17+ Magnetic Abandoned Cart Email Subject Lines For 2022

November 23, 2021

Picture this. You’re browsing through a stack of emails, scouring which ones are urgent, when you come across marketing-related ones. What do you usually do? Well, if you’re like most people, should the subject line fail to pique your interest or comes on too strong, you pick between these two courses of action: delete or ignore.

Through the lens of a consumer, it’s safe to say that this behavior isn’t out of the blue. That’s why as a business owner, it is crucial that you put in extra effort so that your emails are not only received but also read.

According to Mailchimp’s data, 84% of recipients don’t open eCommerce emails. This means that it doesn’t matter if you’ve spent countless hours meticulously crafting its content. Your potential customers won’t click to see it anyway.

A small yet vital portion of these unread promotional emails are about shopping cart abandonments. If your recovery campaigns fail to entice prospects, you’re missing out on massive sales. It is estimated that the average percentage of cart abandonment is 70%. Just think of the profits you can gain should you succeed in winning these customers back!

But don’t get your hopes up just yet because here’s another conundrum. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re competing even harder for your potential customers’ attention. Brick and mortar businesses are crafting digital versions of their stores. Then, there’s the recently unemployed population trying their hand on online selling. Let’s not forget about aspiring entrepreneurs opting to fill in market gaps.

With the already low open rate combined with the surge in competition, how can you ensure the emails you send are actually read?

This is where CartStack swoops in to save the day. Compared to the industry average of only 16%, our open rate is 50%.

What’s our secret? Our subject lines are enticing enough to persuade readers to click through the email because they are personalized, engaging, timely, and relevant.

We’ve already shared some of our tried and tested abandonment cart email subject lines in our former post. In this one, we’ll give you even more.

17+ Best Abandoned Cart Email Subject Lines

1. Personalized Subject Line

Personalized subject lines boost your open rate by up to 20%. That’s because they are highly relevant and instill curiosity in the readers.

The most common way to customize it is to simply add the name of the recipient but you can also include the items left in their cart as well as give off the impression of a “real” conversation.

Here are some examples you can try out:

This is just for you, {Name}.
Hey there {Name}, complete your order now with just a simple click!
Haven’t decided yet, {Name}?
{Name}, your cart is expiring soon.
{Name} Seems like you left your {Product} behind!
Hey {Name}, you seem to have a product in your cart!

2. The ‘Did Something Go Wrong’ Subject Line (Our Favorite)

Oftentimes, your potential buyers didn’t complete the purchase because they needed assistance or encountered a technical issue.

But even if this wasn’t actually the case, assuming that the error was on your end, and not theirs, is a great way to open lines of communication with your abandoners.

This support-based tactic softens your approach and reassures them that you’re trying to look out for them.

The following subject lines are a great options you can use:

Oops, did something go wrong with your order?
Technical issue? Don’t worry, your cart is waiting for you!
Did the connection cut? Don’t forget about your cart
Oh no, your cart is still here. Did something go wrong?
It seems like things didn’t go well. Your cart is still here.
Checkout problems? Your cart is waiting!
Internet problems? Don’t miss out on your cart!

3. Special Offer Subject Line

Some of the main reasons that customers abandon their carts are unexpectedly high delivery fees, slow shipping, and lower pricing offered on other stores.

Sweeten the deal through the following subject line examples:

Might you be interested in a 15% off?
Still thinking it over? Maybe this will help…
It’s the holidays! Enjoy our free shipping discounts
10% discounts for orders over $50. Hurry back now!

4. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) Subject Line

Psychological tricks are all the wonders of a great email campaign, especially when it comes to making customers fear that they’re missing out on some great deals or purchases.

Here are the top picks to provide a sense of urgency with your abandoned cart email subject lines:

It’s Now or Never! Your 15% off is expiring
Don’t dilly dally. Your cart is just about to expire!
Your product is about to expire. Catch it now.
You might miss out on this incredible offer. It’s about to expire.
Is your cart expiring? YES, hurry now!
That 15% off isn’t going to stay forever.

5. Branding Subject Line

Hit two birds with one stone by putting your brand name in your subject line. Not only is it a great way to advertise, it also attracts attention.

It doesn’t have to be all sales talk, but instead, a bit of humor can go a long way since a personality is also important to know that you’re not all business.

