Every Perth e-commerce store owner knows the frustration: a customer adds products to their cart, gets to checkout, and disappears. It happens to 70% of all online shopping carts. The good news is that a significant portion of these “lost” sales can be recovered through automated follow-up sequences.
The recovery sequence that works
The most effective abandoned cart recovery uses three touchpoints, each with a different angle. Email 1 (1 hour after abandonment): a gentle reminder that they left items in their cart, with product images and a direct link back. No discount yet. Email 2 (24 hours): address common objections — shipping cost, returns policy, product questions — and add social proof (reviews from other Perth customers). Email 3 (72 hours): create urgency with a small incentive — free shipping, 5-10% discount, or a gift with purchase.
SMS recovery for higher open rates
For Perth customers who provided their mobile number, SMS cart recovery has 98% open rates compared to 20-25% for email. A simple text: “Hey [Name], you left some great items in your [Store] cart. Complete your order here: [link]” consistently outperforms email for immediate conversions.
What to measure
Track recovery rate (percentage of abandoned carts that convert), revenue recovered, and revenue per email. Most Perth e-commerce stores achieve 8-15% recovery rate with email alone, rising to 15-22% when SMS is added. At an average order value of $80-150, that’s significant monthly revenue recovered from sales that would otherwise be lost forever.