This series is meant to explore the different use cases for LiveAudience by examining client examples and results. We started with Driving Luxury Retail Sales With CRM Retargeting and now, we’re moving on to our second use case.
Cart abandonment is one of the biggest pain points for online retailers today. According to BI Intelligence, 71% of shoppers put an item in their cart and then subsequently abandon it. Whether it’s due to shipping costs, finding a better price elsewhere, or simply a distraction (maybe a puppy video!), trillions of dollars worth of potential purchased merchandise dies in online carts every year.
In this post, we’re going to cover two common solutions for converting cart abandoners, then take you through how our LiveAudience technology combines the best features of both and how you can use it to bring more customers back and reclaim some of that lost revenue.
There are two common and effective ways to convert cart abandoners:
Site-Retargeting.
One solution for bringing those cart abandoners back is to retarget them with web display ads using retargeting pixels and cookies.
For instance, Mom goes to shopNordstrom.com and adds some shoes to a cart, but leaves without completing the purchase. Later she starts seeing display ads on The Washington Post website for those exact same shoes so Mom then returns to the website and completes her purchase.
This has been a very successful tactic (website visitors retargeted with display ads have been proven to be 70% more likely to convert) but it also has its limitations. Cookies are device and browser dependent, so cookie-based retargeting isn’t as effective in situations where multiple people are sharing a computer or numerous devices.
So if Mom switches to her iPad or uses Chrome instead of Safari, the cookie won’t be able to follow her. Or, if Dad were to use the same computer as Mom, he might start seeing ads for women’s shoes he has no interest in (Unless, of course, Dad is jonesing for that pair of Jimmy Choos. No judgment.).
Triggered Emails.
Another solution for re-engaging cart abandoners is to send them triggered email campaigns.
For instance, Dad logs into Amazon.com with his email address and adds The Sun Also Rises to his cart, then leaves. The next day, he receives an email asking if he still wants to buy The Sun Also Rises and some other Hemmingway novels. Dad completes the purchase.
This strategy engages known consumers in an attention-rich, one-on-one, inherently cross-device environment (email) that can average a 40% open rate and a 20% click-through rate.
The problem lies in having to rely on the person opening the email. Even at a 40% open rate, you’re missing out on 60% of this incredibly valuable audience.
LiveAudience combines the best features of both site-retargeting and triggered emails by reaching cart abandoners with display ads in third party email newsletters by matching your CRM data in real-time.
Here’s how LiveAudience works.
– You pair an email list segment of cart abandoners with a matching display ad creative (offering, for example, free shipping if they come back and complete a purchase) and securely upload it into the LiveIntent platform.
– A cart abandoner opens their The New York Times email (or one of the 5000+ email newsletters on our platform)
– Your ad is served in real-time, no matter what device is being used.
So with LiveAudience, you get the reach, relevance and effectiveness of site retargeting, with the cross-device, one-to-one nature of email.
Through the use of LiveAudience and a rich site-retargeting and triggered email campaign, any retailer can increase return visits and conversions and recoup revenue that might have otherwise been lost.
