8 Lies about Abandoned Cart SMS Remarketing

February 23, 2021

That’s a bit of a stark headline, isn’t it? But it’s true. There are some assumptions, myths, and lies circulating about abandoned cart SMS remarketing in the ecommerce world.

And, other than being wholly untrue, they’re also preventing you from recovering the most amount of conversions possible from your existing website traffic.

Well, as experts in abandoned cart recovery and SMS marketing campaigns, we thought we’d spend a little time addressing these lies, explaining the truth, and helping you optimize your abandoned cart SMS remarketing campaign for success, rather than failure.

Recap: What is Abandoned Cart SMS Remarketing?

If your customer recovery strategy focuses solely on abandoned cart emails, then you might want to read this section first.

What is Abandoned Cart SMS Remarketing?

Abandoned cart SMS remarketing is the sending of SMS text messages directly to the cell phone of anyone leaving your website before completing their purchase. You can do this manually or automatically, using automated text message software, such as CartStack.

How Does Abandoned Cart SMS Remarketing Work?

The abandoned cart SMS remarketing workflow is easy, repeatable, and effective – looking a little something like this:

A potential customer lands on your website and adds a product to their basket.

They enter their cell phone number to download an offer, speak to an agent, or start the checkout process.

Your customer recovery software records their cell phone number to use should abandonment occur.

They exit your website before finalizing their purchase.

Your software sends a series of automated SMS text messages that remind, re-engage, return, and recover them back to your website and through the checkout (known as “the four Rs.”)

Further reading: Recovering Lost Ecommerce Sales with Abandoned Cart SMS Text Messages

Wait, Are Abandoned Cart SMS Text Messages the New Abandoned Cart Emails?

Good question. An abandoned cart SMS marketing campaign is a great way to complement your existing email campaigns, not replace them.

Why?

Over half of carts are abandoned on mobile phones, but that also means nearly half aren’t. The more channels you use when recovering customers, the more chance you will reach them on a channel they want to re-engage on. In other words, a multi-channel approach to customer recovery is always best.

8 Lies about Abandoned Cart SMS Remarketing Debunked

You’ve likely heard myths, read tales, and made assumptions about SMS and its ability to recover and convert your abandoners. And we’re not blaming you either – there are a lot of lies about abandoned cart SMS remarketing that are enough to scare even the bravest of sellers off.

But what we will do is tackle the most common misconceptions one-by-one to give you an open and honest understanding of SMS remarketing and whether it can help your ecommerce business.

1. Text Messages Are Too Short to Convert Customers

The length of one SMS message is 160 characters. Some people believe this isn’t long enough to remind, re-engage, and remarket to customers successfully.

In reality, the short character length makes SMS remarketing messages ideal for converting customers. Instead of being too short to convert, a text message is:

Quick to read

Customers know an SMS won’t take long to read, which is why 90% are opened within three minutes of receipt. This gives your SMS remarketing message a higher chance of being read and, therefore, acted upon.

A reminder in itself

An image says a thousand words, and the simple flash of your name on a person’s cell phone is enough to remind them about their visit to your website and start rekindling the desires they felt when adding products to their cart.

Impactful

The short character restriction limits you to your most impactful customer recovery tactics – helping you get to the point quickly and create feelings of urgency that drive shopper behavior.

2. Customers Think SMS Messages Are Spammy

There’s a common misconception that SMS messages are more likely to be considered spam and left unread.

Unlike the email inbox, the SMS inbox doesn’t have a spam filter, which means you’re more likely to see a spam SMS than you are a spam email. However, this doesn’t mean customers automatically classify your abandoned cart text message as spam.

Instead, it means you need to avoid being labeled as junk mail by:

Only sending abandoned cart text messages to customers who actively opt-in to your SMS marketing campaign.
Reminding customers about their website visit early in the message (e.g., by including your brand name and referring to their cart).
Providing customers with a clear and easy way to unsubscribe from future messages.

Bonus tip: send SMS messages from your company name by registering it against your cell number, allowing customers to identify you immediately.

3. I’m Too Late to the SMS Party

96% of American adults own a cell phone, and 80% of cell phone users prefer businesses to use text messages. And, let’s not forget that mobile commerce accounts for 70% of all retail sales.

In HubSpot’s “Not Another State of Marketing Report 2020,” less than 1% of companies reported using SMS as a marketing tool.

This is exciting news for your customer recovery campaign. If your competitors aren’t using SMS, then you have a better chance of reaching your customers and standing out in the SMS inbox.

4. Only Millennials Use Their Cell Phone to Shop

A similar mistruth is that only millennials use their cell phones. We don’t deny that millennials love their cell phones, but it’s simply not true that all other generations communicate by email or carrier pigeon.

According to Statista, the most prominent smartphone users are aged between 18-29. This age group spans two generations: Millennials and Gen Z. However, usage is still high across Boomers and Gen X, with 79% and 53% owning a smartphone, respectively. And these figures don’t include the people owning a non-smartphone – i.e., the device made for texting.

Even if this were true, so what? Millennials are customers who need re-engaging too. If they’re addicted to their cell phone, then abandoned cart text messages are the perfect way to re-engage them.

5. Abandoned Cart SMS is Only for B2C

It’s fair to say most people use their laptops for work and their cell phone for play. It’s much easier creating a powerful presentation with a keyboard and mouse, and liking your mum’s latest cat video with a tap of your finger.

That doesn’t mean abandoned cart text messages are only for B2C.

More than half of people handle work on their cell phones. SMS remarketing messages enable you to target these people, providing them with a simple way to continue their purchase on the go or when they have more time.

6. You Can’t Track SMS Success

The great thing about abandoned cart emails is that you can delve into deliverability, open rates, click-throughs, and conversion statistics – telling you what works and what doesn’t.

Some people think you can’t achieve the same with SMS marketing messages. That’s simply not true.

Automated text message software powers you to track click-through rates, conversion rates, and reply rates – telling you everything you need to know for any future SMS marketing campaign.

7. Text Messages Are Intrusive

For most people, the SMS inbox is reserved for family, friends, and the occasional BOGOF pizza offer. It’s a personal place reserved for personal connections.

But that doesn’t make abandoned cart text messages intrusive. It’s the opposite.

When a customer opts into SMS marketing, they’re welcoming you into their inner circle. They want you to use SMS messages to build a relationship, create familiarity, and foster loyalty. It’s the perfect place for remarketing to customers who left your website.

8. SMS Remarketing is Expensive

And finally, what your accountant keeps saying: SMS remarketing is expensive.

It’s not.

CartStack’s automated text message software comes included in the CartStack Pro price, meaning you pay nothing for your SMS remarketing messages. You have nothing to lose.

Final thoughts

Don’t let a few lies, misconceptions, or ghost stories frighten you from using abandoned cart SMS remarketing messages.

Instead, use your free abandoned cart text messages from CartStack to uncover the truth and bathe in the results.