Table of Contents

• The Friendly Nudge

• The Incentive Push

• The Re-Engagement Reminder

• Final Thoughts

• 🎓 Links for the Learners

• 💡Tip of the Week

• ⌛Recap From Last Week

Every day, consumers add items to their online shopping carts and walk away without checking out. E-commerce companies call this an “abandoned cart”. They don’t just accept this—they fight to win those sales back.

Now, think about your operation. How many consumers log in to your portal to review their balance but never make a payment? How many start the payment process but abandon it before completing the transaction? Are you even tracking this data? (It’s ok if you’re not! I’d estimate that maybe 25% of agencies are effectively tracking and using this data. Maybe.) 

The problem isn’t just the consumer avoiding payment—it’s hesitating on it.

The good news? E-commerce companies have already cracked the code on re-engaging distracted customers. They’ve tested, optimized, and refined strategies that get consumers to take action. And we can apply those same tactics to collections.

Here are three proven e-commerce email strategies that collection agencies and recovery teams can swipe today - complete with templates you can use immediately.

The Friendly Nudge

Casper’s “Did You Forget Something?” Approach

E-Commerce Tactic:
Casper, a mattress company, sends a simple, lighthearted email with the subject line “Did you forget something?” It reminds shoppers of their abandoned cart while keeping the tone playful and pressure-free. It’s leveled up further with a playful “Come back to bed” call to action.

Why It Works:

• Removes guilt or resistance—It assumes forgetfulness, not avoidance.

• Minimal friction—No over-explaining, just a quick reminder.

• Clear CTA (Call to Action)—A big, obvious button that leads right back to checkout.

How We Adapt This for Collections:
Instead of assuming a consumer is avoiding their payment, assume they meant to pay but got sidetracked.

📩 Sample Collections Email:

Subject: Did you forget something?

Body:
Hey [First Name],

We noticed you started making a payment but didn’t finish. Life gets busy—we get it!

The good news? You can pick up right where you left off. Just click below and complete your payment in seconds.

[🔵 Resume Payment]

Need help? We’re here. Just reply to this email or call us at [phone number].

Talk soon,
[Your Company Name]

The Incentive Push

Rudy’s “Don’t Let Free Shipping Go to Waste” Strategy

E-Commerce Tactic:
Rudy’s, a grooming brand, uses the subject line “Don’t let free shipping go to waste.” This creates urgency while positioning the brand as helpful rather than pushy. This friendly, quirky positioning is reinforced with the “Don’t put this off like a software update” header.

Why It Works:

• Leverages loss aversion—People hate losing benefits more than they love gaining them.

• Frames the business as a partner, not a nag—It’s about helping, not demanding.

• Encourages immediate action—No vague “someday” commitment.

How We Adapt This for Collections:
Collections teams can use the same loss aversion principle by framing time-sensitive offers as something the consumer might lose if they don’t act soon. (I don’t recommend using this unless you also use - and clearly/compliantly communicate - deadlines for your discount offers!)

📩 Sample Collections Email:

Subject: Your payment arrangement is still available—but only for a little while

Body:
Hey [First Name],

Good news! You still qualify for [discounted settlement / payment plan]. But we can only hold this offer until [date].

If you’d like to take advantage of it, now’s the time. Click below to complete your payment and lock in this option before it expires.

[🔵 Claim Your Offer]

Need to chat? We’re happy to help—just reply to this email or call us at [phone number].

Looking forward to helping you resolve this,
[Your Company Name]

The Re-Engagement Reminder

Dollar Shave Club’s “Where Did You Go?” Strategy

E-Commerce Tactic:
Dollar Shave Club uses the subject line “Where did you go?” to re-engage customers who left without completing their purchase. The email is straightforward and easy to skim, listing the benefits of the product and including a strong call to action.

Why It Works:

• Casual and non-confrontational—It doesn’t pressure the customer; it simply reopens the conversation.

• Leverages curiosity—People instinctively want to answer questions, even if just mentally.

• Reminds them what they’re missing—The email includes key benefits to reinforce why they should complete their purchase.

How We Adapt This for Collections:
When a consumer engages with a payment page, a statement, or a settlement offer but doesn’t follow through, we can use a similar approach to bring them back without feeling overly aggressive. Where possible, compliantly list the benefits of the consumer paying off the balance.

📩 Sample Collections Email:

Subject: Where did you go?

Body:
Hey [First Name],

We saw that you were reviewing your payment options but didn’t complete your payment. If you have any questions or need assistance, we’re here to help.

Taking care of this today will help you take one thing off your to-do list. Click below to finish where you left off—it only takes a minute.

[🔵 Complete Payment Now]

Need assistance? Reply to this email or call us at [phone number], and we’ll be happy to help.

Looking forward to resolving this with you,
[Your Company Name]

Final Thoughts

One more tip before we wrap up: Consider the timing of your abandoned cart emails. Studies show that the sooner you send it, the better the results. Rejoiner (an email marketing agency) analyzed millions of emails sent within an hour of the “drop” saw the best conversion rates. Interestingly, between 30-60 minutes seems to be the sweet spot:

E-commerce companies have mastered the art of winning back distracted customers. If collections teams apply the same tactics, we’ll look like cutting-edge geniuses in comparison to our peers. Heck, we’ve only talked about dropped cart emails so far. We can level it up even further by trying dropped cart texts.

This isn’t theory—these strategies are proven to work. Try them today and watch your payment rates climb.

Which approach will you test first? Hit reply and let me know!

🎓 Links for the Learners

•  📖 One analysis suggests that a neutered CFPB could lead to companies using consumer security/privacy as a marketing differentiator.

• 📖 TCPAWorld’s one-pager that concisely summarizes the new TCPA consent revocation rule that we all need to know.

• 🖥️ I recently presented at the WI Credit Union League’s Collection Conference. The discussion was so fun that I’m running it back for our internal staff and all others that are interested. Check out and register for the free Survival of the Fastest webinar here.

 💡Tip of the Week

When using large language models (like ChatGPT), the results you get will only be as good as the prompts you provide. You need to provide sufficient detail and context regarding what you expect.

The saying “garbage in, garbage out” might be the only thing I remember from my college accounting classes, but it definitely applies here!

Try this prompt to help generate ideas for incentive contests/rewards, substituting your specific information for the placeholders. Notice how specific I am with my context and expectations in the prompt.

You are a collection manager at a [COLLECTION AGENCY/BANK/CREDIT UNION]. You manage a team of [10] collectors, who work across various stages of delinquency. You are an expert at building high functioning, tightly knit teams in remote environments. The majority of the team works remotely and it is important that interconnectivity and camaraderie be consistently managed. Give me 20 ideas of games we can play and contests we can run to help meet this objective. There should be 10 examples of each. You have a limited budget of [$150/MONTH] for this program. All tools used to administer the program must allow the program to be run entirely in a remote work environment. All tools/platforms for the games should be either free or very cheap. 

⌛ Last Week Lowdown

ICYMI: Highlights from last week’s edition. Click here to view the entire post.

1. What is Rich Communication Services (RCS) and how is it different than “normal” texting?

2. Ideas and strategic use cases for leveraging RCS.

3. How to use ChatGPT as a research assistant to learn more about RCS - or any new technology for that matter.

🙌 Sharing is Caring

Are we on the same wavelength? Check out EngageARM.com for free resources, networking, and in-depth tutorials to help you build a highly-effective recovery department.

I’d like to close this with a quick ask. If you enjoyed this, please share with a colleague. Even better, take advantage of the referral program (linked below). If you disliked it, let me know why. All feedback is good feedback, after all.

Cheers,

Nate

EngageARM.com