UK online shoppers welcome follow-up emails from retailers after browsing
The majority (88 per cent) of online shoppers who abandon online purchases before completion are “open to” being emailed by retailers afterwards, with 35 per cent saying they would “actively welcome” it, according to a research report from Cloud IQ.
The survey, conducted by Atomik Research on behalf of Cloud IQ, polled the views of 2,000 online shoppers, with each asked about their views on how retailers should contact them after they have browsed items but not follow through with a purchase.
Most online retailers fail to stay in touch with potential buyers, focusing instead on acquiring new customers, rather than following up existing browsers of their sites, according to Cloud IQ’s report, which also cited research from Forrester that revealed for every £100 organisations spend bringing customers to a site, only £1 goes into converting them.
As a result Cloud IQ has urged retailers to adopt a 'cart recovery' strategy, offering help to visitors who leave their sites via well-timed, useful emails, pledging that this “will convert one in five people into paying customers”.
Cloud IQ’s CEO James Critchley said retailers are missing a “huge” opportunity to grow their revenues as a result.
“It’s natural consumer behaviour to window shop before buying and it’s even easier to do this on the web, where the next store is just a click away. But whilst brick-and-mortar retailers can’t chase consumers down the street after they leave a store, it is possible to reengage people online in a more subtle way.
"This research shows that a well-targeted follow up can make the difference between a sale and a fail for retailers,” he said.
The news follows a previous report commissioned by Cloud IQ, which showed seven in ten UK internet shoppers abandon websites prior to purchase.
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