Based on the new customer analysis report by Shopify, cart abandonment represents a huge amount of lost sales. Marketers lose a whopping $18 billion to cart abandonment every year. With approximately 70% of online shopping carts being abandoned (across the Americas) every year and 44% of those resulting in abandoned purchases, there is more than enough reason to take this problem seriously. For every 10 potential customers, 7 of them will exit without completing their purchases.
But before thinking of how to reduce the shopping cart abandonment rate in your online store, you first know the reasons why online shoppers abandon their carts during checkout. Only by knowing these reasons will you be able to tackle the issue. According to recent statistics from Baymard Institute, online shoppers abandon their carts due to various reasons.
Why Customers Abandon Their Carts
- High shipping fees 48%
- The must create an account 24%
- The delivery time was too long 22%
- Trust issue 18%
- Complicated checkout process 17%
- Unexpected costs 16%
- Website errors 13%
- Unclear or unfair return policy 12%
- Not enough payment methods 9%
- The shopper’s card was declined 4%
12 Ways to Reduce Cart Abandonment Rate
1. Offer free shipping
According to a study by Baymard Institute, a whopping 48% of customers abandon their carts because of high shipping costs. This is why offering free shipping is one of the best ways to reduce your cart abandonment rate. By absorbing the cost of shipping, you make it more likely that customers will complete their purchase.
There are a few different ways you can offer free shipping. One is to offer it on all orders, regardless of the amount spent. Another is to offer it on orders over a certain amount, like $50 or $100. In addition, you can also offer free shipping for first-time customers or for customers who sign up for your newsletter.
Moreover, offering free shipping is a great way to reduce your cart abandonment rate and boost sales. There are several different ways you can offer free shipping, so find the option that works best for your business.
2. Offer a guest checkout option
Many shoppers are turned off by the idea of creating an account just to make a purchase. Therefore, offering a guest checkout option is a great way to reduce your online store’s cart abandonment rate. This is because it allows customers to purchase items from your store without having to create an account. Since 24% of customers say creating an account can be a barrier for them, offering a guest checkout option can help to increase sales.
3. Offer quick delivery
Customers are more likely to complete the purchase if they know that they will receive their items quickly. To make this happen, you need to offer different shipping options and make sure your customers know how long it will take for their order to arrive. Customers who are worried about delivery times are more likely to abandon their carts. To avoid this, you can offer quick delivery by shipping items from a nearby warehouse or using a faster shipping option.
4. Make your website secure
18% of online shoppers say they abandoned their shopping baskets because they couldn’t trust the site with their card information. As a result, these shoppers had to go to an online store that is more secure.
Customers want to know their personal information is safe when they purchase on your website. So, make sure your website is secure by adding an SSL certificate (HTTPS). This will encrypt your customers’ information and give them peace of mind when they enter their credit card information on your checkout page.
In addition, you can also add a trust badge to your website. This is a small icon that shows customers that your website is secure and their information will be safe. Trust badges are usually provided by security companies like NortonLifeLock or McAfee.
5. Make the checkout process simple and easy
To reduce your online store’s cart abandonment rate, it is important to make the checkout process simple and easy. Customers should be able to complete the checkout process quickly and easily without any difficulty.
There are a few things you can do to make the checkout process simpler for your customers. The most important one is to use a progress indicator on the checkout page. A progress indicator lets shoppers know how much longer they have to complete their purchase. This helps to keep them on track and remind them that they are close to finishing their purchase.
If your online store has a lot of steps in the checkout process, consider simplifying it. Remove any unnecessary steps and make the process as straightforward as possible. You should also make sure that the checkout process is optimized for mobile devices. Many customers will abandon their carts if they have to fill out a long form on their phones.
In addition, you need to use a responsive design for your checkout page. Making sure your checkout page is responsive is another important way to reduce your cart abandonment rate.
