Abandoned Cart Shopify: 9 Strategies to Reduce and Prevent Abandoned Carts (+ the Best Apps)

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Did you know that almost 7 out of 10 visitors who add items to their shopping carts end up abandoning them? 

Watching a potential customer add something to their cart only to abandon it at the last second happens all the time. The question is, what can you do about it?

Thankfully, there are strategies for retrieving both abandoned carts and abandoned checkout and winning those potential customers back.

In this article, we’ll cover 9 tried-and-tested methods for recovering Shopify abandoned carts, plus take a look at some of the top Shopify apps for recovering abandoned carts.

Ready? Let’s go!

What is an abandoned cart in Shopify?

The term “abandoned cart” refers to a scenario where a potential customer adds products to their online shopping cart but doesn’t proceed with the purchase. 

This is a common problem for ecommerce businesses and can result in considerable loss of revenue.

What's the average cart abandonment rate in Shopify?

The average online shopping cart abandonment rate is around 66.5%. That’s a substantial amount of untapped revenue! 

For Shopify business owners, an abandoned shopping cart may be an annoying and expensive problem.

But luckily, with the right strategy and tools, you can recover a significant portion of those financial losses and increase overall sales.

Why do shoppers abandon carts?

As an ecommerce website owner, it’s essential to understand why shoppers abandon their carts to develop effective strategies for recovering lost sales. 

Here are some of the top reasons:

Shopping cart abandonment statistics: Why people abandon online shopping carts?

Unexpected costs: Unexpected costs such as shipping fees, taxes, and other charges are the most common reason shoppers abandon their carts, with 48% of respondents citing this as the main reason for abandoning their cart.

Inconvenience of creating an account: According to the same study, 24% of customers leave their carts because they were asked to create an account. Providing a guest checkout option can help with that.

Slow delivery: Slow delivery is another reason shoppers abandon their carts. In today’s fast-paced world, customers expect their purchases to arrive quickly. 22% of customers surveyed indicated that delivery speed is essential when making an online purchase.

Technical issues: Technical problems such as slow loading times, website errors, or payment processing issues can frustrate customers and cause them to abandon their carts.

Lack of trust: Customers may be hesitant to provide personal and financial information to websites that they don’t trust. Social proof, such as customer reviews and ratings, can help build trust and reduce cart abandonment rates.

Complicated checkout process: A complicated and lengthy checkout process can be overwhelming for customers and cause them to abandon their carts. Simplifying the checkout process and reducing the number of required steps can increase conversion rates.

Comparison shopping: Customers may abandon their carts if they find a better deal or more convenient option elsewhere. Competitive pricing and a unique value proposition can help with this.

Unsatisfactory return policy: Customers may abandon their carts if they’re unsure about your return policy or feel uncomfortable with the terms. Offering a clear and easy-to-understand return policy can help build trust and encourage customers to complete their purchases.

Few payment methods: Customers may abandon their carts if you don’t offer their preferred payment method.

9 ideas to fix abandoned carts on Shopify

Now that you know why customers abandon their carts, you’re probably wondering what you need to do to prevent it from happening.

Here are nine proven ideas that can help you fix Shopify cart abandonment. 

1. Remind visitors that they left something in their cart

One of the simplest and most effective ways to recover abandoned checkout is to remind visitors that they left something in their cart.

This can be done via an email notification or a popup that’s displayed on your ecommerce site when people try to leave.

This message should be brief and to the point. Striking a balance between being helpful and assertive is crucial if you don’t want to come off as overly aggressive or unpleasant. Consider using a friendly tone and offering help or support if needed.

Abandoned checkout reminder popup

Here are some cart reminder popup templates to get you started:

2. Offer free shipping

As mentioned, shipping costs are a major factor in abandoned checkouts. Offering free shipping can effectively reduce the number of abandoned carts and encourage customers to complete their purchases.

Consider setting a minimum threshold for free shipping to encourage customers to add more items to their cart. This can increase the average order value and improve your revenue.

