14 reasons for cart abandonment

Top reasons for cart abandonment

• Unexpected additional costs

Taxes, delivery, service fees, etc

Most shoppers will only look at the price of the items they’re interested in when shopping online, as there are plenty of other things to attract their attention in the meantime. As a result, the overall basket price can be off-putting.

It’s your job to make the purchasing process less painful on shoppers’ bank accounts, so having additional costs added at the very end will be enough to stop some people from parting with their cash.

Keeping things such as taxes, delivery and service fees upfront for customers to see well before they come to check out will avoid this nasty surprise and lessen the chances of an abandonment shopping cart.

• Mandatory account creation

Adding any obstacles for shoppers to get through will immediately create an opportunity for people to rethink their purchases and potentially abandon their shopping cart. One of the reasons for cart abandonment is having users create an account as a mandatory part of checking out.

Whilst shoppers might not mind sharing more information than they planned, it does add precious minutes to the checkout process, breaking the cycle and turning people away. Instead, allow customers a guest checkout option or the ability to check out first and offer email updates and special offers through email marketing services.

• Complicated checkout interface

A common issue is overly complex checkout interfaces. Once again, breaking the purchasing cycle and taking more time from them.

As a rule, eCommerce businesses should aim to have the most simplistic checkout interface possible, with minimal distractions and elements for customers to fill in. This not only provides a better customer experience but puts the focus on getting the products purchased. You can simplify your checkout interface by cutting out unnecessary pages and forms.

Consider including a progress bar too so customers can see how close to the end they are.

• Lack of payment options

It might be added to what a customer sees on a checkout page, but adding a wider variety of payment options can actually reduce checkout abandonment.

More payment methods mean more ways for a shopper to part with their cash, and online shops that offer more ways to pay will accommodate more people’s preferred payment methods.

Whether it’s Apple pay, Google pay, PayPal or buy-now-pay-later options, customers will always appreciate being given the choice.

• Lack of discounts

Everyone loves a great deal, and often people shop with the intention of using a discount code at checkout. In fact, discount codes have almost come to be expected by shoppers, with browser extensions dedicated to searching the web for people at checkout.

So, to keep your customers happy and returning back to your eCommerce site, have discounts available. Make it easy to find them and don’t make them an obstacle at checkout – quick and easy deals are your best friend!

• Long delivery times

It’s no secret that shoppers want to hit the checkout button and see their purchase at their front door as soon as possible.

Long delivery times are a common reason for cart abandonment, as the customer experience is centred around convenience and efficiency. Improve your delivery experience and timelines and see fewer abandoned shopping carts.

• Limited shipping options

Online shopping is all about convenience, with delivery to the front door being one of the main selling points. As a result, shoppers expect to have their shipping options suit their needs whilst being speedy and efficient.

By giving your customers a variety of shipping options such as courier, time frame and packaging, you’ll keep them happy, and keep their business.

• Poor website functionality

User experience is at the centre of all websites. It’s so important that even Google will take into account how a website functions before recommending it to searchers.

eCommerce businesses are no different, and having poor website functionality will impact a user’s experience and in turn their chances of hitting checkout. Improving website functionality to make it speedier, easier to use and more aesthetically pleasing will encourage shoppers to complete the checkout process.

• Security concerns

No one wants to give their financial information to a worrying recipient. Security concerns are a real issue amongst people shopping online, as any skilled hacker can access their financial information and cause havoc.

Clear design flaws, incorrect text, outdated layouts, missing images, and no SSL certificate will put off shoppers and stop them from checking out. Ensure you put customer security at the heart of what you do and reduce your cart abandonment.

• Poor return policy

Online shopping can be convenient, but it also opens up the chance for disappointment and purchases that aren’t exactly what we anticipated.

As a result, having a returns policy that is easy to use and that is cheap or free is vital. If you create too many obstacles or high price tags on returning unwanted items, customers may decide it’s not worth the risk and not check out.

• Price comparisons

Shopping online brings customers the opportunity to check prices before they checkout so they know that they’re getting the best deal.

Rising costs and easily accessible comparison sites will often lead shoppers astray if you’re not offering the very best prices. Whilst this might not be feasible for all eCommerce businesses if you have a specifically high price item that isn’t being bought, or you could drop them down slightly, it’s something to consider.

• Lack of company detail

Transparency, trustworthiness and a company ethos that is easy to see throughout an eCommerce website will build company detail that is important to a shopper.

Consistency is one way to communicate this, using the same font, tone, colours and imagery are all ways to do this. But, we also recommend including well-known symbols and badges that indicate quality service, such as review websites.

This might not seem like a huge part of the process, but customers will subconsciously consider this when checking out, reducing your cart abandonment rate and improving profits.

• Unable to calculate total cost

As we’ve learnt, the overall amount of money the shopper will be paying an eCommerce website will impact whether or not they press checkout. Having the overall cost of a basket present for them to see during shopping will help them to price up as they go.

This will stop them from creating a huge list of items and a huge price tag to match, a very off-putting site for a customer at the checkout point. This is why it is key to give customers full pricing details before items are added to a shopping cart, giving them control over how much they spend and reducing cart abandonment.

• Mobile-friendliness

Now, more than ever, people are shopping on their phones, and eCommerce businesses must have compatibility with mobiles.

Whether it’s an app or a mobile-adapted website, ensuring that these are top priority and as functional as possible is vital to avoiding abandoned carts with shoppers at checkout. Keep things consistent and standardised, ensure the checkout process is simple and has all the necessary features and you’ll have a much higher rate of conversions.