Take a look above as to how MOUTH does it with their play on words.

Unfortunately, examples for this are quite highly dependent on what your brand name is, so it’s entirely up to you on what you can do to mix in some comedic component to your brand email subject lines.

6. Product-Focused Subject Line

Centering your subject line around a certain product is also another great way of selling out an abandoned cart email.

Readers that are highly reliant on these products might be more interested in clicking since they have such dependency on the product name alone, and you can really use that to your advantage when it comes to increasing open rates.

Here are some examples for your cart abandonment email strategy:

{Food} We don’t want you to get hungry
{Coffee} Is work coming up? Don’t let it bother you
{Footwear} Don’t forget! Leg day is coming up.
{Maps} You don’t want to get lost, now do you?
{Furniture} You can’t be a couch potato if you forget this
{Bathroom} Toilets are necessary. Did you forget this?

7. Gentle Push Subject Line

Some shoppers just need a little nudge and convincing to get to that checkout page and finish their purchase.

When it comes to pushing them, you need to assume that they’ve already made up their mind and done all the research necessary. All you need to do is remind them that they’re ‘this close’ to making their efforts not go to waste.

Looking to use this strategy? Have a few examples to get you started:

You’re this close!
Finish it off with just a simple click
Don’t let go now 🙁
But… you’re already there!
Keep Going!
Your item is just about to be shipped

8. Exclusive Cart Deals Subject Line

People love it when they are receiving something exclusive. Who doesn’t want to feel special?

This abandonment email strategy works just like that. It’s different from giving a special offer because the essence of this is to give the recipient a feeling that what they’re buying is just for them only. But you can also add in some discounts to sell the message a bit more convincingly.

Have some examples to get a better grasp on how this subject line works:

This offer is just for you. Get your cart now!
Exclusively for your cart only, don’t forget to checkout
Enjoy this deal made just for your cart. Grab it now!
It seems like you abandoned your cart, care for an exclusive offer?
This cart was just for you, don’t forget to take advantage of it!

9. ‘You Forgot Something’ Subject Line

Nobody likes leaving something behind. Inciting curiosity and the fear of forgetting something is a great way to attract attention to your emails, but don’t overdo it. You might cause some people to get really annoyed if you go overboard.

Here are some examples for you to use:

It looks like you missed something!
Oops! You left something behind in your cart.
Hey there, it seems like you left this behind.
Is this yours?
Forgot something in your cart?
You seem to have left something behind.

10. ‘Your Friend’ Subject Line

Everybody likes a friend, and you can be just that to your recipients, especially when it comes to cart abandonment emails.

The image above is an example of a friendly subject line in the content.

Take a look at some other examples:

Hi pal, your cart is still here, don’t forget
Just a friendly reminder about your cart
Howdy partner, your cart is gathering some dust
Hello mate, forgot your cart?
Hi Friend!Your cart is still with us. 🙂

11. Customer Support Subject Line

This one is a lot like the “Did Something Go Wrong” subject line. Sometimes prospects discontinue the purchase because they hit a snag with website errors.

Offer customer assistance through these subject lines:

Everything alright?
Did an error occur? Finish your checkout here
We’re sorry, did something go wrong? Your cart is still here
Is there any way we can help?

12. Bursting Creativity Subject Line

Sometimes, unique creative subject lines are all it takes to get the attention of your customer base; however, it takes a lot of knowledge of your audience market to do this right.

Going out of your way to make unexpected and surprising subject lines might just do the trick. You can also achieve this through wordplay, a confident tone, or just downright weirdness.

Here are some great examples along with the brands that sent them:

One of our kyüter emails (by Thirdlove)
Shampoo Bars, we invented them! (from Lush)
Death to weak coffee (by Death Wish Coffee)
Sunday Rikkeday (from Chubbies)
“did witches make these?” – me (by Shinesty)
🔪 Bailey’s back, back again! (from Loud Lacquer)

13. The Emoji Subject Line

Emojis are pretty cute, and they really are attention-catching if you embed them in your subject lines. The question now is, which ones are appropriate for you to use because there can be lots of meanings behind each one.

