[FAQ]

Hello everyone,

I’m an e-commerce manager in Manchester, and we’ve had a lot of success with our cart abandonment email flow. It recovers a decent amount of revenue for us.

Our email platform is now recommending that we set up a ‘browse abandonment’ flow. I understand this targets people who view a product but don’t add it to their cart, but I’m not clear on the strategic difference. Is the approach the same as a cart abandonment email? I’m a bit concerned that emailing someone who has only looked at a product might come across as too aggressive or intrusive.

I’m looking for a clear definition and some best practices for how the copy and offer should differ between the two.

Any advice would be great, cheers.

[Jeff Bullas]

An excellent question. Understanding this difference is key to implementing more sophisticated email automation.

Short Answer: A cart abandonment email targets users who put items in their cart but did not buy, showing high purchase intent. A browse abandonment email targets identified users who only viewed a product but did not add it to their cart, showing a much lower, earlier stage of interest.

The fundamental difference is the level of user intent, which means your email’s text, tone, and offer must be adjusted accordingly.

A cart abandonment email is triggered by a very strong signal of intent. The user has found a product, selected it, and added it to their cart. They are very close to purchasing. Because of this high intent, your email text can be more direct and sales-focused. It should feature images of the items left in the cart and a clear call to action to “Complete Your Purchase”. You can use persuasive text that creates urgency or even introduces a small discount to close the deal.

A browse abandonment email is triggered by a much weaker signal. The user has only viewed a product page. They are still in the consideration phase, not the decision phase. Because their intent is lower, your strategy must be much softer and more helpful to avoid feeling intrusive or creepy. The text of your email should not be a hard sell. Instead of “Buy Now”, the tone should be one of customer service.

For the content of a browse abandonment email, the text could offer more information about the product they viewed, link to a helpful buyer’s guide, or show images of related best-selling items in the same category. The call-to-action text should also be lower pressure, such as “View Details” or “Explore the Collection” rather than “Buy Now”. It is a gentle nudge to continue their research, not a hard push to complete a sale.

Cheers,
Jeff

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