In general, when a customer adds a product from your WooCommerce shop to their shopping cart, they will buy it shortly after. Unfortunately, however, this is not always the case. Sometimes customers add items to their carts and then leave your site, spending days, weeks or even months without completing their purchases.

This is where abandoned cart retrieval comes in. This process reminds customers of the items they left behind and encourages them to return to your store and complete the check-out. With the right strategies, you can capitalize on the lead generation you have already done rather than losing potential customers.

This guide will tell you more about what abandoned carts are and how you can use them to attract customers again. We will also share eight plugins that can help you start the abandoned cart recovery process in WooCommerce.

Let’s get started!

Table of contents visualize
What is an abandoned shopping cart?
In short, an abandoned cart is the result of a customer visiting your online store, adding one or more products to their virtual cart and then leaving without making a purchase. It can also refer to situations where customers add items to their carts and then go an extended period of time without checking out, even though they don’t technically leave the site.

Although abandoned carts are obviously not ideal, they are not the worst thing that could happen. After all, you have already succeeded in the hard work of attracting visitors to your shop and getting them interested in your products. All you have to do now is encourage them to follow the checkout process.

This is where abandoned carts become useful tools instead of annoyances . They are opportunities to secure more sales, without having to start at the beginning of the process. Instead, you can re-engage customers who have abandoned their carts with some simple techniques.

Why do users abandon their carts?
The key to getting your potential customers to stop abandoning their carts is to first understand why they do so. Although there are several reasons why consumers might abandon their carts, research indicates that 63 percent of shoppers cite shipping costs as a primary factor. This could be due to unexpected fees or higher costs than they expected. Other common reasons why shoppers abandon carts are:

  • Forced account creation before check-out
  • Payment security issues
  • Lengthy or confusing payment process
  • Unexpected (real-world) distractions
  • Lack of payment options
  • Complicated return policy
  • Poor mobile payment experience

In addition, it has been found that different industries experience different cart abandonment rates. Also, if you examine abandonment rates on mobile devices , you will see that they tend to be higher than on any other type of device.

Ultimately, the checkout process is a multi-step process that unfortunately provides many opportunities for consumers to get frustrated or change their minds. Some of these situations cannot be easily resolved-you can’t stop a shopper from being distracted by a nosy friend, for example. But many of these reasons for cart abandonment can be addressed.

How to recover abandoned carts (5 methods)
Some level of cart abandonment is inevitable for an online shop. Fortunately, there are several ways you can use to recover some of those consumers and retain them. Let’s take a look at five key techniques you may want to implement for your WooCommerce shop.

  1. Offer free or discounted shipping
    As mentioned earlier, the cost of shipping is the main reason online shoppers abandon carts at checkout.

If your margins support it, offer free or discounted shipping (bonus tip: create a minimum order threshold to receive free shipping to increase the average order value).

  1. Allow guest checkout
    Forced account creation often discourages shoppers from completing the checkout. Allowing guest checkouts will likely reduce the abandonment rate. If account numbers are really important to your business, offer an incentive after checkout for account creation, such as a free digital download or expedited shipping.
  2. Offer more payment options
    To make it easier for your customers to checkout, you will need to create flexible payment options. Try offering more payment options and gateways, and make sure your site has an up-to-date SSL certificate and other security indicators. To learn more about payment options for WooCommerce, check out this article, the best payment gateways for WooCommerce .
  3. Send abandoned shopping cart emails
    One of the first recovery approaches you can consider is sending abandoned cart e-mails. These emails are sent to would-be buyers who have placed items in their carts but have not completed the checkout process.

In fact, abandoned cart e-mails have proven to be very successful. One study shows that half of the recipients who interact with this type of e-mail content eventually make a purchase. This means that of the reported 46 percent of recipients who open the e-mail, about 50 percent click and make a purchase.

