Boost sales by bringing shoppers back

A well-designed customer journey enhances user experience, making it easy and smooth for the shopper.

It also plays a vital role in driving sales growth and managing stock levels. For a retailer, there are many opportunities to improve the outcome of each touch point, and in many cases these can and should be automated.

Back-in-stock notifications: Turning scarcity into opportunity

Managing stock levels is part of running a retail business, which comes with some challenges.

You don’t want to overstock and end up with products that aren’t getting sold, sitting on your shelves for too long, or, in the end, becoming waste. You may also not want to understock, as customers may lose interest and move on to other options.

However, out of the two options, slightly understocking can be a better option especially if you make it easy for the shopper to get notified when the product is back in stock. It saves your business the risk of waste and lets you learn more about the product or product line demand.

This may be a genuinely sought-after product, and in many cases, when you are lucky, the line of interested shoppers is long. With a well-crafted back-in-stock journey, those interested will return.

Setting up a back-in-stock journey

The first step is to capture the demand by letting customers sign-up and show their interest.

When alerting customers that the product is back in stock, you should create a sense of urgency and opportunity. Make it as easy as possible for them to buy it now. 

Emails:

• Create a compelling subject line: Build anticipation and highlight the exclusivity of the restocked item. A/B test what works best for your target audience.
• The emails should Include product information and an image, and the call to action should lead directly to the product page.

SMS:

Sending an SMS is a straightforward line of communication. In fact – SMS marketing in retail is booming, as many consumers do not check their inboxes as often as their text messages.

Use an SMS with a direct link to the product page to remind them about a high-demand product. This can drive the urgency with the shopper and ensure a great experience as they don’t risk showing up too late and the product is sold out again.

Abandoned browse notifications: Nurturing interest into action

Understanding customer behavior is crucial in crafting personalized abandoned browse emails. These emails are designed to follow up on customers who have browsed your website without making a purchase, nudging them to come back to their shopping journey again and toward conversion.

But it is important to establish exactly what you’re going to consider ‘browse abandonment’ to be. And be cautious—if you sent an email every time someone looked at an item you could potentially find yourself with a lot of unhappy customers.

Instead, define clear entry criteria for when someone qualifies for your browse abandonment journey. You might consider that someone has shown sufficient intent by looking at an item more than once or browsing several items in a specific main category. And you may limit the number of abandoned browse emails one person should receive during a period of time.

Considerations when designing abandoned browse emails:

• Recommend related products: Use browsing history to suggest items that align with the customer’s interests.
• Personalize and inspire with relevance based on the interest and the target audience that the customer is in.
• Exclude products already purchased in-store.
• Build trust with social proof​.
• Include loyalty reminders and drive urgency by using limited time offers or discounts.

Abandoned browse emails serve as a gentle reminder and provide customers with a curated selection of products, making it more likely for them to purchase.

Recovering abandoned carts

Cart abandonment is a common challenge for online retailers but also presents a valuable opportunity. Abandoned cart emails aim to recover potentially lost sales by re-engaging customers who have added items to their cart but still need to complete the purchase.

Effective strategies for abandoned cart emails:

• Send timely reminders: Remind customers about their abandoned carts within a reasonable timeframe.
• Incentivize with discounts: Offer special promotions or discounts to sweeten the deal and encourage completion. And don’t forget to include any loyalty points or rewards that can come in handy for the customer.
• Provide a seamless checkout experience: Include direct links to the abandoned items, minimizing friction in the purchasing process.

Abandoned cart emails can significantly boost conversion rates and drive sales growth by addressing the concerns or hesitations that led to cart abandonment.

Key takeaway.

Incorporating back-in-stock emails or SMS, abandoned browse, and abandoned cart emails into your customer journey strategy can create a seamless and engaging experience for your audience and win back otherwise lost revenue.  The most successful e-commerce and retail players do this by looking at the full journey and getting to know the state of mind of their target audience. Then, work relentlessly to automate and continually improve the flows. A lot can be gained in understanding when to use inspiration, making more careful reminders, and driving urgency toward action.