Every year, abandoned shopping carts represent billions of dollars of lost sales. Abandonment rates have held steady for years and may even be rising, so it’s a serious issue for every business with online sales.
There are all sorts of reasons people abandon their shopping carts after placing items in them. You’ve probably abandoned a cart at least once yourself, so you know what some of those reasons are.
Sometimes people change their minds or get distracted, and there’s little a business can do about that. However, there are ways that businesses can address some of the most common reasons for cart abandonment.
Let’s look at 8 top reasons and what you can do about them:
Too Expensive
Few websites still do this, but occasionally, a site won’t display prices until the customer places an item in the cart. Then the customer sees the price, decides it’s too high, and closes the page. Displaying prices on product pages, and not adding any “extra” costs along the way, can help prevent this.
Other times, after placing several items in a cart, a customer decides the cost has piled up too much. You can discourage cart abandonment in this case by making it easy to remove select items.
High Shipping Costs
Have you ever put an item in a cart, proceeded to checkout, and found that the shipping cost is way more than you expected? That’s one of the top reasons people don’t follow through on purchases. Free shipping is attractive to customers. To help manage shipping costs, a business can offer free shipping after meeting a certain purchase amount, or a business can offer free shipping but build the costs into product prices. You can also show shipping options on product pages.
Having To Create an Account
Most customers hate having to create an account to make a purchase. They don’t want to create usernames and passwords, answer questions, etc. just to buy something. If your site does encourage account creation, offer a guest checkout option for those not interested in making an account.
Tedious Checkout Process
Likewise, customers don’t like going through multiple steps to complete a purchase. The more steps, the more likely someone is to get frustrated and leave. Make your checkout process as simple and fast as you can. If you can, have fields for shipping information and payment on the same page.
Slow Websites
Like creating accounts and dealing with annoying checkout processes, slow websites frustrate people and give them a reason to leave. Sometimes the problem is the customer’s connection, but on your end, you can work with someone like a digital marketing expert who can help you optimize your site’s speed. If pages aren’t loading in a second or two, the site is too slow.
Limited Payment Options
Not everyone pays by credit card or wants to. If a customer doesn’t see a preferred payment option, they likely won’t add a new one or use one they don’t like. Instead, they’ll look for the product somewhere else. It’s therefore a good idea to provide as many different payment options as possible.
Window Shopping
The online version of window shopping is looking at items and placing them in a cart to keep a list of products one is interested in. If the person has an account on the site and is logged in, the cart may “keep” indefinitely.
Adding a “Save for Later” or a wish list option can help address this, and it gives the customer a reason to return.
Security Concerns
Online fraud and identity theft are huge concerns and only getting bigger. Savvy customers are looking for security badges and guarantees of secure payment. Not having these isn’t just going to stop a purchase; it also creates a bad impression of the business.
Do you need some help addressing cart abandonment or with other aspects of your branding, marketing, and ecommerce? Egrowthify Nexus can provide expert analysis and advice. Contact us for a consultation today!