As online shopping continues to surge in popularity, so does the incidence of abandoned carts. As per data from the Baymard Institute, the typical cart abandonment rate hovers around 70%.
Abandoned carts are a significant opportunity for online retailers. Customers who add items to these carts have already expressed interest in your products. Essentially, these are warm leads waiting to become paying customers.
Through email marketing, it is possible to recapture these lost sales. Abandoned cart emails serve as a gentle yet persuasive nudge, reminding customers of their unfinished transactions.
However, a strong subject line is crucial to make your emails reach and engage recipients. We’ll explore examples, best practices, as well as tools to assist you in writing subject lines.
Let’s get started.
60+ effective abandoned cart email subject lines to inspire you
Writing compelling abandoned cart email subject lines can be tricky. You want a message that grabs your customers’ attention and makes them eager to return to their carts.
Fortunately, many AI-supported tools can help you create and test your subject lines’ performance. For example, Omnisend offers AI-generated subject lines and a free subject line tester. It evaluates character count, word choice, and capitalization, assigning percentage scores.
In this section, you’ll find the top abandoned cart email subject lines with scores.
Most common abandoned cart subject lines
Most common subject lines work well in crowded inboxes and for mobile users. You can experiment with these abandoned cart email subject lines:
- Don’t forget your cart! (100%)
- Complete your order today (92%)
- Finish what you started (92%)
- Your items are waiting (92%)
- Cart reminder: Buy now! (92%)
- Time to check out (83%)
- Your cart is full, shop now! (92%)
- Hey! We saved your cart (92%)
- Complete your shopping (83%)
- Your cart is lonely (92%)
- Don’t forget your items (92%)
- Your cart is waiting (83%)
- We miss your selection (92%)
- Come home to your cart (92%)
- Cart regrets? Fix them now! (92%)
Funny subject lines
Humor can add personality to abandoned cart emails but must align with your brand’s messaging. Moreover, be careful not to overuse it, and prioritize a positive and inclusive tone in your subject lines.
Let’s take a look at some examples of funny abandoned cart email subject lines:
- Did your cart elope without you? (92%)
- Your cart’s having a party, and you’re missing out! (83%)
- Your cart is giving us the silent treatment! (75%)
- You’re hot, then you’re cold… (92%)
- Think carts don’t have feelings? (92%)
- Cart-astrophe: It needs your attention! (92%)
- Your items are plotting a getaway! (92%)
- Don’t ghost your shopping bag! (100%)
- Your cart’s got a case of FOMO (92%)
- Don’t break your cart’s heart! (100%)
- Your cart’s on a guilt trip (100%)
- Cart comeback: Your items miss you! (92%)
- Your cart’s a drama queen – come back! (83%)
- Your cart’s a socialite; it misses you. (83%)
- Savings alert: Your cart’s on the run! (83%)
Subject lines with emojis
Emojis in subject lines enhance email marketing effectiveness by enhancing visibility in the inbox, conveying emotions, and fostering a connection with recipients. Additionally, they help convey messages concisely and clearly.
So, the key question is, which ones should you use? Emojis can have many meanings, so it’s essential to choose wisely.
In addition, you can use simple, the most common subject lines and spice them up with emojis.
Here are a few examples:
- 🛍️ Don’t forget your cart! (100%)
- 🛍️ Your cart is waiting (92%)
- Your cart misses you! Come back for savings 🎉 (75%)
- Ready to shop? Cart’s prepped and waiting! 💥 (83%)
- Gifts and goodies await in your cart! 🎁 (75%)
- 👠 Step into savings! Your cart awaits you 👠 (75%)
- Find hidden gems inside your cart! ✨ (83%)
- Unlock discounts! Your cart holds the key 🔑 (75%)
- Your cart items are in demand ⏳ (83%)
- Bag these bargains! Your cart can’t wait 🛍️ (83%)
Subject lines with powerful preheaders
Preheaders are essential for better email open rates as they provide recipients with additional information about your email’s content.
The additional context can entice recipients to open the email, especially on mobile devices with prominently displayed preheaders.
