---
id: "action-nudge-cart-abandonment"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ Market to new customers"]
tags: ["ecommerce", "conversion"]
related: ["framework-five-discounting-strategies"]
speakers: ["Rafi Mohammed"]
action: "Send targeted discount codes to users who abandon their online shopping carts."
outcome: "Converts ambivalent shoppers into paying customers."
sources: ["commercial"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-commercial"
originDay: 5
articleStem: "hbr-ext-22-art-of-discounting"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/05/the-art-of-discounting"
sourceTitle: "The Art of Discounting"
---
# Use discounts to nudge cart abandonment

**Action:** When an online shopper adds an item to the cart but abandons it, send a targeted discount code to that specific user.

**Why:** Cart abandonment signals *high intent* paired with a *secondary hesitation* (often price). A precisely targeted discount pushes the shopper over the purchasing threshold without broadcasting a price cut to everyone.

**Outcome:** Converts ambivalent shoppers into paying customers. Sits under strategy 3 (market to new customers) of [[framework-five-discounting-strategies]].