Abandoned cart emails are one of those things that sound almost too obvious. Someone puts a shiny new kettle in their basket, forgets about it, and you gently nudge them a day later with an email that says: “Hey, you forgot something.” Simple. Effective. And for retailers, often the lowest-hanging fruit on the tree.
But then, a few days later, things get weird. Suddenly, the kettle has developed friends. Now your inbox is full of toasters, microwaves, sandwich makers, and possibly even a smug little milk jug. Somewhere in the retailer’s system, a switch has been flipped from “remind” to “relentless.”
Let’s translate that to the real world. Imagine you walk into a shop, fill your basket, then decide you don’t really need 14 tins of beans. You quietly put it down and leave. Two days later, there’s the shopkeeper on your doorstep holding your basket. “You forgot this. Fancy coming back?” Slightly odd, but maybe you shrug and go along with it.
Fast forward a week, and there’s another knock. This time, he’s brought a catalogue of everything vaguely bean-shaped. “You bought beans… perhaps you’d like these other beans. Or peas. Or soup. Or possibly bread. Because beans and bread? Classic.” At this point, it’s less charming and more unsettling.
Now, if he kept turning up every single day with a new parade of groceries, you’d tell him where to stick his basket pretty quickly. And that’s exactly what happens with emails. A reminder or two? Fine. Even a personalised nudge? That can work. But relentless bombardment? That’s not customer engagement, it’s digital stalking with a subject line.
If you want to structure this more deliberately, think of abandoned cart emails through the Hook–Frame–Action lens:
If you want to structure this more deliberately, think of abandoned cart emails through the Hook–Frame–Action lens:
- Hook: “You left something behind” grabs attention and sparks curiosity.
- Frame: Add relevance, not randomness. “Your kettle is still waiting” works; “Do you want peas?” does not.
- Action: Provide a clear, single call to action like “Return to your basket” rather than drowning people in choice.
Done well, this keeps your emails persuasive rather than pestering, and avoids becoming the door-knocking bean salesman.