Source: MailerLite.com
Now, let’s look at a few abandoned cart email subject lines and preheaders.
- Your cart needs your attention… Complete your purchase now.
- Don’t leave your cart behind! We’ve saved your items for you.
- Your items are still in your cart. Finish your shopping today.
- Your cart is feeling lonely. Give it some love today.
- Hurry, your items are going fast! Complete your order now.
- Cart abandonment alert! ⏰ Your items are ready for checkout.
- We miss you! Finish your order. Your items are waiting in your cart.
- ⏰Last chance! Hurry up and complete your order.
- Missing something in your cart? Your items are still available.
- We’re holding your cart for you. Check out today and save.
Seasonal subject lines
Seasonal abandoned cart email subject lines are effective because they tap into the timely nature of special occasions. They also align with the recipient’s current mindset and shopping behavior. This increases the likelihood of re-engagement and conversion.
Here are some examples you can use:
- Unwrap joy: Your Christmas cart is waiting. (75%)
- Black Friday bonanza: Secure your cart deals! (75%)
- Love is in the cart – checkout for Valentine’s Day! (75%)
- Santa’s reminder: Your Christmas cart needs you! (83%)
- Celebrate Labor Day with savings – check out your cart. (75%)
- Heartfelt savings: Your Valentine’s cart is ready. (83%)
- Hop into savings: Your Easter cart is waiting! (75%)
- Creep into your cart for Halloween delights. (75%)
- Don’t skip this class – finish your cart order! (83%)
- Sizzle with summer deals: Claim your cart now. (75%)
- Still need a Valentine’s Day gift? (92%)
- Seasonal savings await – claim yours now (83%)
- Warm up your cart for the season. (83%)
- Gobble up the deals: Finish your cart order! (75%)
- New Year, new cart – complete your order! (75%)
Best abandoned cart email practices
By now, you should better grasp how to craft compelling abandoned cart email subject lines. Depending on your business and target audience, you can opt for simplicity, humor, seasonality, or other styles.
However, you should consider certain core best practices regardless of your choice. In this section, we’ll discuss some of them.
Personalize the subject lines
Personalization in abandoned cart email subject lines can significantly boost open rates and engagement.
One effective way to implement it is by incorporating the recipient’s first name into the subject line. For example, “Peter, your cart items are waiting!”
Segmenting your email list and sending subject lines that align with each group’s interests can also be a powerful personalization strategy.
In the end, the key is to make customers feel like the email was crafted just for them.
Incorporate a sense of urgency
Urgency in abandoned cart email subject lines drives action and triggers FOMO ( fear of missing out).
Use time-sensitive language like “Limited time offer” or mention low stock, e.g., “Only 3 left!”
To take things to the next level, combine urgency with personalization elements. Here’s an example: “Don’t miss out, Peter! Secure your cart items before they’re gone!” There’s a high chance that this will keep Peter from missing out on a great deal.
Maintain consistent branding
Trust in the email’s legitimacy increases when subject lines match your brand’s identity.
Here are some tips to ensure consistent branding in abandoned cart email subject lines:
- Define your brand’s identity and messaging style.
- Keep subject line language consistent with your brand.
- Showcase your unique selling points in your subject lines, whether it’s quality, affordability, or exceptional service.
These steps can enhance recognition, trust, and the overall customer experience.
For example, Asos.com fashion brand can’t be mixed with anything else due to its bold email designs.
Source: Asos.com
Pique recipients’ curiosity
Crafting abandoned cart email subject lines that pique curiosity involves using language that leaves recipients wanting to know more.
Here’s an example: “Discover your secret cart savings!” This subject line hints at something valuable awaiting the recipient inside the email. It motivates them to click to reveal the secret.
Include social proof elements
Incorporating social proof elements means leveraging the positive experiences of other customers to build trust with the recipient.
Including snippets of customer reviews, star ratings, or testimonials in the subject line is a great idea. It serves as a powerful endorsement of your product or service.
An example of this could be a subject line like “Join hundreds of happy shoppers – your cart awaits!”