A responsive design ensures that your checkout page looks great on all devices, making it easy for customers to complete their purchases regardless of the device they are using. If your checkout page is difficult to use or doesn’t look good on mobile devices, customers are much more likely to abandon their cart.
6. Include shipping costs in the price of the product
Customers are more likely to complete their purchase if they know the total cost upfront, rather than being surprised by shipping costs at checkout. By including shipping costs in the price of the product, you can reduce cart abandonment and increase sales. Furthermore, including shipping costs in the price of your products can also help to build trust with your customers. They will appreciate that you are being upfront about the cost of their purchase, and this can help to foster a good relationship between you and your customers.
7. Make sure your website doesn’t crash frequently
If you’re running an online store, one of the worst things that can happen is for your website to crash frequently. Not only does this cause frustration for your customers, but it also leads to a higher cart abandonment rate.
To avoid this, make sure that your website is built on a solid platform with good uptime. Test your website regularly to make sure it can handle high traffic levels. And if you do experience a crash, make sure to fix it as quickly as possible.
Additionally, keep an eye on your server resources and upgrade them if necessary. A good server will help keep your website up and running smoothly, even during peak traffic times.
8. Provide a clear return policy
If you want to reduce your online store’s cart abandonment rate, one of the best things you can do is to provide a clear return policy. Customers should be able to easily find your return policy and understand it before they make a purchase.
Your return policy should be fair and reasonable, and it should be easy for customers to return items if they need to. You should also make sure that your return policy is prominently displayed on your website so that customers will see it before they make a purchase. Here is an example of good and bad return policies.
9. Offer a variety of payment options
Offering a variety of payment options is especially important if you sell internationally. Customers in different countries often have different preferences when it comes to payment methods. By offering a variety of options, you can make sure that everyone can pay in a way that is convenient for them.
To reduce cart abandonments, Bebemoss provides multiple payment methods, including Shop Pay, Google Pay, and more. Some of the popular online store payment methods include but are not limited to:
- Mastercard
- American Express
- PayPal
- Visa
- Discover
- Square
- Stripe
- Google Pay
- Apple Pay
- Amazon Pay
- Facebook Pay
10. Offer a discount for completing the purchase
Cart abandonment rates are high because many people are simply window shopping and not actually looking to buy anything. However, you can increase the likelihood of a sale by offering a discount for completing the purchase. This will entice people to follow through with the purchase instead of just abandoning their cart. For example, you could offer a 10% discount for completing the purchase within 24 hours.
11. Use exit-intent popups
Exit-intent popups are an effective way to reduce your online store’s cart abandonment rate. These popups appear when a user is about to leave your site, and they typically offer a discount or incentives to encourage the user to stay and complete their purchase.
Exit-intent popups can be highly effective, especially if you offer a relevant and attractive incentive. However, it’s important to use them sparingly and not to bombard your users with too many popup offers. Otherwise, you run the risk of annoying your users and driving them away for good.
12. Provide a quick link to contact customer care
Customers may abandon their carts if they have questions or concerns about the product they are interested in. By providing a quick link to customer care, you can give customers the opportunity to get their questions answered before they make a purchase. This can help reduce the chances of them abandoning their cart.
How do Marketers Calculate Cart Abandonment Rate?
You can calculate your shopping cart abandonment rate by taking the total number of completed transactions and dividing it by the total number of transactions initiated. For example, let’s say 1000 people visit your online store and add items to their carts. Out of these 1000 people, only 400 complete their purchases. Your store’s cart abandonment rate would be 40%. This number can help you understand how many potential customers are leaving your store without completing a purchase. You can use this number to make changes to your store in order to reduce the number of abandonments.
Conclusion
If you’re running an online store, it’s important to pay attention to your cart abandonment rate. There are several reasons why customers might abandon their shopping carts, but fortunately, there are also several things you can do to reduce the likelihood of it happening. In this article, I’ve shared 12 tips that you can use to reduce your online store’s cart abandonment rate. Try implementing these tips and see how they impact your business.