Stop Losing Revenue: Learn How to Combat Abandoned Carts in E-Commerce!

Did you know that the US and UK alone are losing a whopping $738 billion in e-commerce revenue every year due to abandoned carts? Crazy, right?

And the average rate of abandoned carts is almost 70%.

There are a bunch of reasons why this happens, and some myths to debunk.

But one thing is for sure, if your checkout process isn't up to snuff, it could be holding you back from growing your business.

Two essential things to keep in mind before we discuss tactics to reduce abandoned carts are:

High abandoned cart rates do not necessarily mean there is an issue with your cart or checkout process. Generally, more people buy lower-priced items than high-priced items, so it's not fair to compare to the industry average.

Customers often make purchases subconsciously, driven by "purchase intent momentum." If your landing page and product description provide plenty of information, visitors are more likely to complete the purchase. Those who aren't interested won't add items to their cart.

Reasons for Abandoning Cart During Checkout

#1 IS UNEXPECTED FEES BEING TOO HIGH (SHIPING, TAXES, FEES, ETC.)

One of the primary reasons for high cart abandonment rates is unexpected fees, such as high shipping costs or taxes. Unfortunately, there may not be much you can do if your business requires expensive shipping, especially for international or heavy products. However, you can test the effectiveness of your free shipping threshold, which is the minimum purchase amount required to receive free shipping. You can use a tool like http://intelligems.io (for those using Shopify) to test different thresholds and find the sweet spot that encourages customers to complete their purchases.

#2 IS CREATING AN ACCOUNT

Another reason for high cart abandonment rates is requiring customers to create an account before making a purchase. Most e-commerce stores don't require this, and if you do, it's best to stop. There's usually not much advantage to having a customer account that you can't get from an email address or phone number unless you run a subscription-based business. Surprisingly, this is a common issue leading to abandoned carts.

#3 IS SLOW DELIVERY

Another reason for high cart abandonment rates is slow delivery. To address this, it's important to manage customer expectations. In today's world, where Amazon Prime offers lightning-fast delivery, waiting for 5 business days for a package can feel slow. One way to combat this is by offering express shipping, which usually takes 3-5 days. By being transparent about shipping times and offering faster options, customers won't be surprised or disappointed with slow delivery.

One way to reduce cart abandonment due to slow delivery is by using more appealing names for shipping options. For instance, customers may prefer choosing "Express Delivery" over "Standard Shipping," even if they both take the same 3-5 days to arrive. By using more attractive names for your shipping options, you may be able to decrease the number of abandoned carts.

#4 TO #10

Many reasons for abandoned carts come down to two things: customers not trusting the website or finding it difficult to use. These are separate issues that can be solved by simply running a test transaction on mobile and buying your own product. Put yourself in your customer's shoes and think about what can make it easier for them to trust and use your website. Remember that a lot of conversion rate optimization (CRO) can be as simple as experiencing your website first-hand.

To improve trust, you need to use social proof. Social proof can come from media outlets, famous influencers, testimonials (video/photo/text), and ratings/reviews. You need to determine which one works best for your checkout.

Statistics Source: Baymard Institute, Split Testing