eCommerce businesses have a number of major issues. One of them is shopping cart abandonment. While it sounds trivial, consider this: customers that didn't finish the checkout process can cost eCommerce companies billions.
Shopping Cart Abandonment: Why Does This Happen?
Before addressing the issue at hand, of course, it's key to look into the causes. Customers add items to a shopping cart only to end up abandoning them down the line. Nearly 68% of shopping carts end up abandoned on average. Typical reasons include the following:
- Account creation being forced
- Checkout processes being too complicated or confusing
- Delivery time too long
- Poor user experience (UX) on the website
- Refund or return policy seeming dubious
- Restrictions on product quantity
- Shipping costs being too much
Read on to learn more about ways to address shopping cart abandonment and lessen it:
- Make Sure Your eCommerce Website Has All Costs Stated Upfront
Unpleasant surprises can throw customers off entirely. Avoid that by making sure all costs are stated clearly, shipping costs included. If you have worldwide delivery, or even if it's just select countries, make sure possible import costs, taxes, and fees are found. The last thing anyone wants is a supposed bargain becoming pretty pricey because of costs that were out of sight until the last minute. Nothing will make someone change their mind and just click away instead of checking out faster.
- Make Sure Your eCommerce Website Has Exit-Intent Pop-Ups
Reduce shopping cart abandonment by giving your eCommerce website a pop-up with technology that has exit-intent. When a customer is just about to click away or close the checkout page without actually making the transaction pull through, a campaign should appear through the exit-intent pop-up. A shopper's attention can be caught as soon as they're looking to just leave their carts by something like that.
- Make Sure Your eCommerce Website Has Free Shipping on Offer
No matter what product is being sold, one of the best incentives in terms of eCommerce is free shipping. Many people end up abandoning their cart from unexpected charges, including taxes and shipping. Have you ever added a product to your cart for $15 only to find the total at $30-$40 because the purchase price spiked due to shipping? Not a fun thing to happen and not very encouraging, right? That's what you don’t want your customers to deal with. Chances are, they will leave and search for a better deal somewhere else.
Having free shipping over a certain price limit, for example, can solve this problem. People who are just below that free shipping rate with the item/s they originally wanted to buy may likely end up buying one more thing just to get the free shipping. It's a great tool, especially if you have it as a floating banner or bar all over the website.
Conclusion
Shopping cart abandonment happens quite often—well over 50% of the time. Common causes include poor user experience, a shock at 'hidden charges' (taxes, shipping, etc.), and complicated checkout processes. Address abandoned shopping carts by ensuring your eCommerce website has free shipping, has exit-intent popups, and all costs are stated upfront.
Need a sales and marketing strategy to prevent cart abandonment? The Strategy Channel is the answer to that! We’re a full-service digital marketing agency based in Las Vegas that can’t wait to help you with marketing automation, paid advertising, and more.
