Did you know that the shopping cart abandonment rate is around 69%? That's for all industries.
You see, a massive number of shoppers don't finish their transactions. This is one of the most common struggles that eCommerce business owners face.
And if it's happening to your eCommerce store, you need to resolve it. Because reducing your shopping cart abandonment rate is just as important as your marketing tactics. Yes, your goal is to drive them to your website, but you must ensure they finish their transactions.
So, if you're wondering how, that's what we'll talk about today...
- What is shopping cart abandonment, and how does it affect your business?
- What are the 3 common causes of cart abandonment?
- How can you decrease cart abandonment in 7 simple ways?
Are you ready to reduce your cart abandonment rate? Let's deep dive!
What are shopping cart abandonment and its effects?
Shopping cart abandonment means your potential customers shopped on your eCommerce store but didn't push through with the transaction.
So, they added your items to the cart but didn't complete the checkout process. Now, how does this affect your eCommerce store?
- Loss of potential sales. Your shoppers added items to their cart... but they didn't finish the transaction. That means you're losing potential sales.
- Customer acquisition costs. You already spent your time and money on marketing so customers will shop on your online store, but they didn't even finish the transaction. Now, you have to find new customers that you can convert.
And this problem happens to every business, even big ones. People will always have reasons why they won't proceed with the transaction.
That's why we need to talk about...
What are the common causes of cart abandonment?
Shoppers are abandoning carts because of...
1. Expensive additional costs
When they're shopping and adding items to their carts, they have an idea of how much they're going to pay during checkout.
So, if they see that they're paying extras for shipping, delivery, and other costs... they might just abandon their carts and go elsewhere.
2. Poor user experience
Maybe while they're shopping, they're having a hard time navigating the website. That can also lead to cart abandonment, especially for impatient customers.
It can be the speed of the website, or other issues that affect the overall performance of your website.
3. Personal reasons
Sometimes, it's not your website or the costs. The customers might have other reasons for not checking out their carts.
It could be a change of mind, a limited budget, or a change in their current needs. But even if there are reasons you can't control, there are a lot of things you can do to be proactive.
I'm sure you're thinking...
How can you decrease your shopping cart abandonment rate?
Here are some things you can do to decrease your cart abandonment rate. First, you must...
1. Uncomplicate the checkout process
When we're physically shopping, we sometimes get impatient when the line at checkout is too long. Some customers even leave their carts if they get annoyed.
The same thing goes for online shopping. In fact, 18% of shoppers abandon their shopping carts if the checkout process is complicated.
To reduce cart abandonment, make your checkout process fast and convenient. The quicker it is, the better.
So, what can you do to uncomplicate your checkout process?
One thing you can do is to have a single checkout page. This is what it usually looks like:
(Source)
Single-page checkout means customers don't have to leave the current page to complete the checkout process. Everything is on one page.
This is a convenient checkout flow because the customers can have an overview of the details they need to fill out during the transaction.
Another way is to offer guest checkout options. Why? Because 23% of shoppers choose to abandon their carts if they need to create an account.
This is convenient for your shoppers because they don't have to create an account on your eCommerce store. It makes the entire checkout process more straightforward.
To make the shopping smoother, you can also...
2. Offer multiple payment options
Flexible payments allow shoppers to have options.
If you allow their preferred payment method, they'll check out the products they bought. But if not, they won't proceed with their transaction.
For example, their only payment method is through a debit card. But you only allow Paypal or Apple Pay. If that happens, they might not push through with buying from your eCommerce store.
So, ensure that you offer flexible payment methods, such as...
- Debit card
- Credit card
- Paypal
- Apple Pay
- E-wallets
- Amazon Pay
As I mentioned, you need to make it convenient for your customers. Give them options so they can choose what works for them.
You also need to...
3. Give your customers a good deal
Your customers will finish transactions if you have a good deal. What do I mean by this?
Simple... discounts, exclusive offers, or bundles! If they see that they save more money upon checkout, they'll proceed with finishing the transaction with you.
Who doesn't want to save money, anyway? That's why you can offer good deals to your customers by:
- Having flash sales
- Giving freebies
- Offering discounts when they reach a threshold
- Discounted add-on items
- Limited coupon codes
- Personal recommended items based on the items on their carts
... and more! These are just some offers that your customers couldn't resist! You can reduce your online shopping cart abandonment if you give them a good deal!
To make it better, you should...
4. Create a sense of urgency
Imagine this... your customers are shopping, then they start to have some second thoughts if they'd purchase or not.
So, your online shoppers abandoned their shopping carts. They think they'll buy the products next time... and let's be honest, they might forget about coming back to finish shopping.
That's why you need to create a sense of urgency. How? You can use words or CTAs like:
- Now
- Limited
- Only
- Hurry
These words emphasize that your offer or products don't last long. This way, your customers will feel the need to buy them immediately.
And that's another way to reduce shopping cart abandonment rate! But what if they forgot about the products in their carts? 👀
5. Send an email notification
There's nothing wrong with reminding your customers they forgot to check out the products in their shopping carts.
Doing so will remind them of some of the products they added to their carts. You can also incorporate some urgency, like this one...
This email reminded me of the products I added to my shopping cart. But on top of that, it says, "Grab it before someone else does!"
Of course, I purchased the products because they were low on stock. And your customers might do that, too.
So, send them a follow-up. If you remind them of the products they left with a sense of urgency, you can increase your sales and reduce shopping cart abandonment rate.
Another way to do that is...
6. Avoid hidden costs
Everybody loves good surprises... but no surprise fees. As I said above, customers have an idea of how much the total amount of their products would be.
And when they go to the checkout page and see that it's way higher than what they're expecting, they might just abandon their shopping carts.
How can you avoid this? You can start by being transparent about extra charges, like taxes and shipping. Or let them know beforehand that they need to pay extra to import their orders.
Just don't surprise them with the high additional costs. But to make their days better...
7. Offer free shipping
You can offer free shipping, too!
If your profit margin doesn't allow you to, you can give them the option to choose their preferred delivery procedure.
If they prefer a courier that takes longer for a cheaper fee, let them choose that. You can state the additional cost if they want to get the orders sooner.
So, how can you offer free shipping?
You can do this if a customer reaches a certain amount. This is one way for your customers to avoid high shipping costs.
By doing this, you are also optimizing the average order value of your eCommerce store. And that's important for your business.
Did you find these tips helpful?
Make online shopping seamless for your customers to reduce cart abandonment rate!
Reducing shopping cart abandonment for online stores is not an easy task. You need to enhance your website from time to time to make sure your customers can shop seamlessly.
Shopping online is different from physical shopping. More and more customers choose convenience. So, it's becoming a challenge.
You can enhance the tips above by diving deep into your business. Understand what's the root of cart abandonment. Learn about your customers.
Who are your target customers, and what can you offer to entice them? How can you strengthen their brand loyalty? How can you build genuine relationships with your customers?
Knowing these will help you decrease cart abandonment rate because you're not focusing on temporary solutions.
To learn more about cart abandonment, you can read...
Ricky Hayes
