How Simply for Strings used SMS to recover more abandoned carts and drive sales.

For Simply for Strings, abandoned cart recovery was never just about pushing customers back to checkout. Buying a string instrument is often a considered purchase, especially for parents, students and musicians who want to feel confident they are choosing the right instrument, bow or care package. SMS helped the business reduce drop-off without losing that more consultative, trust-based approach. 

Founded in 2004 by Toby Cumpstay, Simply for Strings grew into a successful ecommerce and retail business in Queensland built around much more than product sales. The team includes musicians, teachers and educators, and the business supports customers after purchase through workshops, maintenance check-ins and care packages. That broader service mindset shaped how it approached SMS. When customers abandoned checkout, the goal was not simply to pressure them into buying quickly, but to make it easier for them to ask questions and feel reassured about the decision. 

To do that, Simply for Strings integrated Sinch Engage (formerly MessageMedia) with Shopify and introduced abandoned cart reminders. The setup also included a dedicated number and support from a customer success manager, so SMS could become both a conversion tool and a channel for more personal customer conversations. Rather than treating every shopper the same, the business used text messaging as a way to meet customers on the channel they preferred and continue the conversation if they still needed help. 

This mattered because Simply for Strings was selling higher-consideration products, not low-cost impulse items. Toby found that while many abandoned cart flows aim for the quickest possible sale, a better approach for this category was helping customers feel more confident about the purchase. SMS made that easier by giving people a direct, low-friction way to engage. If someone needed more detail, the team could offer a call or move the conversation to email. 

The results were strong. The abandoned cart SMS workflow delivered a 29% click-through rate, 41% completed orders and around 1000x ROI. In one campaign, the business sent roughly 500 cart reminders for less than $100, and because many instruments sold for more than $250, the return was significant. For Simply for Strings, SMS worked not just because it was immediate, but because it supported the kind of thoughtful buying journey its customers needed.

Once SMS proved itself in cart recovery, Simply for Strings expanded its use into broader marketing and customer care. During Black Friday Cyber Monday, the business sent a campaign to its database of 18,000 customers, and people started coming into the store within 30 minutes asking about the offer. Over time, the team learned that the strongest results came from more tailored messaging based on what customers had previously bought and where they sat in the customer journey. 

That more thoughtful approach paid off. A later personalised BFCM SMS campaign achieved a 13% click-through rate, 19.6% completed orders, 1102x ROI, sales that were 60% up from the previous year, and performance 37% above target. But the role of SMS did not stop at campaign sales. Simply for Strings also used Sinch Engage for post-purchase care, including check-ins after three months and reminders when it was time to service an instrument. For the business, SMS became a way to turn an initial purchase into a longer-term relationship built on trust and support.