When a person misreads their audience, we call them tone-deaf. But when it comes to eCommerce I believe a lot of retailers have developed a bad case of tech-blindness.

And by that I mean they don’t see the opportunities right in front of them because they are overwhelmed by the shiny new tech tools that promise the world and deliver a lot less.

Cart abandonment is a prime example. According to the Baymard Institute, abandonment rates generally shake out to be between 60 and 80%, with an average of 67.91%.

For many retailers it’s the one statistic that causes the most consternation. And the response usually involves heavy investments in even more technology and site design in order to reduce the drop-off.

When I think of the amount of money that folks spend to move the dial just a few points, I’m left shaking my head. Not because I’m against technology — I send emails all the time — but because the solution to the cart abandonment problem is to not see it as a problem at all.

Shopping cart abandonment and email marketing

Many eCommerce retailers have highly integrated shopping cart and CRM systems that track customer purchase history and site visits. What shocks me is how few use this integration. I know of at least one retailer that tracks the user as they move through its mobile app and sends emails to the visitor offering deals on items they’ve looked at in the past. It’s a solid strategy that turns the whole idea of cart abandonment on its head. Unfortunately emails are easy to send and just as easy to ignore or delete.

Trigger-event mailings turn abandoned carts into revenue

I’ve said before that you get what you pay for when it comes to marketing. If you invest in a CRM and then cheap out when it comes to using the data you collect, you’ve taken a powerful data tool and reduced its effectiveness considerably.

Canada Post recently released a White Paper on the power of print materials as marketing devices. Using neuroscience, they were able to demonstrate how physical (print) interactions increased the conversions when combined with digital (email).

The tactile experience that comes from a well-crafted piece of print marketing is something that still delivers. And when you augment that proven delivery mechanism with an equally creative online experience, then you have a recipe for success.

Which brings me back to being tech-blind. Retailers are increasingly seeing through the promise of shiny tech and realizing the limitations of a digital-only strategy. And as they look to other ways of reaching the unreachable consumer, they are turning back to print. David Sax has called this trend “The Revenge of Analog” in his recently acclaimed book.  I’ve enjoyed seeing the parallels he mentions in his book, the resurgence of vinyl records and paper notebooks, for example, as reminders that real, physical things matter in this digital world.

RevenueDriver™ and the eTail revolution

Using a CRM to send a series of emails has known limits. Only about a third of those will get viewed and the conversion rate is in the decimal places. When was the last time you clicked on the promotions tab in your Gmail or a banner ad re-targeting you?  But what if you could use that same data to generate custom mailings that customers can touch and engage with? RevenueDriver™ does just that. It takes the data you collect from customers as they browse a site and creates a custom mail piece within hours, with an offer based on the products they viewed. And, unlike an email, this card will actually be touched by the person who was looking around the site but who dropped away at the point of purchase!

Easy to use. Simple to deploy

With RevenueDriver™, retailers connect with customers again and again, engaging them with the products they want using the data they collect. It’s a technology agnostic solution that can be implemented rapidly using our quick starter kit. And if that’s not enough, we have staff ready to answer your questions and make sure everything runs to spec.

If you’re interested in seeing how we can turn your abandoned carts into found money, get in touch.

Introducing Ted Haberer

Ted is leading our sales growth with RevenueDriver™. He’s had sales experience in Canada and Puerto Rico, where he speaks Spanish like a native. He’s excited to share the possibilities for new revenue for retail eCommerce companies in Canada and the U.S.