Have you ever been shopping online at your favorite store, add items to your cart, then decide to not make the purchase for one reason or another? Maybe it was just to expensive. Maybe the shipping costs were a deal breaker. Whatever your reasoning for abandoning your online shopping cart, some popular online stores are now sending a follow-up email to try and entice you back with a coupon or discount to complete your purchase.

So why not use this information to your advantage and try to get a coupon to save save some money.

For this “coupon trick” to work you need to keep the following in mind:

1. Must Register First – The retailer obviously needs to know your email address for this to work. So you need to make sure to register and log-in with the retailer before you try this frugal hack.

Many websites will let you check out as a ‘Guest’, but that won’t work, you have to register and be logged into your account before you abandon your shopping cart.

2. Gotta Know When To Fold ‘Em – Once you have placed the item(s) in your cart, go through the entire checkout process until you get to the payment page. Do not log-out or close the browser window until you get at least this far.

If you want to increase your chances of getting a coupon via email, you may want to enter your credit card information and exit when you see the button that says some variation f “Click to Finalize your Purchase”.

3. Not All Coupons are the Same – The type of coupon you get via email can depend on many internal factors within the retailer’s database. Things like buying history and frequency of purchases are undoubtedly taken into account when deciding how good an offer to email you.

Also, if you clicked a Google ad to get to the retailer’s site you may be less likely to get a coupon as they have to pay the search engine giant a fee for that click. So just be aware that the coupon you get could be different than the one your friend gets, if they get one at all.

I should also add that many online retailers are sending out an email reminding you of your abandoned cart, but most are not handing out a coupon code to entice you back and help you save some money.

But awesomely, here are 17 online stores that currently are.

Bass Pro Shops

~ Now here is a great example of using this strategy to your advantage. The Bass Pro Shops coupons we are given are typically pretty bad. Maybe a decent free shipping coupon code on occasion but that’s about it.

So when I was given a $20 off $100+ coupon via email when I abandoned my online cart, I was pleasantly surprised.

See Also: 9 Ways to Hack Your Black Friday This Year to Save Money and Time

PRO TIP: DON’T LET THE EMAIL TRICK YOU

Many retailers, like Walmart, will send you an email if you leave something in your cart but will NOT offer a discount. But they will make it look they are.

In the screenshot above, I left a Dyson vacuum in my Walmart cart and when the email showed up, it looked I was getting a personalized deal. But then when I clicked on it, the price was the same for everyone.

Moral of the story: Make sure you do your research and DO NOT trust the price in the email that’s designed to entice you back to complete your purchase.

Birchbox

~ Birchbox.com sells high-quality beauty and grooming products. Make sure you never pay full price when shopping on their website.

A great way to make this happen is to register, add stuff to your virtual cart, proceed to the billing page, then say “Adios!” You stand an excellent chance of getting a 20% off $35+ coupon via email.

Cafe Press

~ The next time you are shopping at CafePress.com and about to finalize your purchase, hold your horses for a second McFly.

Abandon your purchase and close your browser window and wait for your 20% off coupon code to magically appear in your email inbox.

Crocs

~ We often have a bunch of Crocs.com coupon codes here on Rather-Be-Shopping.com but they are rarely as good as this 20% off coupon you’ll get when you abandon your online shopping basket.

Get your next pair of Crocs sandals on the cheap.

Dick’s Sporting Goods

~ For those who are always looking for a deal on sporting goods and athletic apparel, abandon your Dick’s Sporting Goods virtual cart and wait for the coupon to show up via email.

We were able to score a 10% off coupon code.

See Also: Save Money at Dick’s: 29 Clever Ways to Make it Happen

JCPenney

~ In order to get a JCPenney.com coupon via email you don’t even have to add items to your online cart.

All you have to do is view some items and it’ll trigger an email with a link to get coupon codes.

Of course you’ll need to be logged into your JCPenney account with a valid email address to get the correspondence.

J.Jill

~ I was able to score a $20 off $80+ coupon code from J.Jill just by logging into their site and clicking around for a bit.

In order to have a better chance of getting a coupon emailed to you I would go ahead and add stuff to your virtual cart.

I have also seen coupons for free shipping on your entire order handed out similarly via email.

Kate Spade

~ I think Kate Spade really has their “abandon-cart “strategy figured out.

I found the above email, which included a 15% off coupon code, to be perfectly done (clear, short & sweet) and quite persuasive.

If I were a chick I’d be shopping at Kate Spade as we speak.

Levi’s Store

~ Levi also does a nice job with their abandon cart emails.

A 25% of coupon for Levi is pretty dang sweet and gives you savings that most (if not all) coupon websites just can’t provide.

Love it. FYI, you just might have to wait close to 48 hours to get your email from them.

See Also: All the Popular Retailers With Live Chat Operators Who Hand Out Coupons

Macy’s

~ While I personally have not received an “abandoned cart” coupon from Macy’s, I have it on good authority that it’s just a matter of time.

But…they’ll happily send you a 15% off coupon code to your inbox just for registering for the Macy’s email newsletter.

Proflowers

~ The next time you’re shopping at Proflowers.com and looking for that prefect bouquet for Mom or that special someone, abandon your dang virtual cart and get a quick 10% off your purchase.

In the above email you’ll also get a free glass vase with your online purchase.

Purity Products

~ Purity Products.com sells popular nutritional supplements and vitamins.

If you shop with them regularly, you definitely should try the abandon cart strategy as you’re almost guaranteed to get a coupon in your inbox to save money.

The above example gave the recipient free shipping on top of the 30% off coupon.

Shutterfly

~ Yeah, what the heck are you waiting for?

The next time you can’t find a Shutterfly coupon just log-in, add stuff to your cart, then log-out.

You stand a great chance of getting a 20% off promo code (or better) in your email inbox. I’m all over this one when I make our family Christmas photo cards this year.

Williams-Sonoma

~ Williams-Sonoma will happily send you a reminder email with a free shipping coupon code attached when you abandon your online purchase.

Yeah, it has a $49 minimum attached but try and buy something from them under $49. Not an easy task.

Ask the Reader: Have you ever successfully used the “abandon-cart” strategy to score a coupon via email? If so, let me know what online retailer it was at and I’ll get it added to this article. Thanks!

By Kyle James

Photo credit to Nicholas Eckhart.

Kyle James( Owner/Founder )

I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)