All eCommerce business owners genuinely dislike the idea of customers leaving their websites without making a purchase. There’s no way to stop this but no company should just stand by and watch as customers leave their store without finding ways to re-engage those customers.

Businesses can use abandoned shopping cart emails as a powerful tool to convert customers who have shown interest in a product but still need to complete their checkouts.

If your business has seen a lot of cart abandonments, we know you're eager to find a quick fix that you can put into practice right now.

In this article, we'll discuss the value of subject lines for abandoned cart emails, the components of strong ones and examples you can use immediately.

Why you should send abandoned cart emails

Before we discuss the details of subject lines, let's discuss the emails that they are associated with in this article: abandoned cart emails.

The leading cause of lost sales in the e-commerce industry is abandoned shopping carts. Studies show that the average shopping cart abandonment rate across different industries is almost 70%. When companies want to recover these sales, abandoned cart emails become crucial. Abandoned cart emails directly appeal to customers to persuade them to finish their purchase. If they are done well, they can make up 10 to 30% of lost sales.

Why are subject lines necessary for abandoned cart emails?

Subject lines are the first few lines of brief text that customers will see in your cart abandonment email. A study by Invesp found that 47% of people open an email based solely on the subject line. The subject lines you write for your abandoned cart emails can make or break your efforts to convert customers because they are highly linked with your email open rates.

Therefore, understanding the components of a strong subject line is key. Your subject lines will play a major role in getting your customers to finish that purchase.

Writing the subject line

Keep in mind the purpose of the subject line of your abandoned cart email. Its sole purpose is to encourage recipients of your email to open it.

Your message should be engaging when competing for your customer's attention but it should also be brief, clear and to the point. You want your customers to be captivated at first glance after quickly understanding what the email may include in its body. You also have to decide what reaction you want from your customers. Your subject line should spark a positive reaction from your customers, whether you want them to be shocked, fascinated, puzzled or impressed.

Abandoned cart email subject lines that you can use

1. A list of contents in the cart

In your email, you can show the products your consumer was considering purchasing while providing the necessary details such as the size, colour, quantity and price. Use images too because they serve as a quick reminder for customers.

Assuming your business sells fashion and beauty products, your subject line for this email could be:

• Hi, Pauline! Don’t forget your lipstick
• Still thinking about it?
• How will you slay without the blush?

2. FOMO generating subject lines

The fear of missing out or FOMO is a typical marketing strategy that plays on people's desire not to lose out on good deals. You should definitely use the power of FOMO to get your customers to complete their purchases.

This is how you can create a subject line to generate FOMO:

• Your lamp is still in stock – but not for long!
• Hurry! Your Cart is Expiring
• 2 Days Left: Save your Shopping Cart Now

3. Subject line with rewards

Making your offer clear is the most important thing to keep in mind when crafting subject lines with rewards.

To achieve this, state the reward up front and get to the point quickly.

This is how you can create a rewards-based subject line:

• Pauline, get free shipping for your cart items!
• Complete the purchase and get 10% off
• Don’t be left behind. Scoop up 10% off items in your cart!

4. Subject line with information

Informative subject lines usually provide details about the item the customer has abandoned in their cart. Including the product's name in the subject line can help the customers recall what they were trying to buy.

This is how you can create an informative subject line:

• Your 4K UHD Smart TV is still in your cart
• Still want your 10-in-1 Baby Care Kit?
• Final Reminder:Get 10% Off Your GoPro Hero 9 Black

Key Takeaways

It's important to keep in mind that a successful subject line for a shopping cart recovery email can help you win back lost customers.

No matter how amazing the information contained in the email is, if you can't get customers' attention and encourage them to open the email, it won't work. The email eventually joins several other unread emails in the client's inbox.

The good news is that you have several possibilities for crafting abandoned cart email subject lines that are as appealing and interesting as possible.

We hope the examples you just read inspired you to create catchy subject lines for your email campaigns.