I’m quoted on Stores.org about abandoned shopping cart emails: http://www.stores.org/STORES%20Magazine%20September%202010/claim-cart
“It’s another way to communicate to a customer, who has already shown serious intent to buy,” says Jeff Finkelstein, founder of Internet marketing firm Customer Paradigm. In terms of how the information is presented, Finkelstein prefers the “Oops, looks like you closed your browser” method.
He says online shopping is still new for a lot of consumers and sometimes they just need a reminder. “We like telling customers, ‘We’ve saved your cart for you and here’s what you can do,’” says Finkelstein, whose firm creates abandoned cart e-mails for DiscountDecorating.com. “Most people find it’s a helpful feature.” In addition to the “oops,” a link in a DiscountDecorating.com e-mail takes customers back to their cart, or they can call a toll-free number to complete the order.