Drop the shopping and run! 10 ways to reduce shopping cart abandonment

E-commerce Strategy

It happens every day. People visit online stores, then abandon their carts before completing their purchase. The average rate of cart abandonment is around 75%. That means most ecommerce sites are losing around three quarters of their potential customers before they buy anything. So why do so many people shop and run? And what can you do to combat it?

 

  1. Unexpected costs.

 

One of the main reasons visitors leave without buying is unexpected costs. 25% of customers specifically cite shipping costs as the primary reason driving them away.

 

Solution: The most obvious answer is to remove shipping costs. If that’s not feasible, make them transparent while the customer is browsing. You could also bundle the extra cost into the product cost itself, or let customers know they can bypass shipping fees if they meet a certain threshold. This can also increase Average Order Value.

 

  1. Trust/payment security.

 

When asked to hand over their personal and financial information, many customers are rightly concerned about website security. Major causes for suspicion include design flaws, outdated layouts, missing trust logos and no SSL certificate.

 

Solution: Show customers that their information is secure. Have a valid SSL certificate. Show trust symbols on your site such as well-known security logos (Verisign, PayPal Verified)

You could also use customer testimonials, product reviews, endorsements, and provide your full contact information.

 

  1. Researching to buy later.

 

Around 37% of abandoned carts are left by people who are just browsing.

Today, online shoppers use the internet for more than buying; they research products, brands, and deals.

Often, customers will add items to a cart in order to easily reference items with the intention of coming back. Many will return several times before making a purchase, perhaps on a different device or channel.

 

Solution: Remarket to customers who abandon their shopping carts. If you don’t, you’re restricting yourself to just one shot at getting visitors to convert in a single session.

 

  1. Having to create a new user account.

 

Customers expect convenience, want to do things quickly and have instant results. What they don’t want is to spend time and effort creating a new user account. 28% of all shoppers say this is why they’ve abandoned carts.

 

Solution: Don’t force first time buyers to create an account before they can complete their order. Offer guest checkout, or better still, take them straight to guest checkout if they’re not logged in. Then you can display a text widget asking if they have an account. If not, simply begin the checkout process.

 

  1. Long and confusing checkout.

 

As in point 4, long and confusing checkout processes are annoying to customers. Unnecessary forms only contribute to a poor experience, resulting in 28% of shoppers abandoning their carts. You should aim to limit the time and effort needed from them.

 

Solution: Minimize form elements and only ask for necessary information. Streamline your site’s navigation and reducing the number of screens from initiation to completion. If your payment provider allows it, why not offer Apple or Google Pay for one click purchases.

 

  1. Couldn’t find a coupon code.

 

Customers are hot on deals. If they can’t find a coupon or promotional code, they’ll look for one elsewhere. 8% of customers say not being able to find a coupon code is the primary reason for abandoning their cart.

 

Solution: Set a coupon to automatically apply to the cart for your customers. Most carts have the ability to do this, and can be applied via emails or pop-ups.

 

  1. No express shipping available.

 

Nobody wants to have to wait for delivery. If you can’t deliver the goods in time, customers will abandon their carts.

 

Solution: Offer express shipping at checkout or bundle the extra cost into the product cost itself. Customers are more willing to spend more for expedited shipping. Or let customers know they can bypass shipping fees if they meet a certain threshold. This can also increase AOV.

 

  1. Website had errors/crashes.

 

Website errors, crashes, and poor load times are no encouragement to complete a purchase.

 

Solution: Make regular checks on your site, right through from home page to checkout, ensuring that your site is still up to date and free of issues. Do these checks across a variety of screen sizes, especially mobile. You can also check your site speed through a free service like Google Pagespeed Insights.

 

  1. Returns policy wasn’t satisfactory.

 

It turns people off if you put time limits on your returns, or charge for them, maybe in the form of shipping. Up to 66% of shoppers say they’d spend more if there was a good returns policy.

 

Solution: Track the number of returns and associated costs, then try offering free 30 day shipping. Run the test for a month or two and see what effect that has, compare this to the added costs and see if free 30 day return is a profitable strategy.

 

10: Lack of customer support.

 

Customers appreciate great service. A study found that 83% of online shoppers want help while on-site. Over half (51%) said they were more likely to make a purchase if they had customer support such as live chat during the session.

 

Solution: Try investing in live chat technology for a month or two and see if it improves customer shopping experience enough to have a measurable effect on sales.

 

Other things you can do:

 

The personal approach.

When you get an abandoned cart, reach out and personally ask them if there’s anything you can do to help. You might discover they had a coupon code that didn’t work, a problem with getting a card authorized or some other question.

 

Use cart abandonment emails.

If it happens at the end of the checkout and you have their email address, email to notify them that they left items in their cart. Follow this up with 1 or 2 additional emails spread out over the next 24 hours.

 

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