In the world of ecommerce, cart abandonment is a significant issue that needs to be tackled. The success of these businesses can be significantly affected when potential customers leave their shopping carts without completing a purchase. This blog post will provide insights into the top reasons why shoppers abandon their carts and will offer effective solutions to fix them.

Understanding cart abandonment

Cart abandonment is defined as the act of leaving an online shopping cart without completing the transaction. A negative impact on conversion rates and sales can be experienced when this occurs. Across various industries, it has been found that cart abandonment rates average is over 70% and even higher with mobile shopping.

Top reasons for cart abandonment

Let’s go over some of the top reasons why your shoppers are abandoning their carts and what you can do to fix it.

Unexpected shipping costs

Unexpectedly high shipping costs can lead to cart abandonment. Amazon has conditioned a generation of online shoppers to expect free, fast shipping.

So, when your shoppers are excited to complete their purchase and then are hit with the sticker shock of high shipping or taxes, they’re going to not complete that transaction.

What you can do about this

You should be transparent around shipping fees as early as you can in the checkout process. Even better, aim to somehow offer free shipping. You can do this by incorporating the shipping price into the cost of the item or only offering free shipping if there’s a certain cart threshold — the latter has the additional benefit of raising your average order value.

You can also offer multiple shipping options, giving customers the ability to choose a method that best suits their needs.

Complicated checkout process

When the checkout process is complicated, cart abandonment can be increased. Making the checkout process too long or confusing can cause frustration. Even shoppers who really, really wanted to buy will give up if the checkout process is a pain.

What you can do about this

Making your checkout process easier will reduce the amount of shoppers who abandon their carts. Some ways to make your checkout easier are:

• Reducing the number of steps in the checkout process to minimize confusion and frustration.
• Implementing a progress bar that will help customers understand how far they are in the process.
• Offer guest checkout options, allowing customers to make a purchase without creating an account.

Mandatory account creation

Requiring account creation before making a purchase can deter potential customers. Cart abandonment can occur when shoppers are unwilling to create an account.

What you can do about this

We understand why you’d want to create as many store accounts as possible: it gives you deeper insights into your customers and provides you more ways to reach them. But think about it from the customer’s perspective: why should they have to sign up for an account before they can give you money?

Capitalize on the post-purchase happiness period and move the store account creation step to after they’ve completed the purchase. You won’t get as many store accounts as you would forcing it for all purchases, but you’ll reduce your abandoned carts and likely, have happier store account customers who actively opted-in to creating their account.

Security concerns

The safety of personal and financial information is a significant concern for online shoppers. When a website is perceived as insecure, cart abandonment may result.

What you can do about this

It’s not 1998, so customers are more-than-willing to put their credit card numbers online. But, a sketchy-looking website will still give people pause. Here are some things you can do to bolster your perceptions around security:

• SSL certificates should be used to protect customers' data during the checkout process.
• Security badges and certifications should be displayed on the website to reassure customers that their information is safe.
• Secure payment gateways should be offered, ensuring the safety of financial transactions.

Limited payment options

Sometimes, you’re shopping online and you just don’t have your wallet near you. Do you really want to walk all the way to the other room to get it and complete the purchase? Your customers may abandon their carts if you only offer limited payment options.

What you can do about this

There are a variety of Alternative Payment Methods available which make purchasing easier and faster. This can include PayPal, Apple Pay, Shop Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay and even Buy Now Pay Later options like Affirm and Klarna. These all offer different pricing options, so explore what best fits your customer profile.

Price comparison and indecision

When customers are comparing prices, they might abandon their carts to continue searching for better deals. Indecision can also lead to cart abandonment.

What you can do about this

There’s always going to be a certain amount of window shoppers: shoppers who are just using your site to comparison shop or to wishlist shop instead of having strong intent to buy. Be okay knowing that you’ll never get your abandoned cart rate to zero … but you can bring it down a lot.

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