Take a look at these examples:

Your cart vouchers are expiring! 🔓 Don’t forget to checkout
👀 We noticed your cart is still there, don’t forget about it
Hey, you’re almost done with your cart! One more click to go 🎉
👋 Hey there pal, you’re cart is still with us
Your jewelry is still in your cart! Checkout now! 💎
💬 Just a heads up that your cart hasn’t yet been checked out

14. ‘Compliments & Flattery’ Subject Line

Everybody likes being complimented and being showered with praise, whether it be genuine or sarcastic, but in this case, try to keep it as genuine as possible.

It’s sure to attract some readers that get to feel flattered that someone called them beautiful for the day, and it’ll maybe even make their day as well.

Here’s some more examples that you can use:

Great picks, all it needs is to get out of your cart!
You’ll look great with that, don’t forget to checkout
Excellent taste of choice. It’s still in your basket though!
Great choices of items. However, you left it in your cart
Don’t forget to check out your awesomely picked items
You kind of left your stuff back there. Great choices btw!

15. Expressing Emotion Subject Line

Expressing emotions often also triggers a response emotion from the opposite side, and that’s what you are going to gun for when it comes to sending subject lines that are focused on showcasing personality to your recipients.

It’s also funny and cute at the same time if you’re going to use it for cart abandonment. These are some other examples you can use:

Your items are all missing you, they’re still on your cart
Oh no! Your cart is still here, did you forget?
We’re sad to see your cart still here, please don’t forget!
You’re almost there! Don’t forget to checkout
Gasp!! Your items are still in your cart!

16. The ‘Try Not To Laugh’ Subject Line

According to the Nielsen global online survey, 50% of American and European buyers pick humor as the best theme for marketing.

This isn’t surprising since anything funny stirs interest and grabs attention. And should you manage to make your customers smile, they’re guaranteed to click through your email.

To begin using the Try Not To Laugh subject line, you can use wordplay (ex: puns), familial humor (ex: one-liners, dad jokes, etc.), wordplay (ex: puns), brand-related jokes, and so much more.

These are a couple of witty abandoned cart email subject lines:

We can’t hold it much longer – from Poo~Pourri
You’ve got this one in the bag (literally) – from Abercrombie & Fitch
You left your stuff at our place… – from Shinesty

Here’s another one from Shinesty. Its clever “We pulled a lil sneaky on yah” subject line, paired with an illustration in the body of the email, will surely make anyone chuckle.

Sustainable clothing and shoes company Allbirds also has the hilarious “Don’t get cold feet” subject line.

Although funny subject lines entertain as well as put your readers in a good mood, one downside to them is that they can only work if they match your brand’s communication style.

17. Customer Review Subject Line

There are cases where shoppers aren’t that convinced yet of the product that they are deciding to buy, and this is where you can take advantage of that and sell

them the chance of looking at some reviews that other customers have bought.

It’s one of the alternative abandonment subject lines that you can use for a change.

Still deciding? Check out some reviews and checkout!
You left your cart. Take a look at some reviews here.
Thinking about it still? Here’s what others are saying…
If you’re undecided on your cart, have a look at what others say about us….
These reviews might help you decide what to do with your cart.
Stuck with your cart? Maybe some reviews to help you decide?

18. ‘Lending You a Hand’ Subject Line

Abandoning shoppers always have a specific reason why they decided not to go with their purchase, and this is where you try to give them a hand and offer some other solutions. Though you’re not entirely sure if this is the solution that they’re looking for, it’s still catchy enough to grab some attention to your email.

Have a look at these examples as well:

We saved your items in your cart! Check them out
Something went wrong? We saved your items here
Your cart is all safe and sound, don’t forget about your items
Your items are all here, continue with your purchase
Don’t worry, your progress is all saved in your cart, check out now
Relax pal, we got your items covered, don’t forget about em!

Here’s the bottom line

Recovering abandoned carts doesn’t have to be taxing. After all, it’s a sign that customers have shown interest in your products. They might’ve just forgotten about it, plan to return later and complete the purchase, or have changed their minds.

Don’t worry. The abandoned cart email subject lines you’ve learned about here will attract them once more.

Ready to use these examples for your upcoming cart recovery emails campaigns? Sign up for a free 14 day trial of CartStack, and you’ll recover your first $1k in lost orders for free!

If you have any questions, you can also get in touch with us through call at 888-363-3647 and email: support@cartstack.com.