In terms of e-commerce, shopping cart abandonment refers to the process wherein the customer adds items to the shopping cart and decides not to buy them at the last moment. In simple terms, it is like putting the products into the shopping bag but taking them out again during the time of payment.
No doubt it is an unpleasant experience for the online retailer as it reduces the profit margin. In fact, it is extremely common for customers to abandon their shopping carts in e-commerce. There can be different reasons why customers do so. Having an idea of these reasons can help retailers to add more customer-friendly features to their e-commerce store thereby reducing abandonment.
Why Buyers Abandon The Shopping Cart?
Hidden Costs
On an average, an e-commerce business has the scope to lose around 75% of its sales due to shopping cart abandonment. In some industries, it can be as high as 85%. One of the main reasons why lots of customers do not purchase at the last moment is due to the unexpected shipping costs.
In quite a lot of sites, there are hidden costs that are added at the time of checkout. This increases the amount that the customer needs to pay and so they leave without purchasing. in some sites, the price of the products is displayed without the tax rate (which is later added to the final price). This is also another reason for abandonment.
Last Minute Registrations
Surprising as it may seem, but registration is another reason that leads to cart abandonment. In some sites, there is a mandatory registration process that needs to be followed during the final checkout.
A lot of customers seem to get irritated by this and so they ultimately abandon the cart without buying. It has been found out that more than 22% of customers get irritated by the unnecessary registration process and hence leave the site without buying.
Comparison With Competitors
While the retailer does not have anything to do with this, but quite a lot of customers come to sites to make research for comparative analysis with other sites. They check the price of the same product across different sites and buy it from the one where they get the best deals.
Payment Difficulties
Payment choice and security is another major concern that leads to cart abandonment. Sites need to have a varied range of payment options for customers.
Conscious buyers also check the different attributes of the payment gateway to ensure that it is secure. If they have any doubt, there is quite a good probability that they will leave without buying.
Complicated Checkout
Last but not the least; a cumbersome checkout process increases the frustration of buyers and they ultimately leave without buying. This is why retailers need to offer a simple and user-friendly checkout process that takes minimal time and in turn, induces customers to make the purchase.
How To Make The User Move From Cart To Check-Out?
Therefore, a user-centric platform that does not navigate away from the consumer’s intent is something online retailers must invest in.
A thorough research on the user’s actions on the website and the flow of actions are definitely a good guide for the retailer to re-arrange the flow of his website and avoid shopping cart abandonment.
