eCommerce Blog

Okay, so maybe you’ve never actually piled a cart full of groceries and then had a change of heart, leaving it somewhere between the produce aisle and the deli. But, more than likely, you’ve taken an item from its place on the shelf, examined it and handled it and maybe even placed it inside the cart, only to think better of it and return the item to its original home. We’ve all done it, more than once, and not just in the grocery store.

In the land of eCommerce, it’s called the “abandoned shopping cart,” and it’s responsible for the demise of countless would-be purchases every day. In fact, according to a report issued by the Boston Consulting Group, approximately 65% of online shoppers jump ship at some point between adding items to their virtual cart and clicking the “Buy Now” button that is the holy grail for eCommerce businesses. MarketingSherpa conducted another study of sample websites that determined an average abandonment rate of 59.8%.

The abandoned shopping cart signifies lots of things, none of them pretty or profitable. Lost sales. Missed opportunities. A failure to connect or resonate with a potential consumer. And, perhaps most frustrating of all, you’re left with no recourse but accepting the desertion. Unlike a physical store, you can’t follow the guy to the door, asking what changed his mind and waving coupons in his face. You don’t even have the luxury of reading body language or facial expressions. But blindness doesn’t have to translate to idleness. Based on feedback from absconding shoppers, there are some things you can do to help lower the rates of abandoned carts.

Why it’s Happening… and What You Can Do

The labyrinth of the checkout. Many sites make the mistake of subjecting their shoppers to lengthy checkout processes with multiple steps and screens, way too many input fields, and confusing intermediary steps. As any good salesperson knows, the most important tactic in closing a deal is to make it the process as easy as possible for the customer. Try to capture all necessary information on one or two screens, and minimize the amount of clicking and data entry required of the customer. The more pages and fields during checkout, the more opportunities the customer will have to re-think their purchase and go off on their merry way.

Concern about security. In today’s age of identity theft and credit-card fraud, customers are more wary than ever of their personal and financial information being compromised. Be sure to pepper your shopping cart and checkout screens with links to your privacy and security policies, as well as any icons that represent your affiliations with reputable business verification companies, such as the Better Business Bureau. Be sure to use a secure https protocol with an SSL security padlock, as more and more customers are checking for this before entering their credit card information.

Sticker shock. Another common reason shoppers leave their carts in the dust is a grand total that’s higher than they expected. Once their balance is inflated by shipping fees and, in some cases, sales tax, the sum can easily scare off customers who were already on the fence about the purchase. To prevent sending shoppers into panic mode, provide shipping quotes earlier in the process, perhaps on the product pages. You might also consider placing banners on the cart that emphasize money-back guarantees, easy return processes, and other factors that may help mitigate higher price tags.

No-man’s land. Many customers bail at the cart because they feel like they’re suddenly alone, navigating into a strange and unfamiliar territory without the benefit of a guide. Set these nervous shoppers at ease by providing quick links to Customer Service phone numbers, Live Chat links, and FAQs.

Backordered products. Getting all the way to the shopping cart only to be informed that the item they were about to buy won’t be available for another two months can compel a would-be customer to shut their wallet pretty darn quick. To prevent abandonment due to (lack of) product availability, be upfront with the customer early on in the shopping process. If the blue shirt won’t be arriving from the manufacturer until March, tell them on the product page, so they can order the in-stock red or yellow one instead.

Ugly shopping carts. This may not seem like a critical factor, but looks do matter. If a customer navigates his way through a beautifully designed Home page, category page, and product page only to stumble upon a poorly designed shopping cart, they instantly lose some confidence in the online vendor. Rather than going with a free or very cheap cart that doesn’t allow much in the way of customizations or branding, invest in one that blends seamlessly with the rest of your site and provides the customers with options, not limitations.

Let’s face it—even if you address all of these potential causes of abandonment, there will inevitably be some percentage of shoppers that jump ship before closing the deal. But you don’t have to just let these runaways slip into oblivion. Some sites have implemented pop-ups that warn a user they’re about to leave their cart, incorporating some sort of discount or incentive to complete the sale. These pop-ups can even include a couple of quick questions about why they’re departing, to help you pinpoint common threads. Follow-up emails to cart abandoners are another popular tactic—the “hey, we’ve got your stuff” approach can help to revive the customers’ initial interest in the products, especially when paired with product images and a discount offer.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 7:51 am and is filed under Conversion Optimization. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.