Below, we will examine some useful plugins that can automate the abandoned shopping cart e-mail process. Statistics show that this particular tactic has a strong return rate, so it is highly recommended for most online shops.

  1. Add shoppers to a promotion email campaign
    In addition to specific abandonment emails, another key tactic is adding shoppers to a broader promotion email campaign or strategy. An email list is an excellent form of direct communication with customers and allows you to keep your business “on the radar” of your target audience.

After all, not all consumers want to use social media for retail engagement. In addition, e-mail communication gives you complete control over how your content will appear to customers. Sending periodic updates and letting your list know about new products and offers is a great way to bring back reluctant shoppers.

  1. Remarketing buyers with Facebook Messenger
    Facebook opened its messaging app to outside developers in 2016. Now, there are many ways the app can be used for e-commerce, including various remarketing and retargeting opportunities. This means you can automate messages to shoppers based on the specific actions they take through Facebook:

Considering that Facebook has about 3 billion monthly active users , that’s a lot of potential customers you can access through Messenger. Users must consent to receiving messages, but once they do there are several ways you can use the feature. The good news is that Facebook Messenger is very effective at engaging users, with an open rate of 88 percent and a click-through rate (CTR) of 56 percent.

  1. Send push notifications to buyers
    Push notifications are something most mobile users are familiar with and many rely on. These notifications inform users when they have a new text message, but also give them a heads-up when there is something going on with one of their apps.

Push notifications can also be implemented for desktop browsers , adding a useful tool to the shopping cart recovery toolkit . Because notifications are sent in real time, they offer a unique opportunity to interact with your shoppers at a crucial point in their customer journey.

In other words, you can use push notifications to remind customers of your business when they are in danger of abandoning their carts forever. In addition, because push notifications are sent through the browser, you can get a lot of data about them for segmentation and other marketing purposes.

  1. Add social proof to the cart page
    Social proof is a powerful psychological concept when used in marketing. Among other things, it uses the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) feeling that people tend to feel when they see all their friends enjoying something, and they also want to have fun.

Including social proof on the shopping cart page can have a positive impact on consumer decisions. Whether it’s a testimonial, a complementary Tweet feed or a snapshot of how many people are currently looking at a specific item, these elements can create a sense of urgency in your shoppers. Social proof can also help improve the credibility of your company and your website.

WooCommerce Plugin for Abandoned Shopping Cart Recovery.
So how are you going to implement the techniques we have described? Although you can use some of them manually, it is much more effective to use the right tools. With that in mind, let’s take a look at eight abandoned cart recovery plugins that can help you encourage customers to return and check out.

  1. Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce

A staple of the abandoned cart recovery process is the notification e-mail, an automated message that reminds customers when they have left products in their virtual carts. Abandoned Cart Lite for WooCommerce allows you to send those emails an hour after a cart has been abandoned.

In addition, you can send them to both regular customers and guests who have entered their e-mail addresses on your site. This feature works immediately, as the plugin includes a default email template that you can use. Alternatively, you can also create your own custom templates if you prefer.

In addition to sending these reminder emails, Abandoned Cart Lite also provides valuable data. For example, you can see which products customers have abandoned and compare the total value of your abandoned orders with the value of recovered orders. In addition, this plugin is free.

  1. Abandoned Cart Pro for WooCommerce

The Abandoned Cart Pro plugin for WooCommerce brings together a whole suite of tools in one plugin, all geared toward improving cart abandonment rates. Many of the techniques listed above are simplified with this plugin.

This includes setting up automated emails, sending text messages and remarketing with Facebook Messenger. Another advantage of this plugin is that you can set up these actions for logged-in customers as well as guest customers. You can get a single shop license for $119 per year.

  1. WooCommerce Follow-up

WooCommerce Follow-Ups was developed by the WooCommerce team and includes many highly customizable features such as email templates, coupons, newsletters and more. Customers want personalized experiences, and you can give them that with the custom coupon feature.

