“Abandoned Cart” is the term given to the process by which a shopper stops at the end of his shopping tour inside any of the online selling sites or online stores, to complete the purchase of the products that he placed in his shopping cart.
The term “abandoned shopping cart” is one of the most prominent terms associated with e-commerce The rate of abandonment of the shopping cart is an important commercial measure that retailers must always monitor.in addition that it is closely related to customer conversion rates and revenue.
It may make inventory management difficult due to a sharp drop in purchasing.
Some studies show that an e-commerce store loses an average of 75% of its sales due to cart abandonment.
Some industries also suffer from an 83.6% cart abandonment rate.
In other words, if you can improve your cart abandonment rate, you can improve your earnings.
How do we calculate the cart abandonment rate for an online store?
To calculate the cart abandonment rate:
we divide the total number of completed purchases, by the number of shopping carts created then subtract from one, and multiply by 100.
For example:
if you have 300 carts built, and 100 purchases completed, your cart abandonment rate is 67%.
What are the most frequent stages of dispensing with the cart and leaving?
The most frequent stage of leaving the shopping basket is the product payment stage.
Although leaving the basket occurs more frequently on all platforms, web, devices, and smartphones, it occurs more frequently on mobile phones.
The reason for this is that the largest percentage of shoppers prefer to shop on their mobile phones using the various applications of online stores and online sales sites, as these applications provide ease of shopping without the need to log in or out regularly.
In addition to the speed in opening the application and starting the purchase and other advantages associated with mobile applications.
There can be several “psychological or economic” reasons for users to leave the purchase transaction before it is completed, and procurement problems often fall into the following six areas:
- The process: very long or complicated.
- Interface: The information is invisible, or the information is difficult to display accurately on mobile devices.
- Stock: Items are out of stock, or there is no specific estimate of when they will be available.
- Delivery: The cost of delivery options is too high, or it takes a long time for the product to arrive.
- Payment: The customer’s preferred payment option is unavailable.
- Security: The buyer does not feel safe when giving financial or personal details on the site.
Of these areas, handover issues are considered by some to be the most important factor.
Research by Statista showed that 41% of shoppers abandoned shopping carts because the cost of delivery was higher than expected, and 26% stopped the process because of the long delivery time.
What are the main reasons behind the abandoned carts?
According to the business community, 56% of users go to abandon the digital shopping cart due to hidden costs (excessive cost in price always influences the customer’s decision).
Difficulty completing the checkout process and lack of clarity and transparency (in items such as shipping costs and return policies) are also major factors behind shopping cart abandonment.
You will not be able to completely eliminate cart abandonment.
But understanding why shoppers give up their purchases, and being proactive about solving problems will help protect your conversion rate.
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When the checkout phase is very complex:
As a person accustomed to shopping online, you necessarily want to finish the order and the purchase process faster.
But you may encounter some boredom or grumbling while filling out purchase forms, detailed verification of required information, switching to multiple pages, and some broken links.
All these and other things necessarily make the customer lose interest in staying and continuing the purchase process.
This not only hinders the shopping experience but also creates a negative impression of “never coming back.”
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Account creation is mandatory:
Requiring users to create an account before paying is an unnecessary hindrance to the purchase.
Especially for shoppers who are visiting your store for the first time, and are not quite ready to register and get an account.
Asking shoppers to create a username and password to complete a purchase adds a new factor that increases exit rates, and slows down order completion.
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Specific payment options and security concerns associated with the payment process:
The payment gateway is the last step for the survival or transformation of users completely.
And when you select your customers with payment options, it pushes them away from purchasing the item.
Also, the inability to use various options gives the user a reason to leave the site and go to the other.
Most customers are very cautious about online payments.
If they do not feel safe submitting their personal information, or have concerns that their payment information is not being handled securely, they will not proceed with the purchase.
Notice:
Most online shoppers want to complete their purchase with the payment methods that are most convenient for them.
Some of them may be willing to accept the new default option
your inability to support their preferred method of payment is a sufficient reason to leave the site.
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Restrictions on product quantity:
Shoppers do not like to add items to their shopping cart and then discover later that they cannot get them due to restrictions on the quantity available in the store, or the quantity that everyone can buy.
