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Cart abandonment is when a customer adds items to their online shopping cart but fails to complete the purchase. Reasons for abandonment include high shipping costs, confusing checkout processes, and security concerns. Online retailers can reduce abandonment rates by simplifying the checkout process, offering guest checkout, and providing customer support.
Cart abandonment is a phrase used by online retailers to describe the situation where a customer adds an item to an online shopping cart but is unable to complete the checkout process to purchase the item. Estimates vary, but some experts put cart abandonment rates as high as 60 to 70%. Removing purchase barriers and reducing churn is a top priority for online retailers. The reasons for cart abandonment are as diverse as the customers themselves. Common reasons given include wanting to buy later, confusion about additional costs like shipping, and not wanting to register before buying.
Price is a common factor in many cart abandonment cases. Online consumers often visit many sites before deciding to complete a purchase. A customer could use the shopping cart to provide an estimate of the total cost of the purchase, with tax and shipping costs, and with no intent to purchase. The additional cost of shipping and handling can be a barrier in itself if a consumer has decided to buy but feels that the additional costs are too high. One recommendation for reducing cart abandonment is to offer a range of shipping options and clarify any additional costs upfront.
Checkout confusion is the most common reason for cart abandonment when a customer is ready and willing to buy. Experts have recommended that online retailers simplify the process as much as possible and limit the total number of steps required to complete a purchase. Depending on the software, information that a customer has previously entered can be deleted if an error occurs in a particular field. Consumers who have made repeated mistakes may feel frustrated having to re-enter information and walk away from the process. Shopping cart software packages are available that feature inline error checking and notify the customer when a field is incorrect without erasing the other fields on the page.
Security and privacy can also be serious barriers to online shopping. Prominently placing security symbols near buttons to complete a purchase can reduce cart abandonment rates, as can clearly posting security and privacy policies. Another option is to offer a guest checkout feature, to allow consumers to make a purchase without having to sign up for an account and have the site save the information to a personal profile.
The more confident and secure a customer is when shopping online, the more likely they are to complete the payment process. Providing support via telephone contact information or having customer service representatives available to answer questions immediately via an online chat feature can significantly reduce your cart abandonment rate. Even with clear information and support, a customer may not be ready to buy that day. In this case, having the ability to save the contents of the cart will make it more likely that the customer will complete the purchase on a future visit to the site. Using email promotions to follow up on customers who have saved items can help convert a saved cart into a completed purchase and increase sales.
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