Why Customers Abandon Their Shopping Carts
Think back to your last trip to the grocery store. You walk up and down the aisles, passing shelf after shelf stocked high with food and other products. Imagine what a grocery store looks like on the inside as you shop. In the image you see are there any shopping carts filled with items that seem abandoned by shoppers? Not likely. Abandoned shopping carts are not a big problem for grocery store chains. Shoppers go there to get what they need and they almost always buy them.
This is not the case with online retailers. Expert’s estimate that shoppers abandon their online shopping carts 60-70 percent of the time. This means that only 30-40 percent of shoppers who begin the check-out process actually follow through with it and purchase a product from you. That’s a lot of money left on the table for business owners. Reducing that amount even a little bit can result in a major increase in sales for your business.
There are a myriad of reasons why customers abandon their shopping carts before completing the sale. It’s important to know why our customers fail to complete the ordering process. It can streamline our business and increase sales. Keep reading to find out how you might be unintentionally causing your customers to abandon their purchases before they buy them.
1. Shipping & Handling Costs
Multiple studies have confirmed this is the number one reason why customers abandon their online shopping carts. Internet shoppers are searching for the best deal and that includes shipping and handling prices. Keep your fees low to stay competitive and offer free shipping to get a leg up on the competition. It will work to your advantage to inform customers about these costs as early as possible in the shopping experience.
2. Delivery and Transit Information
Customers want to know how quickly you’ll deliver their purchase after ordering. Include expected transit and processing time information with the product details or put it on the order form. If possible let customers know which delivery company you will be using; USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc.
3. Registry requirements
You don’t want there to be any impediments in the purchasing process. Some customers are wary to give their email address or other personal information before they decide to purchase from you. When you walk into a hardware store they don’t require you to give your email address or fill out any lengthy forms before purchasing anything from them, do they? No. So don’t do it to the customers that visit your online store. Remove any registration forms or log-in requirements. Customers will easily give you all the information you need when they fill out the order form.
4. Security Issues
Consumers are loathsome to give out their credit card and banking information to online retailers that they cannot see, hear, or touch. You must convince shoppers that they can trust you with their money and personal information. Add security features such as verification seals to alleviate shopper’s fears.
Still, no matter what you do to show you’re a legitimate business, some shoppers still won’t trust you. Add your company’s phone number and contact information at the top or bottom of every web page, especially the order form. Some customers need to talk to a human being before trusting an online company enough with their money.
5. Product Availability
If the 5 foot dog leash the customer is viewing isn’t in stock at the moment, tell them so! It’s best to be upfront with the customer while he/she is still shopping. Offer them an alternative product, like the 4 foot or 6 foot dog leash instead. Don’t wait until the customer fills out their billing and shipping information to tell them the product they want is unavailable, that will just piss them off and send them to your competitors.
6. Technical Difficulties
Pages the load slowly or links that don’t work are some of the most common reasons shoppers fail to complete an online purchase. Even seemingly minor issues like small font or buttons that fail to load properly can lower your conversion rate significantly. Make it a regular practice to test out order forms and the check-out process to make sure everything is in proper working order. It’s best to have a fresh set of eyes look at your checkout pages, as you may be missing them since you work on them day in and day out.
Your ultimate goal is to take away anything that is impeding your customers from buying products through you. Streamlining the process will result in increased sales and more money in your pocket. Because there is no one reason that causes shoppers to abandon their items before purchasing them from you, web based companies must be aggressive in their efforts to secure sales. Not only should you remove obstacles but also follow up with shoppers who have abandoned their shopping carts before completing the purchase.
Send customers who begin to navigate away from your webpages a pop-up that reminds them that they have items they placed in their shopping carts. If that isn’t enough send a follow-up email detailing what items they abandoned in their cart. To interest them further, offer discounts if they return to your website and purchase the items from you. A 10% off discount is usually sufficient. You can also send customers alerts when items are back in stock or when the price of an item drops.
Any of these strategies will undoubtedly increase your sales when implemented. Be objective in your efforts and don’t be afraid to ask qualified friends, colleagues or employees to give you feedback on your order forms and check-out process.
Till next time…
Ethan Warrick
Editor & CEO
