Browse abandonment email examples

Guide customers towards products that make sense or would accompany the items they’ve searched for. Take a look at this email example from home retailer, Parachute Home’s strategy. They not only highlight the product the shopper was looking at, but they also provide a curated list of three related products within 24 hours of browsing.

Since these shoppers are likely lower intent than cart abandoners, emphasize core competencies like the return policy or free shipping. Check out this example from Urban Decay. They keep the messaging direct and have clear language around their return policy as well as contact details for their customer service team.

Travel companies tend to do this well by adding details based on where customers are interested in visiting. For example, this email from Airbnb with the subject line: “Travel tip: Book your Seattle trip at least 1 month in advance”. This particular email gets sent within three hours of searching the Seattle area for rentals. Sending emails with top-of-mind details like this can engage and invite the customer back to the site sooner, rather than later.

Sending too soon after your browser leaves your site means you could be chasing people who clicked on your email by accident or discovered quickly that your product didn’t meet their needs. Lancome’s email goes out the day after the browse session. It personalizes the content using a conversational voice,  such as saying “yesterday” instead of “recently.” This can make browse abandonment email send a “check-in” message instead of a “checking-up-on” message.

Your browse abandonment email subject lines are your shopper’s first notice that you’re following up on their visit, so you must set the right tone. Allen-Edmonds goes right to the incentive in their email: “Enjoy 10% off.” Will this work for your browse abandonment emails? And should you deliver an incentive in your first email? Test both ideas to see which one converts more browsers into buyers!

Browse abandoners are not as committed to buying as cart abandoners. So, instead of hitting them at the start with classic tactics like fear of missing out or dropping a major incentive, try an approach like Eastbay’s. The athletic-gear brand leads its email to browse abandoners with a thank-you before moving into recapping the browse session. One nice bonus in this email: The subtle benefit of joining the brand’s loyalty program. Note: FOMO does have a place in your browse-abandonment journey! Keep scrolling to find out how and when.

Although browsers don’t necessarily have fingers hovering over the “Checkout” button, they did make their way to your product page. So, you can assume that unless it was a fluke, they do have some interest in your wares. If you’re not sure how to strike the right tone, see how Tentree’s browse abandonment email pulls off this delicate balancing act. It’s indirectly persuasive because it features the benefits of buying from the brand, but it leads off with an invitation to reconnect instead of an expectation for buying. But it also includes the products the customer browsed with a direct link to the product page.

Who doesn’t like a bargain? See how Uniqlo plays on shoppers’ love of a bargain in its browse abandonment email to attract bargain-shoppers who might have left the site because of price. Try using this tactic to connect with shoppers who browsed the product over a longer period of time but didn’t buy. Revealing the lower price on the website instead of in the email can entice motivated recipients to click.

When your business is beauty, you know your customers are looking for products that are just right for their skin or hair. Browsers often skip from site to site looking for that right fit, which is why this browse-abandonment email from Bliss is so appealing. It pairs the products a shopper browsed with complementary items in case the first browse round didn’t reveal the products they wanted. The email’s assured tone is persuasive, too.

On high-ticket items, price-conscious shoppers might find the right product, but they could balk at the prospect of adding the full amount to their credit cards. With buy now/pay later options so popular today, offering the option could persuade customers to convert. Your browse abandonment email should highlight the services you use. Zinus starts right in the subject line: “Still Deciding? Buy Now, Pay Later.” In the email itself, the copy features its BNPL service in several locations.

If you assume your browsers are visiting your competitors as well as your own site, it will help you focus on selling your brand value first before promoting your products. PetPrescription focuses on price in this browse-abandonment email example, highlighting its lower prices even before sharing the products their customer browsed. Plus, the appealing photo helps the message connect with their pet-loving customers.

Your browse-abandonment email is the virtual equivalent of the shop clerk who steps in when a customer is looking around but not finding what they want. That makes helpfulness a necessary tone in an abandonment email instead of a hard sell. Use every detail in the email to emphasize how you can help customers – including the preheader! This Lids email begins with a friendly subject line (“Thanks For Stopping By…”) and sets the tone with this preheader: “Can we help you find anything?”

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, can be a great motivator in both browse and cart abandonment emails, as long as you know the best time to use it. Testing can help you find the optimal time in your abandonment journey to add a little push. So, when the time is right, consider this email from Stila, the second in its 2-email journey. That’s where Stila adds its incentive and a little more persuasive copy.