Keep subject lines concise
Concise abandoned cart email subject lines are brief and straight to the point. They typically contain no more than 30-50 characters. This is crucial for several reasons.
Firstly, it ensures that the subject line remains fully visible in various email clients and mobile devices.
Secondly, short subject lines are easily scannable, allowing recipients to quickly grasp the message’s essence. For instance, “Cart discount inside – act now!” conveys the essential message directly and efficiently.
Usually, marketers write a bold statement in the subject line and provide more details in the preheader.
How should you choose an abandoned cart email subject line?
The answer to this question is pretty simple. If you choose to offer a discount, mention it in the subject line. If you want to emphasize the urgency – don’t forget to mention it.
Remember, the subject line of your email should always reflect the content of your email.
We have hand-picked some examples of abandoned cart emails. Check them along with their subject lines. Hopefully, it will become clear how we combine different methods and pick subject lines for these kinds of emails.
Five abandoned email examples
Since we have already discussed subject lines, let’s see real-life abandoned cart email examples sent by businesses.
1. Little Beast
Subject line: Here’s 15% off
Little Beast offers a discount to finish the purchase. If you follow their way, don’t forget to add the time limit to make it even more effective.
Source: Reallygoodemails.com
2. Huckberry
Subject line: Just a few left…
Huckberry takes different approach. The email says that the amount of items is limited, so make it your faster.
Source: Reallygoodemails.com
3. Chatters
Subject line: Don’t miss out. Get it before it’s gone…
Chatters’ main message is the same as Huchberry’s. They use urgency, add free shipping bar, and list the items left in the cart.
Source: Reallygoodemails.com
4. National Mattress Outlet Plus
Subject line: Get it before it’s gone!
The same urgency approach, but different copy. I personally like this email because of the copy and visual composition. Look how simple yet beautiful email it is.
Source: Reallygoodemails.com
5. Food 52
Subject line: Going fast: grab the treasures in your cart before they go poof.
This email again stress the urgency. Look at how emotional they are.
Source: Reallygoodemails.com
Subject line generators powered by AI
Today, many email marketing tools offer AI-based subject line generators. This makes creating engaging abandoned cart email subject lines easy and facilitates daily tasks.
The following platforms offer tools that are either open and accessible to everyone or exclusively for their customers. Be sure not to miss checking them out.
ActiveCampaign’s free tool generates email subject lines based on keywords. You can choose from Pain Points, Benefits, and Topics. Select the category that aligns with your content and input your keyword.
Once you hit enter, the tool generates four subject lines for you. If you want additional suggestions, you can quickly create more.
Omnisend offers a free AI-powered email subject line generator as well. To use it, just provide a minimum of five keywords and a brief description of your email’s intent. From there, Omnisend will create custom, high-performing email subject lines tailored to your campaign.
Alternatively, if you already have a subject line in mind and want to assess its effectiveness, Omnisend provides a subject line tester.
Klaviyo’s subject line assistant serves a dual purpose by creating subject lines for both email campaigns and automated workflows. Its generator offers subject line suggestions tailored to the workflow you’re building.
Plus, it offers tips that will make your abandoned cart email subject lines stand out. The only catch is that you must have a Klaviyo account to use this tool.
The Mailchimp Subject Line Helper helps you craft better subject lines using data from millions of emails sent through Mailchimp. You’ll see a green checkmark when your subject line follows these guidelines. If it doesn’t, the tool will give you tips for improving it. This feature is only for Mailchimp users.
Wrap up
A significant number of online shoppers abandon their carts before completing a purchase. This translates into potential lost sales for businesses.
The reasons for this are multifold, including the ease of online shopping that allows shoppers to add items without an immediate intent to buy. Moreover, distractions, comparisons, and shifting priorities also often derail checkout.
Fortunately, these lost sales can be reclaimed through well-crafted abandoned cart email subject lines.
We hope the strategies, examples, and best practices discussed in this article will provide a starting point. You can also run A/B tests to find out which subject lines garner better open rates.
So, go ahead, craft those subject lines, and watch your abandoned carts transform into thriving conversions.
