How to prevent cart abandonment on your e-commerce store

Cart abandonment rates provide businesses with insight into the customer decision journey. Here’s a guide to how businesses can tackle this issue with the right strategies in order to increase conversion rates.

Many shop online – but are they doing the equivalent of brick-and-mortar window shopping? While the sheer number of online shoppers are impressive, retailers still have to deal with the issue of abandoned shopping carts, one of their biggest challenges. According to recent studies by Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate is just under 70%. This means that a majority of shoppers who add items to their cart do not complete their purchase. This translates to a significant loss of revenue for businesses.

Retargeting campaigns can help to bring back some of those shoppers, but it comes at a cost. Shopify found that in 2022 when advertising on Facebook, the average cost per click (CPC) for retargeting ads is US$0.94, which can quickly add up to a substantial expense for businesses. Therefore, it's important for businesses to work on reducing or eliminating cart abandonment altogether in order to maximise revenue and cut costs.

In this blog, we uncover why shoppers do not complete their purchases and discuss just how companies can tackle the issue of abandoned carts.

So why exactly are shoppers not completing their purchases?

You go on an online shopping spree, gleefully adding to your cart a couple of items – but when you get to the checkout page, you realise shipping costs are painfully high – making you abandon your cart. High shipping costs are just but one reason why shoppers abandon their carts. In order to reduce cart abandonment rates, it's essential to understand all the reasons why shoppers abandon their carts in the first place.

According to a Statista 2022 report, the top reasons for cart abandonment at e-commerce stores are:

• Unexpected shipping costs

• Need for account creation

• Slow delivery times

• Lack of trust in payment security

• Uncompetitive pricing

As an e-commerce business, mapping out the customer journey can help you understand their needs, address frustrations and provide strategies to optimise and elevate the user experience.

Here are some top tips that businesses can use to address these underlying reasons for cart abandonment and, in turn, prevent cart abandonment:

What are some ways online shopping sites can prevent cart abandonment? 

1. Absorb costs into pricing

Unexpected shipping costs can often be a major reason for cart abandonment. Consumers are looking for the best deals, and if they feel that shipping costs are too high, they may look elsewhere. To address this issue, businesses can consider absorbing shipping costs into their pricing structure. For example, you can offer free shipping with a minimum purchase value to increase your average order value. Consider also putting out seasonal free-shipping promotions to clear stock if having free shipping throughout the year. Free shipping is often a strong incentive for shoppers to complete their purchase – so find out how you 

2.  Include an option of not creating an account

We've all been there, you've found the perfect product, added it to your cart, and then the website demands that you create an account before you can complete your purchase. No, thank you. It's no secret that account creation can be a major hassle for shoppers, and many will abandon their carts because of it. To combat this, businesses can consider ditching the account creation requirement altogether while still offering added perks like exclusive loyalty programs and special discounts for account holders. This not only uncomplicates the user journey but also helps to incentivise repeat business and can increase brand loyalty.

3. Address payment security concerns

Payment security breaches can instil doubt in the minds of shoppers. They may hesitate to complete a purchase when they're unsure about the safety of their payment information. However, businesses can put shoppers at ease by ensuring that their payment systems are secure and certified. On top of that, it's important for businesses to communicate this information to their customers, highlighting the measures they've taken to protect their customers' sensitive information. This helps to build trust and instil confidence in the payment process, ultimately leading to higher conversion rates and a better customer experience.

4. Work with trusted shipping partners

Slow delivery times can be a frustrating experience for shoppers and may lead them to abandon their carts. To address this issue, businesses can work with trusted shipping partners that offer faster delivery times and international priority shipping. This will help to ensure that customers receive their orders promptly, which can help to increase customer satisfaction and reduce cart abandonment rates.