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Originally published on September 29, 2022, updated April 15, 2024
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Andrew Maff, Founder and CEO of BlueTuskr, shares strategies for combating cart abandonment in this guest article.
In this digital age, shopping online has become a favorite pastime for billions of people. The built-in convenience of buying things from your phone or computer is obvious.
But what isn't as obvious is how many people fill their virtual shopping carts only to abandon them later on.
Why do people do it?
Topping the list of reasons why consumers abandon their shopping carts is that they get distracted while browsing and fail to remember what they intended to buy.
Other times, it's because the checkout process is too long and there are too many irrelevant fields to fill out. Roadblocks like these can easily make them give up on the purchase. This phenomenon, known as digital shopping cart abandonment, plagues eCommerce businesses of all sizes.
Whether your product pages see a few thousand visitors per month or millions, you need to find ways to reduce cart abandonment if you want to see more sales. This article will help you understand the various causes of digital shopping cart abandonment and how to prevent it from happening in the future.
Shopping cart abandonment occurs when a shopper starts the checkout process on an eCommerce website but doesn't complete it. The customer may have been interrupted, lost interest, or later found the purchase to be too expensive.
Besides the fact that it could be costing your online business millions in lost revenue, there are other serious consequences of leaving so many potential customers behind.
Many eCommerce websites use tracking cookies to follow visitors' browsing habits and show them appropriate ads on other websites (for instance, that's how Google AdWords works). If a site visitor logs into their Google account and then clicks on one of those ads, the advertiser will pay the eCommerce site that hosted the ad a small fee for sending that person to their site.
That's largely how eCommerce sites make money from their online stores.
However, the host site gets nothing if the visitor doesn't log into your site before clicking on the ad. So, those lost customers could also cost you revenue from other advertising channels.
It can be hard to tell exactly how many shoppers abandon their carts. eCommerce data is a closely guarded secret. However, some industry statistics are available, and they're pretty shocking.
For example, it's been said that an average of 79% of visitors who enter a checkout page on an eCommerce site don't go on to complete the purchase. That means that out of every 100 people who see your products, only 21% actually buy something.
If you run an online store, you must find ways to reduce that percentage. Otherwise, all that hard work in creating a website and attracting visitors is wasted if they don't turn into paying customers.
Here are a few tips for preventing shopping cart abandonment for your eCommerce store.
Your website should be easy to navigate and user-friendly. If shoppers have difficulty finding what they're looking for or if the checkout process is overly complicated, they're more likely to abandon their carts.
Multiple payment options in an eCommerce store should include credit and debit cards, PayPal, bank transfer, and even cash on delivery. The more options you offer, the more likely it is shoppers will find a payment method that suits them. This convenience increases their chances of completing a purchase.
High shipping costs can be a big deterrent for online shoppers. Offering free shipping, or at least providing an estimate of shipping costs upfront, can help to combat cart abandonment.
This is one of the easiest ways to reduce your shopping cart abandonment rate. Many shoppers are looking for a good deal and will abandon their carts if they feel the price is too high.
If you offer a discount or coupon, shoppers will be more likely to complete their purchase. This is because they'll feel like they're getting a good deal and don't want to miss out on their savings.
Exit intent pop-ups can be great for capturing the attention of shoppers who are about to abandon their carts. These pop-ups typically offer a discount or coupon code and can effectively get shoppers to stay and complete their purchases.
Many eCommerce sites make shoppers create a user account in order to browse and/or purchase. This is largely done for fraud protection, but it also helps shoppers track the items they've been looking at and have already added to their carts.
If you have a potential buyer's name and email, you can send them reminder emails with product recommendations when products are left in a cart for too long.
By sending these types of emails, you can also increase customer satisfaction by answering any questions they might have. You can also offer a special deal or even complete the checkout process if it's taking too long and they're getting frustrated.
If you have privacy concerns, you can still let people log into your website with their Google accounts. Google login is a secure way to log in because Google will verify the identity of the person. This means people can't use someone else's Google account to log into your website.
This is also convenient because people don't have to remember another username and password. Instead, they can use their existing Google account.
Some customers abandon their carts because they don't want to create a user account or even bother with a Google login. If you offer a guest checkout, however, people can still buy items without creating any type of account. This can help reduce cart abandonment and also increase conversion rates.
Some people still intend to buy even though they've ended their browsing session. It might be because they're not ready to buy at the moment but didn't want to lose track of the item.
Or, they could still be out there looking for a better price. The point is, you don't know why they abandoned the purchase at that moment, but you can continue to remind them of your brand and hopefully spur them into action. Targeted ads on Google are a great way to do that as you can show ads to people who have already visited your website.
You can display ads recommending products they put in their shopping carts but didn't buy. If you can also promise them a special price or give them a limited-time offer, you're much more likely to get them to purchase.
If you have a lengthy checkout process, many shoppers will give up and leave. You might not realize how much time it takes, but your customers certainly do.
They know how long it takes to fill out all your fields, enter their payment information, select a shipping address, click the "I agree" button, and more. You may think you need all those fields to verify the customer's identity and process the purchase, but you really don't.
You can reduce the number of fields shoppers have to fill in by verifying their identity in other ways. Leave the necessary fields, and don't make the checkout take longer than it has to.
Many shoppers who add products to their shopping carts but don't finish the purchase are still looking for reassurance that the products are what they seem. They're wondering if the quality is as good as advertised and if it's worth the money.
If you have testimonials from happy customers who have used the products, showing them on your site can increase a shopper's confidence and convince them to purchase. Don't be afraid to display testimonials all over your site, including the shopping cart page.
While many of these solutions can help solve cart abandonment on eCommerce sites, they won't all be applicable to Amazon, which has its own way of doing things.
Here are some tips for preventing cart abandonment on Amazon:
By taking these steps, Amazon sellers can help reduce the chances of their customers abandoning their shopping carts.
The ever-increasing online shopping cart abandonment rate is something that all eCommerce businesses have to deal with. Thankfully, there are several things you can do to reduce shopping cart abandonment.
Try these tips to see how they work for you. You might be surprised at how effective they can be!
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