Being honest about the limits of quantity available and allowed to buy helps define expectations that the product may be in limited availability, and reduces customer frustration later.
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Compare products:
With the existence of the Internet and the initiation of mobile e-commerce, customers have been able to access many shopping options and quickly compare them.
It is very possible for shoppers looking for bargains to add items to their cart, then switch over and buy from another retailer who offers a better offer.
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Return and refund policy is vague:
Customers often get information about return policies and guarantees after adding items to their cart.
An insufficient or vague return policy can spark customer suspicion and anxiety.
Shoppers always ask for guarantees that if anything goes wrong with a product, they can easily return it to the retailer for a refund.
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Unexpected delivery times:
Did you know 60% of your cart is abandoned due to poor shipping characteristics?
Shoppers expect their needs to be received on time and within a reasonable period, and if not, the interests and preferences of shoppers will decline.
Also, if shoppers have to wait a long time, the value of shopping online pales in comparison to going to the traditional store.
This either reduces the frequency of shopping from your site or leads directly to the deletion of the app.
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Problems with site speed and application performance:
Some problems such as slow navigation during the store, difficulty using the application, or slow site performance can cause shoppers to lose confidence in the store or website, and feel frustrated and left.
Shoppers are also less likely to enter their payment information after experiencing unexpected downtime, or slow page loading times, for fear of being charged double their purchase or payment failure.
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The store does not offer discounts or promotions:
Did you know that 93% of shoppers use a discount code throughout the year to make the purchase?
This large percentage demonstrates the strength of the promotional offers and discounts that most shoppers (and very much) care to follow, and many retailers offer.
And real bargain hunters may expect your store to offer similar discounts.
In addition, if you don’t, they may choose to buy from your competitor.
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Unexpected shipping costs:
An unexpected cost shock usually occurs after a shopper enters their shipping information, only to discover that they have incurred extra charges they didn’t expect. Customers can re-evaluate their purchases as soon as they see these charges, and then abandon their cart if they feel their expectations have not been met.
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Lack of trust in your online store:
This really happens when your customer doesn’t trust you for one of the previous reasons, or because your site doesn’t have security testimonials or customer reviews.
How to reduce the number of abandoned baskets in your online store?
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Being clear and transparent about all costs:
When you put your customers in a picture of all the costs, they will incur upfront, including shipping costs, applicable taxes, and any other fees to expect, you reduce the likelihood that you surprise shoppers with an unexpected increase in prices.
Some sites automatically add all relevant shipping costs to the final order price directly on the order preview page.
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Include product thumbnails throughout the purchase and payment process:
Including product thumbnails during the purchase and checkout process can be a way to reassure customers about their current purchases.
During the traditional buying process, customers can see and preview the item they are buying.
Product thumbnails are especially useful for keeping these products on top of customer interests during the entire checkout process.
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Easy to navigate cart and store:
Customers want to add items to their cart and quickly and easily return to browsing the rest of the in-store inventory.
The more work you force your customers to do, the less likely they are to put products in their carts.
So make it easy for your customers to drop items in their cart and quickly return to browsing, or even checkout when they’re ready to buy.
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Improving site performance and page loading speed:
No user will wait for your website to load.
And it’s really hard to be patient when you dive into your favorite items.
Therefore a fast loading time will encourage shoppers to search for their interests and needs and will increase their desire to shop more and stay for a long time in your store to review multiple items.
In doing so, not only will your customers be happier, but they will also be more inclined to purchase additional products from your website because they won’t have to wait long.
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Provide guest checkout options:
To make sure you don’t exclude any potential customers, offer the ability to check out as a guest rather than force account creation.
And if you wish to collect emails and other contact information for promotional purposes, you can ask shoppers to save their checkout information on the step confirmation page.
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Offer live chat support:
An added advantage of shopping in the online store is that you can reach friendly staff who are always ready to help you find your needs and answer your questions.
You can provide the same level of care and attention by incorporating customer support options into your checkout flow, using cart abandonment data, identifying the steps shoppers are most likely to stop by to inquire, and allowing them to chat with customer support officers to reduce cart abandonment.
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Use trust codes to reassure customers:
Shoppers look for confidence that your store is safe when they share sensitive information such as their credit card number and shipping address.
