How Do I Create an Abandoned Cart in Squarespace?

Creating an abandoned cart email in Squarespace is a powerful strategy to recover lost sales from visitors who have added items to their cart but did not complete the purchase. Squarespace provides built-in functionalities for setting up abandoned cart recovery emails. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to create an abandoned cart email campaign in Squarespace:

Step-by-Step Guide to Set Up Abandoned Cart Emails in Squarespace

1. Ensure You Have the Correct Plan

Abandoned cart recovery is a feature available in Squarespace’s Business and Commerce plans. If you're on a Personal plan, you'll need to upgrade your subscription.

2. Enable Commerce Features

Before setting up abandoned cart emails, ensure that you have enabled the commerce features on your site:

• Navigate to Settings in your Squarespace dashboard.
• Click on Commerce and ensure all necessary settings for your store are configured.

3. Access Email Campaigns

• Go to the Marketing section from your main Squarespace menu.
• Select Email Campaigns. If this is your first time, you might have to start a trial or choose a plan for email campaigns.

4. Configure the Abandoned Cart Email

Once within the Email Campaigns section:

• Click on the Abandoned Cart Recovery option. If you don’t see it, you may need to enable it from your commerce settings.

5. Customize Your Email Campaign

You’ll need to design and customize your abandoned cart email. Here’s how:

• Design: Select a template for your email. Squarespace provides several template options that you can customize to fit your brand.
• Edit Content: Modify the text, images, and links as per your brand’s voice. Ensure your email includes:
• A compelling subject line to grab attention.
• A friendly reminder about the items in the cart.
• High-quality images of the abandoned products.

• A clear call-to-action (CTA) that encourages customers to return to their cart.

• Personalize: Use dynamic variables to personalize emails. For instance, include the customer’s name or specific items they left in their cart.

6. Set Up the Sending Rules

Squarespace allows you to configure when the abandoned cart emails should be sent:

• Timing: Decide when the email should be sent (e.g., 1 hour, 6 hours, 24 hours after cart abandonment). Some businesses also choose to send a sequence of reminders.
• Frequency: Determine whether you want to send just one email or a series of reminders.

7. Activate the Campaign

After setting up your email:

• Review: Make sure to preview and test the email. Send a test email to yourself or your team to ensure everything looks and works as expected.
• Activate: Once you’re satisfied, go ahead and activate the campaign. It will start sending automatically when someone abandons their cart.

Considerations and Best Practices

• Personalization: Personalized content tends to perform better. Whenever possible, include personal details (name, specific items, etc.).
• Incentives: Offering a discount or free shipping in your recovery email can significantly boost conversions.
• Mobile Optimization: Ensure your emails are mobile-friendly, as a significant portion of users may open email on their mobile devices.
• Follow-Up: Consider a multi-step follow-up sequence rather than a single email.
• Compliance: Ensure your emails comply with relevant email marketing regulations, such as GDPR for European customers.
• Analytics: Monitor the performance of your abandoned cart campaigns through Squarespace’s analytics to understand their effectiveness and iterate as needed.

By following these steps and considering best practices, you can effectively set up and optimize abandoned cart emails on Squarespace, enhancing the chances of recovering lost sales and improving your store’s overall performance.