case study
Thorntons’ triggered emails from Fresh Relevance account for approximately 6% of all direct revenue
Discover how Thorntons recovers lost cart abandonment revenue.
introduction
Background
Starting from a shop in Derbyshire in 1911, Thorntons has been making chocolates, toffee and fudge for over 100 years. In 1998, the British company opened its online store and today, the website sells a wide range of products including seasonal items, hampers, personalized gifts and flowers.
In order to maximize sales, Thorntons is always on the lookout for ways to increase the percentage of browsers converting to buyers, making life easy for shoppers to find the products they want, highlighting promotions and delivering a quick checkout. However, as with all eCommerce sites, it experiences cart and browse abandonment.
Initially, the company attempted to tackle the issue by proactively re-engaging with potential customers through retargeting via paid advertising. eCRM Manager at Thorntons, Mike Aspinall explains: “This approach performed well, but we identified a clear benefit in moving our strategy towards email communications.”
He adds: “We wanted a way to effectively capture cart and browse abandonment data and use it to communicate directly with shoppers, to persuade them to complete their purchase.” Thorntons liked the approach of real-time marketing company, Fresh Relevance.
solutions
Triggered emails
Thorntons and Fresh Relevance developed a series of triggered emails that are live all year round, specifically targeting shoppers who abandon their transactional journey. Aspinall adds: “We use two variations, one focusing on abandoned baskets and the other browse sessions. These are specifically designed to re-engage the shopper at their specific point in the journey and convert otherwise lost sales opportunities.”
solutions
Advanced dynamic countdown timers
To capitalize on seasonal periods, Thorntons have also introduced Advanced Countdown Timers, as Aspinall notes: “The Countdown Timer from Fresh Relevance adds a sense of urgency to our email communications, which is especially important in the lead up to Valentine’s Day, Easter and Christmas to ensure customers know the cut-off dates for deliveries.”
Since deploying Fresh Relevance 10 months ago, Thorntons have reported return on investment. “The triggered emails account for approximately 6% of all direct revenue from the email channel and most of this revenue is incremental.” Aspinall adds: “This is a great result, especially as both our email and Countdown Timers require minimal resources to manage after the initial setup.”
“The Countdown Timer from Fresh Relevance adds a senseofurgency to our email communications, which is especially important in the lead up to Valentine’s Day, Easter and Christmas to ensure customers know the cut-off dates for deliveries.”
“The Countdown Timer from Fresh Relevance adds a senseofurgency to our email communications, which is especially important in the lead up to Valentine’s Day, Easter and Christmas to ensure customers know the cut-off dates for deliveries.”
Mike Aspinall, eCRM Manager, Thorntons
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Future plans
Following the success of the project, Thorntons are currently exploring how the company can utilize the wider range of solutions offered by Fresh Relevance. Aspinall concludes: “The Fresh Relevance team has been great to work with, very helpful and willing to assist with any queries we have. We’ve developed a very positive working relationship with them and I’d certainly recommend them to others.”
