A guide to re-engaging customers who have left your website

If your online traffic isn’t translating into conversions, you’re not alone – almost 70% of all shopping carts are abandoned for a myriad of reasons: unexpected shipping costs, complicated checkout pages, or shoppers simply facing distractions.¹

Common reasons customers may leave

While each shopper is unique, their reasons for abandoning carts often follow recognizable patterns. Understanding these causes is key to knowing how to re-engage customers effectively.

Some common ones include:

• Unexpected costs. Additional fees, such as shipping or taxes, displayed at checkout deter 48% of shoppers from checking out.¹
• Complicated checkout processes. Unnecessarily complex or lengthy checkout processes lead to 17% of abandoned carts.¹
• Limited payment options. When their preferred payment methods aren’t available, 9% of shoppers don’t complete their purchases.¹
• Security concerns. Shoppers wary of entering personal and payment information due to security doubts may exit the website instead.
• Poor website performance. Slow load times or website errors can discourage continued browsing.
• Comparison shopping. Customers may leave to compare prices or options on other sites.

Figuring out where customers drop off

Understanding why shoppers abandon their carts is just the first part of the re-engagement equation. Next, retailers must pinpoint precisely when they’re choosing to leave.

Here are a few ways to identify drop-off points:

• Analyze exit pages. Utilize web analytics tools, such as Hotjar, Mouseflow, or Crazy Egg, to determine the specific pages where site visitors lose interest or encounter problems.
• Segment user behavior. Differentiating between various customer behaviors, such as those leading to high bounce rates versus those resulting in abandoned carts, helps in understanding the diverse reasons behind site exits.
• Conduct exit surveys. Integrating short surveys that pop up when a user is about to leave the site can offer immediate feedback on why they choose not to proceed, whether due to pricing, complexity, or other issues.

4 ways to help win back customers who have left your website

Strategic re-engagement tactics such as email campaigns, retargeting, social media, and promotions can help businesses revive interest and motivate former visitors to return and complete their purchases. Here’s how these four methods work.

Email re-engagement campaigns

Email campaigns are a powerful tool for re-engaging customers who have drifted away, with cart recovery emails boasting an average open rate of 40% – significantly higher than the typical email open rate of 21.33%.¹

The key to success lies in following best practices, such as:

• Segmented email lists. Segmented lists allow for targeted communication that addresses the specific reasons a customer may have disengaged. For example, segmenting users who abandoned their carts versus those who browsed without adding items may lead to more effective messaging.
• Personalized content. Make your communication feel direct and relevant. Personalization can range from addressing the customer by name, using compelling subject lines, and recommending products based on browsing history.

Retargeting and remarketing

Retargeting and remarketing approaches can re-engage shoppers who have visited a website but did not complete a purchase. These tactics remind customers of their previous interactions with your site, such as viewed products or items added to their cart, nudging them to revisit and finalize their transaction.

Meanwhile, dynamic remarketing takes this personalization further by displaying dynamic ads tailored to users' past website activities, ensuring the marketing content is highly relevant and appealing based on their demonstrated preferences.

Social media re-engagement

Sharing engaging and relevant content on social media channels can reignite interest in your brand. This could include product updates, customer testimonials, or interactive posts, such as contests or giveaways.

Similarly, launching targeted campaigns on social media allows businesses to reach shoppers who have previously interacted with their brand, leveraging familiarity to draw them back in.

Offering incentives and promotions

Providing exclusive offers or promotional discounts to browse or cart abandoners may compel them to reconsider their purchase, while the introduction of time-sensitive offers can add another layer of motivation.

By creating a sense of urgency, limited-time promotions encourage users to act swiftly, further enhancing the chances of re-engagement and converting potential sales into actual revenue.

Using PayPal to help retain customers

Whether shoppers leave your site due to complicated processes, limited payment options, or security worries, our online payments platform is built to help drive more successful transactions. By streamlining the payment experience, PayPal helps remove the common hurdles that cause shoppers to abandon their carts, all while helping to boost both conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

Grow your business with PayPal Complete Payments.