What is Cart Abandonment?
Cart abandonment is the phenomenon where customers arrive on your site and then add something to their cart but leave without ever completing the purchase. Any item that hits a cart but doesn't go through the checkout process is considered abandoned by the shipper.
You can calculate the rate by tracking the number of visitors who have items in their carts but disappear before making the purchase. Tools like Google Analytics can help you see the rates of abandonment and the rates of 'add-to-carts'.
Why is the Cart Abandonment Metric Important?
Every online business face cart abandonment at some point and to some degree. Many merchants consider it to be one of the top challenges they face. The metric is important to help you, as the business owner, determine how your sales funnel is working.
A high Abandonment rate may help uncover some issues in your online business.
Maybe your shipping rates don't calculate correctly or are too high. Or perhaps the UX is bad on the cart page. By trying to reduce the cart Abandonment metric, you are improving your conversion rate, which in turn will lead to sales and revenue for your eCommerce business.
What are the Reasons Behind Abandoned Carts?
People may abandon their carts for a number of reasons. Shoppers may abandon their cart because of
Fees
There are costs that appear in the checkout page that were originally unexpected and push the total past a point the customer is comfortable with. These can be fees like
- taxes
- shipping costs
- conversion from one currency to another
Lack of commitment
Customers might be
- browsing and don't want to commit yet
- price matching and have a better price elsewhere
- impatient that the process is too long
- frustrated that checkout is difficult to figure out
No shipping options
Maybe you don't deliver to the customer's country or city
Untrustworthy
Your checkout looks sketchy and customers are concerned for their security or privacy.
Understanding the underlying reasons for your customer's dropping off from the sales funnel can help you make important updates or decisions regarding your store.
How Can I Fix Issues with my Store?
Once you find the underlying reason(s) for abandoned carts you can address the issues. You can simplify the checkout process and make it as fast as possible.
Think of how you'd want the experience to be if you were the customer. Make buttons easy and readable, and don't ask for too much information! Add a progress bar to show customers how far they are in the checkout process. This allows them to easily switch between sections and make edits too.
Offering a guest checkout option also allows for a quicker checkout process. You could even offer login through other social media services like Facebook. You can add reviews and trust badges to make the checkout process more reassuring and trustworthy.
