Any company that handles online customer transactions must deal with the ever-present problem of cart abandonement, which has ramifications for sales, operations, and customer relationship management.
More than 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned before any purchases are made, which could result in businesses losing money and missing out on opportunities. While several factors can contribute to a customer’s decision to abandon their cart, the reason often rests within a business’s control.
By understanding the root causes of cart abandonment and adopting proactive measures, businesses can improve their online sales processes. The reasons behind this, the insights it can provide about business operations, and practical strategies to reduce its occurrence are all covered in depth in this article.
STATISTICS
The following are the most common reasons of cart abandonement from customers, according to the Baymard Institute:
- Costly shipping cost (55%)
- Account required (34%)
- Long or complicated checkout process (26%)
- Couldn’t trust the site with credit card information (17%)
- Errors or crashes on the website (17%) Not enough payment options (6%).
- Naturally, additional factors such as a lack of product in stock, waning brand loyalty, and checkout errors may also play a role.
Other major reasons for cart abandonement include:
- Having a slow website. When your website is slow, it can increase abandonment by 75% and decrease loyalty by 50%.
- Customers just browsing. 81% of customers are just browsing ecommerce sites because they are conducting online research as to the best available deals.
WHY DO PEOPLE ABANDON THEIR CART ONLINE?
HIGH EXTRA COSTS
Cost is clearly important to modern-day online shoppers, so it’ll come as no surprise to learn that any extra costs tacked on at checkout are a leading cause of cart abandonment.
Unexpected shipping costs, taxes, and duties are examples of additional costs that are not always made clear to customers. Those fees added on top of each product price are the reason 47% of shoppers cart abandonement and site’s exit.
ACCOUNT REQUIRED
Customers who are shopping online for the first time expect a quick and easy checkout process. When they are prompted to create an account, that does not occur. Time-consuming fields, like your birthday and phone number, aren’t essential to buying an item online. Having to provide all of that information for a single purchase can be frustrating for some customers, which is why one quarter of checkout abandonment is caused by the website asking them to create an account. Even if a person has previously created an account, remembering their login is difficult. Just 13% of people use the same password for every online account.
Offering a guest checkout option or an accelerated checkout option that remembers a customer can be enough to solve this problem.
SLOW DELIVERY
Delivery is a pain point for modern customers. 45 percent of shoppers go online to get free delivery, but almost a quarter of cart abandonement is because there is a long time between placing an order and receiving the product. The easiest fix is to distribute inventory across warehouses in cities where you get the most orders. The less distance there is between a product and your customer, the quicker it’ll be in their hands.
UNCLEAR PRICING
High shipping costs are a leading cause of cart abandonment. Similar to this, many website visitors (17%) abandon their carts because they are unable to anticipate the total cost of their order. Customers can be subject to extra fees when buying online, especially when they’re purchasing from another country. Import taxes and currency conversions all play a role in determining whether it’s worth buying from an online retailer.
HOW TO REDUCE CART ABANDONEMENT
Understanding the reasons behind cart abandonment offers businesses the opportunity to improve their online shopping experience and address the barriers that customers face during their purchase journey directly. Increasing sales and conversion rates can be achieved by systematically addressing each potential flaw. Here are some tactics that can make a difference:
TRANSPARENT PRICING
Transparent pricing is important for establishing trust with potential customers. One common customer grievance is encountering unexpected costs at the final stages of checkout. To address this, businesses should make an effort to display all associated costs early on in the shopping process. This not only includes the product price, but also additional costs such as delivery, taxes and any other fees. Additionally, integrating tools such as a delivery calculator directly into product pages or the shopping basket can provide clarity and prevent potential surprises later on in the purchase process.
SIMPLIFIED CHECKOUT
An overly complicated or lengthy checkout process can deter even the most determined shoppers. By simplifying the checkout process and reducing the number of required steps, businesses can create a smoother, more user-friendly experience. Offering auto-fill options, for example, can further reduce friction, reducing the number of steps required for customers to complete a purchase. Moreover, consistent A/B testing of various checkout flows allows businesses to understand and implement the processes that yield the highest conversion rates.
FLEXIBLE PAYMENT OPTIONS
Flexible payment options have become increasingly important. To cater to shoppers’ diverse preferences, businesses should strive to accept a variety of payment methods, from standard options such as credit and debit cards to increasingly popular alternatives such as digital wallets. Offering payment plans or financing options for premium goods and services can make purchases more attainable and less intimidating for customers, resulting in fewer cart abandonement rates.
TRUST-BUILDING MEASURES
It’s important to establish and maintain trust throughout the customer journey. Trust-building measures, such as prominently displaying security badges and certifications, can assure customers that their personal and financial data is safe. Businesses should incorporate product customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials to strengthen the legitimacy and quality of their offerings and increase trust.
CLEAR RETURN, REFUND AND CANCELLATION POLICIES
Clear return, refund and cancellation policies serve two purposes: they instill confidence in potential buyers and clarify the steps that customers should take if they’re not satisfied with their purchase or service. By displaying these policies in a prominent place, especially during the checkout process, businesses can relieve concerns related to post-purchase regret. Tactics such as offering prepaid return labels or promoting free returns can further improve purchase completion.
For subscription-based businesses, marketplaces and platforms, this means creating easy ways for customers to change what type of subscription they have, or pause or cancel their subscription. While it might seem counterintuitive to reduce cart abandonment by making it easier for existing customers to leave, trying to stop customers from ending their relationship with your brand leads to negative word-of-mouth and damage to the brand overall – and doesn’t necessarily stop them from leaving.
RETARGETING STRATEGIES
A way to retargeting potential customers who have abandoned their shopping cart is through retargeting strategies. Email campaigns that are directed specifically at customers who have left items in their carts can be effective reminders. Additionally, dynamic ads on social media platforms, showcasing the exact products or services that the customer has added to their basket, can reignite interest and drive conversions.
MINIMISE DISTRACTIONS
A focused, streamlined checkout process with minimal distractions can reduce cart abandonment by limiting potential exit points. Promo codes can be tempting, but businesses should keep them private. A prominent code entry can lead to customers leaving the site in search of discounts, introducing the risk that they will not return to finalise their purchase.
RECOUPE LOST ECOMMERCE SALES
These shopping cart abandonment statistics prove you’re leaving money on the table. People are already visiting your website. More than half of people who are sufficiently impressed by a product to add it to their cart eventually abandon the purchase. Uncertain pricing, high shipping costs, and complicated checkout procedures are major reasons why shoppers leave a store. The good news? It’s preventable. Use these techniques for fewer cart abandonement on your online store.