One way to build customer trust in the platform is to display the relevant security codes and certificates throughout the shopping process.
The PCI-DSS compliance offer and other security certifications can also help reassure shoppers that their personal files and details will remain safe until order completion.
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Provide multiple payment options:
Offering one payment option (or very few options) can create unnecessary obstacles between you and the shoppers.
Today’s shoppers have access to multiple payment options including direct bank transfers, digital wallets, and credit cards.
Providing support for the most popular payment options, particularly those used by your target audience, helps ensure those good customers are not turned away.
Some sites also offer shoppers the ability to split their payments into smaller monthly installments rather than having to pay the full price upfront.
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Create a robust refund and return policy:
Return policies are important for e-commerce because shoppers cannot experiment with items or realistically see the product.
And offering a good customer return policy gives shoppers peace of mind when purchasing items from your store.
How do you attract affected users again with proven shopping recovery methods?
We know that digital shopping cart abandonment has negative effects on available inventory.
Therefore, the important thing now is how to regain the confidence of your past and potential customers. This can be done by following one of these methods:
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Abandoned cart emails:
Shopping cart emails are one of the effective sources for bringing back past users to your website.
Thousands of templates are available to organize and create an engaging message to grab the user’s attention.
All you have to do is set up an email with good offers and discounts for users to open the mail and come back to your online store.
Statistics show that 40% of cart abandonment emails are opened, and 50% are clicked.
Also, 28.3% of e-commerce revenue ends successfully through the use of abandoned shopping cart emails.
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Abandoned cart redirection:
The abandoned cart redirection power is incredibly powerful.
All you have to do is place redirect ads on the checkout page.
According to 99 companies, there are 76% of chances that you can get clicks through retargeting ads.
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Add notes and promotional popups:
You can add a feedback loop that launches as popups when customers abandon their cart.
These notes can explain why users abandon the cart, so you can use it to offer a promotional discount.
And sometimes, all you need to push the shoppers to complete the purchase is a discount code for a percentage of the purchase.
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Re-targeting of cart abandoners:
Re-targeting shopping cart leftovers with related ads help keep the items they viewed or put in their shopping cart on top of their interests.
The goal is to motivate your customers to buy by reminding them of the items they left in their shopping cart.
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Employment of social proof:
Utilizing social proof is another tactic that you can use to help shoppers purchase.
Fill out product description pages professionally, and add testimonials from other happy customers and product reviews to help communicate the value of your products.
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Analyze user behavior to discover the steps involved in the conversion:
Tools like Google’s advanced e-commerce analytics can help you create comprehensive conversion funnels to pinpoint exactly where shoppers stop by.
For example; Declining on the Payments page might indicate a problem with how payment information is recorded, or there may be a major payment method your customers want to use to complete their purchase.
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Collect customer feedback on weaknesses and deficiencies:
Don’t be afraid to ask converted or abandoned shoppers how to improve the checkout process.
Getting direct feedback from your customer base can reveal insights that can be difficult to measure with your data analytics tool.
Also, asking open-ended questions may allow shoppers to easily qualify their experience and highlight key areas for improvement.
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A / B test:
Regularly take A / B tests to see which designs, layouts, and content formats perform best.
Make sure that when you run these tests, you only update one variable at a time so that you can determine what is affecting the performance of your new campaign.
The bottom line:
Customer segments across the world differ in distinct and tangible ways.
Each customer has different preferences, opinions, and behaviors, and each of them has its own buying habits.
However, many shoppers have somewhat similar buying habits and preferences.
And there is always that they meet in great proportions.
To be successful in today’s experience-based world and to continue learning and knowledge
online retailers must continue to prioritize premium buying experiences to convert shoppers into paying customers.
And one thing we can emphasize after this article is the check-in page and the check-out page.
The first page should be carefully and professionally designed to grab users’ attention and quickly draw them to the desired elements.
It should be the last step in your shopping journey, attractive and fun.
Leaving the shopping cart and leaving the store or online shopping site will only take one second for the customer.
Therefore, be careful to overcome all the issues that hinder customers from wandering your marketing website, and make sure that their experience will be perfect, and their tour in your store is friendly and enticing.