Retailers to Embrace Cart and Browse Abandonment Email Programs by Year's End

ATLANTA, Jan. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Retailers are recognizing the value of trigger-based email programs according to a recent benchmark survey conducted by Silverpop,® the only provider of a scalable, integrated email marketing and marketing automation platform. These low volume but high ROI emails often comprise less than 5 percent of a company's total email volume, while delivering 25 to 40 percent or more of email revenue for retailers. The survey showed that eighty-three percent of respondents will be distributing cart abandonment emails by the end of 2011 and nearly three-fourths will have implemented browse abandonment campaigns by the end of the year.

With online shoppers' inboxes overflowing, it is not surprising that timely, relevant emails tied directly to consumer behavior deliver much higher metrics than broadcast emails. In fact 80 percent of survey respondents reported an open rate of 21 percent or higher for cart abandonment reminders while only 31 percent experienced similarly impressive results from their general broadcast emails. And even more impressive is the impact these programs have on conversion (and ultimately revenue), with 45 percent of survey responders reporting that their cart recovery emails yielded a conversion rate of 11 percent or higher— nearly four times that of their corresponding broadcast emails.

"Inboxes are crowded, the 'noise' is louder than ever, and generic batch-and-blast emails are becoming less effective at the message level," said Loren McDonald, Silverpop's vice president of industry relations. "Retailers that have employed recipient-driven messaging such as cart abandonment campaigns have seen excellent results-- generating incremental boosts in revenue and customer loyalty with only a modest time investment."

According to research conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 90 percent of ecommerce leads go cold within one hour. So, despite retailers' recognition of the effectiveness of cart-abandonment campaigns, the Silverpop survey also found some room for improvement in the areas of frequency and timing given the following findings:

• 83 percent of survey responders waited five or more hours to send the first recovery email
• 61 percent wait more than 24 hours to send the first cart recovery email
• 67 percent only send a single cart recovery email

The benchmark survey also indicated a high level of interest in other transaction-based messaging, such as post-purchase emails. Nearly three-quarters of survey respondents send a notification after a sale is completed, with service satisfaction surveys (50 percent) and product review requests (43 percent) popular examples. However, there is still room for growth in this area as well. Only 2 percent are sending notifications that the review has posted—missing an additional opportunity to engage with the consumer, and possibly increase revenue even further.  

"Relationships should never end after a purchase," added McDonald. "Once a customer shows their loyalty to a brand, the brand should do everything in its power to show loyalty to its customer—whether by acknowledging recent actions or offering 'happy birthday' and 'purchase anniversary' emails."

Click here to download the full survey.

About Silverpop

Silverpop is the only marketing technology provider that offers a powerful marketing automation solution built atop a scalable email marketing platform. The company has more than a decade of experience empowering marketers to deliver highly relevant communications that efficiently drive revenue while also building brand loyalty. Companies rely on the Silverpop Engage platform to create and manage sophisticated multichannel marketing campaigns that nurture customer and prospect relationships from interest to conversion and beyond. Silverpop's industry-leading thought capital, strategic counsel and customer service, combined with an extensive ecosystem of world class partners, allow its customers to quickly and cost-effectively automate even the most complex campaigns-improving marketing results and increasing ROI. With a presence in the United States, Europe and Australia, Silverpop is trusted by leading brands around the globe. Visit us at silverpop.com.

SOURCE Silverpop