Cart abandonment is a term used to describe instances when people put items in their shopping cart while shopping online but do not complete the checkout process.
Shopping cart abandonment hurts the e-commerce business in the sense that had the purchase been completed, it would have generated revenue for the business. It is important to know what are the reasons behind cart abandonment and how can it be reduced.
Online shopping is on a rise due to its convenience and increasing accessibility to the internet and mobile devices.
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In 2019, e-retail sales accounted for 14.1% of all retail sales worldwide and the sales figure amounted to 3.5 trillion US dollars. Also, digital and mobile wallet payments accounted for 41.8% of online transactions.
Shopping cart abandonment is a cause of worry for e-retailers. The global average is 69.57%. Shopping cart abandonment rate on mobile devices and desktops is 80.79% and 73.93%. Also, the yearly sales revenue loss is nearly 18 billion US dollars.
To lessen cart abandonment, companies have tried sending AI-generated emails as reminders to shoppers to complete the purchase. But how much are they successful?
The open rate of these emails is nearly half of the number of emails that are sent, the click-through-rate is half of what is opened, and the conversion rate is half of which are clicked on.
While shopping online, Clothes are abandoned in the cart 40% of the times, Tech 18%, Homeware 16%, Jewellery& Accessories 6% and Food 4%.
Shopping cart abandonment rate is the highest in the airline industry with 87.87% followed by Travel with 81.31%, Finance with 77.97%, Retail with 74.58%, and Fashion with 74.13%.
Related: Shopping Carts For Small Business
There are a lot of reasons why customers don’t proceed further after adding products to their cart.
The total cost may be too high, they have to create a user account, complicated checkout process, trust issues with site for credit card payment, website errors, delivery too slow, etc.
What are some ways to reduce shopping cart abandonment?
Your website should be optimised for both mobile and desktop screens. Offer your customers a variety of payment options.
Be clear about all costs upfront and show the break-up of all costs so that customers know what are the extra charges if any, like shipping, taxes, etc., and what discounts are being given.
A customer is unlikely to shop from you if your page load time is more than 4-5 seconds, so optimize the page load time. Make the delivery and return items process hassle-free.
Implement Exit-Intent Popups. Offer guest checkout so that they don’t have to create an account and still can shop from you. Provide customer support in case of any grievances. Allow them to save the cart so that they can return and continue the checkout process.