For $99, you can start with a single shop license. You’ll have thousands of combinations of trigger actions to work with to set automation rules. You can also easily integrate this tool with Google Analytics and get even more value from your marketing data. In addition, the plugin has many built-in tracking and data collection features.

  1. Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce

If you want a more comprehensive solution, Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce provides a variety of automated emails and reports related to several key aspects of your eCommerce shop. It generates detailed shopping cart reports that show not only abandoned carts but also open and placed orders.

You can also view product category sales reports, start a subscription service, and access various customer service tools. In addition, Metorik will send automated emails to customers with abandoned carts, as well as to high-value buyers, new customers, and a variety of other unique users.

It is important to know that you will need a Metorik account to use all the features of this plugin. Plans start at $20 per month for stores with 100 orders or less per month.

  1. Jilt for WooCommerce

Jilt for WooCommerce is an email marketing-focused plugin that sends automatic messages for abandoned cart retrieval, new customer welcome campaigns, post-purchase follow-ups and more. The plugin also provides source content that you can use to create a series of personalized emails with a visual builder.

In addition, this plugin collects data on cart abandonment rates and revenue, so you can track both successful and incomplete purchases. You can use this information to improve the checkout process and future email marketing campaigns.

You will need a Jilt account in order to use the plugin, but you can choose to use the free plan if you want. Paid plans start at $29 per month and increase in cost based on the number of customers you email each month.

  1. CM Commerce for WooCommerce

For a more comprehensive marketing tool that includes abandoned cart retrieval features, you can check out CM Commerce for WooCommerce . In addition to sending automatic abandoned cart recovery emails, you can use it to generate follow-up messages and receipts for your customers.

This plugin will also help you track conversion data, collect and display product reviews, and collect feedback from customers to help you improve your online shop. You can manage everything from the CM Commerce dashboard, so your data and campaigns will stay organized.

This is another plugin that requires an account to access its tools. You can register a CM account for free for 30 days. After that, the price depends on the number of clients you send messages to. For example, if you are working with a list of 500 clients, you can get the initial plan for 5,000 emails for $9 per month.

  1. Push Monkey Pro

Push Monkey Pro is a plugin dedicated to providing browser-based push notifications for desktop and mobile users. Designed primarily to alert readers when new content is available, its integration with WooCommerce ende this plugin a powerful remarketing tool.

When used for notifications in the Chrome browser, you can also include images, creating an even more enticing marketing message for customers. You will need to create a free PushMonkey account to get started. The plugin allows you to connect your website to PushMonkey servers from which notifications are sent.

All features are available for free, until you reach a certain number of subscribers. Plans start at $19 per month for 2,000 subscribers.

  1. WP Real-Time Social-Proof

WP Real-Time Social-Proof can help you bring a highly engaging marketing tool to your checkout process. You can create real-time social-proof pop-ups that motivate your customers to join the bandwagon and not miss out on items that other people like.

This is a plugin that does not require a third-party account and can be set up quickly. It is compatible with WooCommerce right out of the box. Also, you can configure it to display popups on certain posts and pages and exclude them from other parts of your website.

The free plugin includes some functionality, but if you want more integration options and advanced features, you will need to upgrade to the Essential package for $57 per year. This covers one website, but none of the “pro” add-ons. If you need to use it on multiple websites and want the extra add-ons, the Premium plan costs only $77 per year.

How do abandoned cart emails affect the digital experience?
The main purpose of abandoned cart emails is to convince customers to return to your shop and complete their purchases. However, they can also provide additional benefits if you use them well.

Like other marketing emails, abandoned cart notifications are an opportunity to interact with your customers and promote your brand. By using a plugin to create personalized emails with your brand and your consumers’ personal information, you can build trust with your customer base.

Customers abandon their carts for a variety of reasons, including simple forgetfulness. They may appreciate your reminder about products they left behind but still need. Also, by re-engaging absent customers and reminding them about your shop, you may get additional sales.