A cart abandonment popup showing free delivery option

3. Offer limited-time deals

Offering deals that are only available for a limited time is another effective way to recover abandoned shopping carts. This can include discounts, free gifts, or exclusive offers. 

You can persuade clients to finish their purchase before the bargain ends by fostering a sense of urgency.

Adding a visual cue, such as a countdown timer, can drastically improve results as it offers an additional incentive to act. This can be especially helpful for customers who are unsure about whether to buy.

A cart abandonment popup showing a limited-time deal to inject a sense of urgency

If you’d like to offer limited-time deals for your visitors, you can get started with these templates:

4. Offer to save the cart contents

Offering to save a user’s cart contents can be a useful technique for customers who aren’t ready to make a purchase yet. By giving customers this choice, you make it simpler for them to return later and finish their transaction. 

This can be done through a Shopify abandoned cart app, which can automatically save the contents of the cart and send reminders to the customer.

In some cases, visitors leave for reasons unrelated to your website: maybe something comes up, or they need to check some information or measurements before making a purchase.

Showing a “save cart” option on a popup, like in the example below, allows visitors to complete their purchases later.

Save abandoned cart by offering save cart contents

5. Recommend relevant products

When customers add an item to their cart, they indicate an interest in that product type. Use this information to recommend other products that may be relevant to their interests. 

This can be done on the cart or checkout page with embedded content, through targeted email campaigns, or in an exit-intent popup (like in the example below).

Product recommendation popup to save checkout abandonment

You can boost the possibility that the consumer will purchase by offering customized recommendations. 

Consider using Shopify apps like OptiMonk to automate this process and improve the effectiveness of your campaigns.

6. Personalize offers based on a cart value

Personalizing offers based on the value of the cart can be a powerful way to incentivize customers to complete their purchases. 

For example, you could offer a larger discount or free shipping for high-value carts. This may improve the likelihood that the customer will buy something by making them feel valued and appreciated. 

In the example below, cart abandoners with cart values between £25-79 are offered a 10% discount:

Personalized popup to save abandoned checkout and cart

But someone with a cart value greater than £79 will get the opportunity to save 20%:

Shopify cart abandonment popup example

7. Send abandoned cart emails

Sending an abandoned cart series is one of the most effective ways to recover lost sales.

This series can include multiple abandoned checkout emails designed to gently remind customers of the items left in their cart.

These abandoned checkout emails should feature a reminder about the items, a clear call-to-action to complete the checkout process, and possibly a discount or other incentive to encourage the customer to finalize the purchase.

Shopify abandoned cart email marketing example

You can use a third-party app like Klaviyo to create customized abandoned cart email templates with attention-grabbing subject lines.

Alternatively, you can use Shopify’s built-in abandoned cart email feature to automate this process.

8. Run retargeting ads

Retargeting ads can be directed toward users who’ve been to your website, placed things in their carts, and then abandoned them.

To develop customized ads that remind customers about the things they left behind, consider utilizing Shopify’s built-in remarketing tool or third-party platforms like Google Advertising or Facebook Ads.

These tools can target visitors with your ads while they’re checking their newsfeed, reading their email, or browsing other websites.

When creating remarketing ads, consider creating a sense of urgency or scarcity to encourage customers to take action, perhaps by including a limited-time offer or mentioning that the product is in high demand.

Remarketing ads to save abandoned checkout

9. Collect feedback from abandoning visitors

Some of your visitors may be abandoning their carts because of a bad checkout experience. But you’ll never know what to change if you don’t ask! 

So why not start collecting feedback from your customers?

Surveying abandoning visitors may not stop cart abandonment in the short term, but it will help prevent abandonment in the future.

Abandoned checkout feedback survey

Check out these ready-to-use templates to get started in just a few minutes:

What's the best Shopify abandoned cart app?

When it comes to choosing the best Shopify abandoned cart app, there are several options available. Each app has its own unique features that cater to different needs.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the top options for the best Shopify abandoned cart apps:

1. OptiMonk

OptiMonk pop-up forms

OptiMonk is a professional popup builder that enables digital marketers to create high-converting popup campaigns in minutes. 

