to go to Google Ads in the “Tools and settings” section, select “Audiences”, namely “Audience lists”, and then create a list that includes users who performed certain actions on the site. This can be a page visit or adding products to the cart without placing an order. Next, add a remarketing tag to the site.
- Creating a new campaign In Google Ads, you need to click the “Create campaign” button. After that, select the campaign goal, for example, “Sales” if the main goal is to increase the number of purchases, or “Traffic to the site” if you need to attract more visitors. If there is no specific goal, you can select the “No goal” option.
- Campaign settings At this stage, you should specify a campaign name that will help you easily identify it, as well as set a daily budget to control expenses.
- Adding remarketing audiences In the campaign settings, go to the “Audiences” tab, select the audiences created earlier, for example, from website visitors. This will allow you to target ads specifically to users who have already interacted with the store.
- Setting up locations Next, you should select sites that match the topic of your business, or set up targeting for specific interests or demographic groups. Keyword targeting or topic selection are also available so that ads appear in a relevant context.
- Creating and setting up ads These can be text, image, or responsive ads. If your goal is to retarget users who left items in their shopping cart, it is better to choose adaptive ads. They automatically adjust to the sizes and formats of the spaces available on the site.
These simple steps can help you set up effective Display Network remarketing to reach people who have already shown interest in your site and help them complete their purchase.
Setting up an abandoned cart email sequence
To ensure that customers return, it is better to send a series of emails rather than just one. This approach will be the most effective. It usually consists of three emails that potential customers receive one after the other:
- «Abandoned Cart» This is the first email in the chain. It should be a gentle reminder about the items left in the cart. It should greet the user, remind them of the unfinished purchase, show a photo and a short description of the items added to the cart, and add a call-to-action button, such as «Return to Cart». The email should create a friendly atmosphere, encouraging the purchase to be completed without pressure, and offering contacts for questions or support.
- «Offer of Help» This email is aimed at showing the user that you care and are willing to help. It should thank them for their interest in the products and note that the order can still be completed. This email may include the message: «Need help with your purchase?», as well as support contact information for a quick resolution of any issues. It is important to repeat the list of products in the shopping cart and add a button to complete the purchase so that the customer can easily continue to checkout.
- «Motivation to purchase» The third letter is aimed at creating additional value for the user. Its goal is to encourage the completion of the purchase. In this letter, you can offer a special discount, promotion or free shipping. In this case, the purchase will become more attractive.
The email can also contain messages such as “Limited offer” or “Only a few items like this left” to increase the sense of urgency. You can also remind the customer about the items in the cart and include a button to return to checkout.
Ways to Make Emails More Effective
Emails are a powerful tool for attracting customers and increasing sales. For emails to really work, you need to know how to design them correctly. To do this, you should approach their creation strategically. There are simple and effective ways to make emails more effective:
Email series
Instead of a single mention of an abandoned cart, you can use several messages that will gradually motivate the user to complete the purchase. Such a series can include three or more emails, each with its own purpose. This allows you to not only draw the user’s attention to the abandoned cart, but also gradually encourages them to return by offering more profitable options.
Visualization
For abandoned carts, you should use bright and attractive images of the products left in the cart. This will more clearly remind the user of their choice. You can use a photo of the product, its brief description, price and possible discounts. Visual elements should be clear and harmoniously fit into the design of the letter so as not to distract attention, but to allow quick orientation.
Letter of care
This is a letter that demonstrates attention to the user and a willingness to help, without putting pressure on him. The purpose of such an email is to create a friendly atmosphere and support in case the user for some reason did not complete the purchase. In this email, you should express your willingness to resolve any issues or difficulties that the user may have encountered during the purchase process.
Using psychological triggers
These are techniques that are used to stimulate emotions and decision-making in users, prompting them to take action. This includes, for example, creating urgency due to limited offers or a small number of products in stock. The trigger can also be reviews from other buyers, exclusivity, personalized offers or discounts.
Remarketing for an online store should be well thought out. It is important to correctly balance bonuses and restrictions, find soft and tempting ways to interest buyers so that it looks attractive, but does not cause doubts.
Free
30-minute consultation
We will analyze your funnel and show you areas for growth.
Free • Specific recommendations • Quick start
