8 Reasons Why Customers Abandon Their Shopping Carts
According to statistics, about 70% to 75% of online shopping carts are abandoned due to complicated checkouts, account creation requirements, and complicated checkouts. Shopping cart abandonment significantly impacts your business’s bottom line and contributes to lost customer lifetime value. It also results in higher customer acquisition costs, inventory availability and management issues, skewed site data, lower ad-click-through rates, and higher retargeting costs. This article outlines five reasons why customers abandon their shopping carts, and what you should do about it, including providing multiple convenient payment methods like ACH transfers.
Top Reasons for Cart Abandonment
1. Lack of preferred payment method
Different customers have different preferred payment methods, and limiting them to one can be inconvenient, causing them to abandon their shopping carts. Consider providing various secure payment options, preferably the popular and most trusted ones. The payment options to add may include ACH transfers, credit and debit cards, and PayPal. You may introduce credit or deferred payment options, especially for large ticket purchases like electronics. While you may not be able to provide every payment option, offering choices cover most preferences, reducing cart abandonment rates.
2. High additional costs
Sudden costs added each time a customer adds something to their shopping cart might cause them to reconsider their purchase. They might even fill their shopping cart just to the final amount. If it reflects additional costs, they most likely will not continue to complete the transaction. To solve this issue, ensure your customers know all the costs involved in advance, including taxes, shipping costs, and other costs that may apply. This prepares the customer on what to expect, and the end total might not surprise them, increasing the chances of them completing the purchase.
3. Mandatory account creation
Forcing potential customers to register or create an account to add items to their shopping carts isn’t a good idea because it adds an extra step into the purchase cycle, turning them away. Avoid forcing customers to create an account. Nonetheless, if you want their contact information or to gather their emails for remarketing purposes, consider getting these details after the purchase is done or ask the customers if they’d like to receive email updates about their purchase or special offers.
4. Long and complex checkout processes
Customers will abandon their shopping carts when a checkout process becomes a task. If checking out your eCommerce website is time-consuming, confusing, or complicated, most customers won’t continue with the process. Consumers want simple and convenient processes, meaning any extra steps into the purchase cycle can hurt the user experience. To simplify checking out, reduce data entry, minimize the steps involved, and optimize the checkout process to ensure it’s straightforward and streamlined.
5. Security concerns
Customers expect their personal and financial data, including credit card details to be kept safe and for payments to be processed securely. If they fear that their data isn’t safe with you, they’ll abandon their shopping carts. Consider investing in quality fraud management systems to detect and prevent fraud in your e-store. You should also stick to the PCI compliance guidelines to secure credit card details while validating transactions. Trust signals and seals should be displayed throughout the shopping process to assure your customers that their data is safe with you, reducing cart abandonment.
6. Technical errors or issues
The technical issues part may include various concerns with potential explanations. For instance, an issue completing a form might seem to be a technical problem with the website, but it might be due to poor copy or design. Websites may sometimes freeze or slow down, which can significantly impact the customers’ confidence, mainly if it happens during the checkout process.
To solve this problem, ensure your eCommerce website can handle expected traffic volumes and the additional traffic that may arise on peak shopping days like Black Friday. Website performance, primarily during the checkout process, is vital. Slow-loading pages are enough to dent the customers’ trust, so ensure fast loading time for your eCommerce site, boosting customer experience.
7. Lack of express shipping
While eCommerce shipping costs are a major reason for cart abandonment, shipping speed significantly threatens large and time-restricted purchases, including emergencies, holidays, anniversaries, and birthday shopping. If you can’t deliver purchases on time, clients may be inclined to abandon their carts. Customers are willing to pay more for expedited or express shipping, so consider providing this service and charging more for it.
8. Lack of a clear return policy
Return policy is an essential factor affecting a customer’s buying decision because a clear and concise policy gives your customers a sense of security that their purchases are guaranteed to be as they’re presented. Failure to provide this guarantee makes customers suspicious and may avoid buying from you. Displaying a clear, precise, and fair return policy on your website is crucial to attracting and retaining clients while boosting their confidence in your business.
Endnote
Shopping cart abandonment significantly impacts your company’s bottom line. This is why you should familiarize yourself with why customers abandon their shopping carts and provide solutions immediately.
Mahesh Kumar is a dynamic marketing consultant and tech enthusiast with a passion for driving business growth through his innovative strategies and cutting-edge technology. With 6 years of experience in the industry, he has helped numerous businesses leverage the power of digital marketing to reach their target audience, build brand awareness, and increase sales.
