Few ecommerce challenges are as vexing as shopping cart abandonment. But as we’ve reported before, success in this area depends largely on using a variety of tactics to address the issues that cause shoppers to abandon ship… I mean, cart.

One of these tactics involves identifying cart abandoners when they return to your website, and then presenting them with an alert about their saved carts and the opportunity to still purchase the items they left behind. In this case, an online retailer decided to test such a message delivered via a can’t-miss lightbox.

In addition to a prominent link back to shoppers’ carts, the lightbox also provided access to the retailer’s live chat support and customer service toll-free phone number—just in case the reason shoppers bailed on a prior visit was service-related (i.e., they had questions about returns, gift wrapping, payment options, etc.).

And to keep the copy from sounding too utilitarian, which would have been out of character for this retailer’s voice—it goaded returning cart abandoners into taking action by telling them they needed to complete their orders soon if they wanted people to like them.

A little cheeky, yes, but it worked. The cart recovery lightbox increased the conversion rate with cart abandoners who saw the message versus those who didn’t by more than 17%. Based on that result, the retailer pushed this campaign live to 100% of the targeted audience.

So don’t give up on cart abandoners. This case study proves that not only do they come back to your website, but you can sweet talk them into making a purchase without the promise of free shipping.

Looking for more ideas on how to rescue abandoned carts? Check out our eBook, Shopping Cart Recovery: Tips to Improve Conversion.