Three ways to cash-in on abandoned baskets and elevate sales this Christmas

With abandoned baskets costing the UK industry billions in lost sales per year, how can you avoid it and ensure you’re jingling all the way to the bank this Christmas?

Recently at the Drapers Fashion Forum, the International Business Development Manager at Klarna, Dan Horlor, stated that “abandoned baskets cost the UK industry some £5.5bn in lost sales.”

So how can your business turn abandoned baskets into sales opportunities? Well, first we need to consider the mindset of the consumer and other retailers.

The psychology behind an abandoned basket

A survey of consumers conducted by a payment provider recently said that 16-24 year olds were the biggest culprits in abandoning their baskets online. In fact, they’re likely to do this 3.8 times per month on average, whilst those in the 55-plus age group do it just once a month.

In the same survey, the payment provider found that 29% of retailers felt that customers needed clearer product information. Whilst 28% believed they needed to follow-up a little more, 25% thought they needed to provide an easier method of sending returns, and 34% stated that easier payment solutions were the answer.

In contrast, the results of the consumer survey were very different.

30% said they abandoned their basket because they had changed their mind. Whilst 30% were put off by the delivery charges, 19% didn’t have their cards or details to hand, 13% said the process took too long, and 12% said that the perfect payment option wasn’t offered.

The results mark a stark contrast in what retailers think and what the consumers want. And with Black Friday and Christmas fast approaching, it’s essential that you recognise this and get your marketing strategies right.

You can do this and solve what consumers want by using one marketing channel in particular – text messaging.

Unlock the possibilities of SMS in minutes

With 98% of messages being opened and 90% of those being read within the first three minutes, you’ve instantly toppled any email campaign and banner remarketing ploys you have in place.

Unfortunately, the world is such a busy place, and trying to get a reminder message across to a consumer about a product in their abandoned basket is subject to when they check their emails or go online. Text messaging on the other hand instantly reaches your audience.

Considering the recent consumer survey, it’s imperative whether you are already using SMS in your marketing mix or not, that you do things right in the build up to Christmas. Especially if you want to avoid contributing to the staggering £5.5bn stat in lost sales.

Three ways to help reduce the number of abandoned baskets with SMS

  1. Give your customer a good will gesture – once the customer has left your website, send out a text which gives them another reason to return. For example, you could offer free postage. This would combat the 30% of consumers that are put off from ordering because of the delivery costs. Or in the run up to Christmas, you could even offer a free gift wrapping service. This positive gesture could change the minds of the 30% of consumers that thought twice before clicking order.
  2. Increase footfall and upsell – another key reason behind the 30% of customer’s that change their minds before buying, is the fact they can’t physically try on or test the product. By sending out the details of the nearest shop to the customer, you can emphasise the point that you’re not too far away. This also gives you a great opportunity to upsell your products.
  3. Offer an incentive – if the first or second tip doesn’t work, you could always offer a further discount. With today’s mobile marketing technology, you can send a voucher or ticket in the form of a unique code, an attachment, a QR or a bar code that can be redeemed in-store. This would also give the customer another reason to visit your store, allowing you to upsell and promote more products. Or you could make it an online exclusive discount only, thus reducing the customer from thinking the process was too long or the postage was too much.

If you want to reduce the number of abandoned baskets and are interested in finding out more – download our free retail guide today. It’s a perfect starting point to SMS and will offer you more proven ways to make this a Christmas to remember for your business.

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Over 98% of the text messages sent from our SMS tool are opened and read. That’s unmatched communication power for your business. Try it for yourself.