Abandoned Baskets

[StudioAvai]

is there anyway of finding out who the potential customers are that have items in their baskets?

[CatsWhiskersCurios]

No - and even if you could see, it would be considered spam, and illegal in most countries, to contact them in any way. 

The only way to reach them is to set up an abandoned basket coupon that Etsy will send only to those who have opted in to Etsy emails.

[Natalya1905]

I truly hope not.

As a seller, I don't need this information. Buyers, current or potential, can always send a message with their questions.  Sellers can't send messages to "potential buyers" anyway. There's an Abandoned Cart coupon option for those who have opted in. 

As a buyer, I value my privacy. 

[FruteJuce]

Too much nagging of potential buyers by etsy already. I no longer keep things in my cart because of the constant pop ups. I would hate to be contacted directly by sellers themselves as well. 

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

No, but if you want to send them a discount to prompt them to buy then you need to sign up for Etsy's Abandoned Cart discounts as we are not allowed to contact potential buyers ourselves.

Go to Shop Manager - Marketing - Sales & Discounts - Abandoned Baskets and put in the percentage amount you want to offer.  

It can be quite useful as I do have some sales from Abandoned Baskets.

[StudioAvai]

I have worked in retail for 14 years now, and although you shouldn't bombard your customers with Ads, and customer service, you are allowed to ask them if you can help them with anything in your store.  I have had several abandoned basket emails sent from other retailers and sometimes it encourages me to spend which can sometimes be a good thing for the economy.  You have to sell what you put out on your Etsy display.

[OmasFabricStash]

Unfortunately it would be against Etsy’s TOU and is against the law in most countries.  A lot of people will report the spam and remove the item from their favorites. 

[JackisJustVintage]

But... it is against Etsy's TOU and is considered spam. You can set up an abandoned cart coupon through Etsy but not contact people who favorite or cart your items.

[CatsWhiskersCurios]

As the others have said, it is against the law in the UK and elsewhere to initiate contact in the way you are suggesting.  You cannot contact anyone who favourites or adds an item to their basket except via Etsy's coupon system.  A potential buyer has to have proactively opted in to receive any communication; anything else can be reported as spam.  Sellers who have done this are always coming to the forums complaining that their ability to send messages has been removed because they did this. Etsy takes it very seriously.

[HazelsSewingSupplies]

"you are allowed to ask them if you can help them with anything in your store."

This is why I never favorite anything.  I never ask for help in a store except for "which way is the craft dept.?"  Hobby Lobby has a habit of putting it on one side in one store and on the other side in the next store!

[CatsWhiskersCurios]

@HazelsSewingSupplies I absolutely hate it when an over-exuberant shop worker asks me if I need any help today. I find it very intrusive - there are shops I make a point of avoiding because the staff are in your face as soon as you walk in the door. Ugh!

[BootifulLabels]

although you shouldn't bombard your customers with Ads, and customer service, you are allowed to ask them if you can help them with anything in your store.  

Perhaps in a B&M shop, or if they ask for help, but if you follow them around the shop pointing out other things they might like, you may find yourself spending more time putting the contents of their cart back on the shelves when they storm out in anger.

In an online situation, customers add items to their cart for many reasons, not always because they intend to buy. By the time you see the alert that someone has added the item to their cart, they may well have moved on to another shop.  Contacting a buyer just because they carted your item is like a B&M shop owner chasing a buyer down the street with an armful of products you think they might like.

[Natalya1905]

@StudioAvai 

Just imagine (even if it's allowed to contact buyers). You use your Etsy account as a seller and as a buyer. For whatever reason you add 50 items to your favorites. Within hours, you receive 50 messages from sellers asking "if they can help you with anything in their shop". As a seller, to keep your SS badge, you have to read these messages, then either reply to each of them or mark them as spam. What a productive day it would be! Thank goodness it is not allowed.

[OmasFabricStash]

When a customer came into my very small store I would say Hi. Let me know if you need any help.  And that was it. 

[howtobooksandmore]

It is considered spam for a seller to contact a potential buyer unless the buyer makes the first contact.  Customers can opt in or out of receiving these contacts and only Etsy knows who has signed up.  That is why they set up the abandoned cart coupon.  They are only set to customers who ask for them and each one is supposed to have an opt out link attached.  It might or might not be good for the economy as a lot of people will be encouraged to clock Etsy and close their accounts here rather than be bombarded with emails they do not want.  I hope you aren't planning on doing it.

[PillowDetails]

No, you shouldn't do that, but it's a moot point now that user profiles no longer have the "Contact" button.  Good move by Etsy.

[PillowDetails]

I'm pretty sure the OP has been told, many times, that selling online is NOT THE SAME as selling in person.

[LynnsLittleShop]

Raise your prices and try the abandoned cart coupon. I did that to jump start my shop at the beginning of the year.