Recently while shopping online, I was about to purchase a $100 Home Depot gift card marked down to $94 on Cardpool.
Purchasing discounted gift cards for stores you already plan to patronize is essentially buying cash at a markdown, and I had several projects that required Home Depot runs. I followed the link and placed the card in my cart, but a small household crisis prevented me from finishing the transaction.
The following day, I received an email from Cardpool nudging me to complete the purchase. It included a $5 coupon, nearly doubling the original $6 savings on the card.
This scenario has repeated itself with other merchants. I’ve gotten in the habit of intentionally leaving online carts unfinished and returning a day or two later to complete purchases — frequently with a discount.
It’s essentially a modern twist on the old negotiation tactic of “walking away from the table.” The goal is to prompt the seller to offer an incentive to lure you back.
Want to try it yourself? Below are some pointers and a compilation of retailers that have been known to send coupons or discounts to recover shoppers who abandon their carts.
How to Properly Abandon Your Shopping Cart
You can experiment with any online merchant, or begin with the names listed below. Keep a few key tips in mind:
- To trigger those comeback emails (and potential discounts), the retailer needs your email address. Create an account before you start shopping (if you don’t already have one), and be sure you’re signed in when you close your browser with an incomplete order.
- This tactic may be most effective if you’re a new customer for a retailer, according to Lifehacker. If you’re already a frequent buyer, the site might treat you as a fresh customer if you sign up with a different email or if quite a bit of time has passed since your last purchase.
- Marketing methods shift regularly, and companies tailor their outreach based on your profile. In short, outcomes will differ.
Either way, there’s usually no cost to give it a shot.
Retailers That Offer Discounts
Below are some merchants that have been reported to provide discounts, along with the kinds of offers they’ve sent in the past:
- ClothingUnder10.com: 10% off (occasionally 20%)
- 1-800-Mattress: Various markdowns
- Babies ‘R’ Us: Free shipping message sent the following day
- Bass Pro Shops: $20 off purchases of at least $100
- Bed, Bath and Beyond: 20% off
- Best Buy: No specifics disclosed
- Birchbox: 20% off on orders of at least $35
- CafePress: 20% off
- Coastal: Various promotions
- Crocs: 20% off
- Dick’s Sporting Goods: 10% off
- Dorco: 5% off
- GoDaddy: 30% off
- Guitar Center: Various deals (sometimes emailed days later)
- Home Depot: No specifics disclosed
- J.C. Penney: Coupon codes sent if you leave after just viewing several items
- J. Jill: $20 off purchases of $80 or more
- Kate Spade: 15% off
- Land’s End: No specifics disclosed
- Levi’s: 20% off, sometimes 25% off within a couple of days
- Macy’s: 15% off coupons
- Neiman Marcus: 10% off
- Nomad: 15% off
- Office Max: Free shipping
- Overstock.com: Various discounts
- Princess Cruises: Large discounts when abandoning carts after browsing through travel agencies
- ProFlowers: 10% off (and sometimes a complimentary vase)
- Purity Products: 30% off plus free shipping
- Sierra Trading Post: 35% off
- Shutterfly: 20% off
- Talking Tom and Friends Shop: 10% off
- ThinkGeek: $10 off a minimum $50 purchase
- Toys ‘R’ Us: Free shipping offer sent the next day
- Urban Outfitters: 20% off
- Virgin Media: Various discounts
- Williams-Sonoma: Free shipping
- Zappos: No specifics disclosed
- Zazzle: Various promotions
(Sources reporting on this approach include the Chicago Tribune, Shopify, Consumerist, Digiwonk, This Is Money and Rather-Be-Shopping.com.)
Be Patient
Another example: I created an account on Udemy and enrolled in a free course. Then I eyed several paid classes priced at $40 or more, but I left my cart incomplete because I didn’t have time to commit to them right away.
About two weeks later, I started receiving frequent emails from Udemy advertising numerous courses for just $10—some that normally retail for $100 or more.
I’ve seen discount emails arrive within an hour of abandoning a cart with certain retailers, but more often they appear the next day or even several days later.
Be ready to wait.
If this approach doesn’t yield a discount the first time with a particular site, try again. Many merchants change their tactics regularly.
Alex Mercer is the author of “101 Curious Ways to Earn Income” and founder of EveryWayToMakeMoney.com. He’s worked as a repossessor, walking-stick artisan, search engine rater, house renovator, tram operator, process server, mock juror and roulette dealer, and among the more than 100 ways he’s earned money, writing is his preferred one (so far).