It offers numerous use cases for online businesses to better monetize their website traffic, including cart abandonment popups.

Key feature 1: Advanced segmenting

OptiMonk allows you to segment your visitors based on many criteria. For example, you can create custom rules based on cart value and the number of items added to the cart. Or you can differentiate between new and returning customers and craft personalized offers.

Key feature 2: Personalized discount codes

Generate unique discount codes automatically from OptiMonk to capitalize on FOMO. You can give each code an expiration date and add a countdown timer to maximize the effect.

Key feature 3: Personalized product recommendations

Using OptiMonk’s product recommendation feature, you can always display the most relevant products to your car abandoners. You can display recently viewed, most popular, or similar products from a specific product category.

Other key features:

  • Dynamic Content: Create a hyper-personalized shopping experience for each visitor.
  • Smart Headline Generator: Have our AI-powered headline generator come up with catchy headlines.
  • Countdown: Capitalize on the FOMO effect of limited-time offers by including a countdown timer in your campaigns.
  • A/B testing: Test copy, images, and various opt-in formulas to learn (and use) what works best for your audience.
  • Drag & drop editor: Create popups and other campaign types from scratch or modify pre-built templates in the blink of an eye.
  • User experience protector: Use a smart cap on how many campaigns your visitors see without compromising on conversions.

Pricing: OptiMonk offers a free plan that covers just one domain with up to 10,000 pageviews. Paid pricing starts at $29 monthly for up to 20,000 pageviews.

2. Klaviyo

Klaviyo Email Marketing Software helps to tackle cart abandonment

Klaviyo is a popular email marketing platform that offers abandoned cart recovery tools. With Klaviyo, you can create targeted email campaigns and automate the process of sending follow-up emails to customers who abandon their carts. 

Key features:

  • Automated email campaigns: Klaviyo’s abandoned cart recovery feature allows you to set up automated email campaigns to remind customers of the items they left in their cart. You can customize the emails with your own branding and messaging.
  • Personalization: Klaviyo allows you to personalize the emails with dynamic content, such as the customer’s name, the items they left in their cart, and even recommended products based on their browsing history.
  • Real-time analytics: Klaviyo provides real-time analytics, so you can track the performance of your abandoned cart recovery campaigns and make data-driven decisions.
  • Segmentation: Klaviyo’s advanced segmentation features allow you to target specific groups of customers with customized messaging, increasing the effectiveness of your abandoned cart recovery campaigns.

Pricing: Klaviyo offers a free plan for up to 250 email contacts. Paid plans start at $20 per month.

3. Privy

Privy - Email automation platform for Shopify stores

Privy is a powerful marketing automation platform that includes abandoned cart recovery features. It allows you to create email campaigns, popups, and other messaging to help recover lost sales.

Key features:

  • Advanced targeting: Privy’s advanced targeting features allow you to target specific groups of customers with customized messaging, increasing the effectiveness of your abandoned cart recovery campaigns.
  • A/B testing: Test different email content and strategies to optimize your abandoned cart recovery performance.
  • SMS reminders: Send SMS reminders to customers who have abandoned their cart.
  • Discount codes: Offer personalized discount codes to incentivize customers to complete their purchases.
  • Abandoned cart sequence builder: Create custom email sequences that follow up with customers who abandoned their carts.
  • Analytics: Track your email performance and revenue with detailed analytics.

Pricing: Privy offers a free plan for up to 100 email contacts, and then pricing starts at $30 per month.

Wrapping up

Recovering abandoned carts is a critical aspect of any successful ecommerce store. With the right techniques and tools, you can win back a significant portion of those lost sales and improve your overall conversion rates.

From automated email sequences to exit-intent popups, apps like OptiMonk or Klaviyo offer powerful features to help you recover lost sales and optimize your online store’s performance.

If you’d like to get started with a cart abandonment popup, here are some templates you can set up on your site in just a few minutes: