When you run an e-commerce website, you might assume making a purchase is a simple process.
Online shoppers look at your products, put them in their shopping carts, then go through the checkout process to buy them. Job done.
However, the reality can be more complicated. Some customers might put things in their online shopping carts and leave your site, never to return.
In this article, we’ll look at what shopping cart abandonment is, why customers abandon their carts, and what you can do to encourage potential customers to make a purchase instead.
What is cart abandonment rate?
Cart abandonment rate (or shopping cart abandonment rate) is the percentage of shoppers who add items to their online shopping cart but leave the site before completing their purchase.
A high cart abandonment rate can mean fewer online sales and more lost revenue.
Here’s how to calculate cart abandonment rate:
- Divide the number of completed transactions by the number of shopping carts initiated
- Subtract the percentage from 1
- Multiply that number by 100
Say your online store saw 700 shopping carts and 350 purchases. You divide 350 by 700 to get 0.5.
Next, you subtract 0.5 from 1 to get 0.5, and multiply 0.5 by 100 to get 50%.
This would mean your cart abandonment rate is 50%.
What’s the average shopping cart abandonment rate?
According to UX researchers from the Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate in the 2012 to 2023 period was 70.19%.
This means that for every 10 people who put an item in their shopping cart, only 3 completed the checkout process.
Of course, this figure can vary depending on a variety of factors.
For example, shopping cart abandonment rates are typically higher on mobile devices than on desktop computers. This is because mobile phones usually have slower loading times, and there are more external distractions for mobile users. For example, someone on a mobile phone might search for products on a website, stop to respond to a text message, and not return to the site.
Certain categories may also have more abandoned shopping carts than others. According to data from Dynamic Yield, luxury and jewelry see the highest cart abandonment rates. As these sectors offer products at a higher price point, it’s easier for customers to change their minds about making a purchase.
While knowing the average shopping cart abandonment rate is important, the best business to benchmark against is your own.
Regularly measure your cart abandonment rate so you can take action if it becomes too high.
Why do people abandon their online shopping carts?
Shoppers abandon their online shopping carts for a variety of reasons.
Here are 8 reasons potential customers might abandon their carts and leave your e-commerce store.
Reason #1: They don’t want to create an account
Forcing mandatory account creation can lead to an increase in abandoned carts.
Some shoppers want to make their purchase quickly, so having to spend time registering their details can frustrate them. Other customers may have security concerns and don’t want to share their personal information or credit card details with an online retailer.
Reason #2: They don’t want to pay shipping costs and taxes
Customers are often unaware of shipping costs, taxes, and other fees until they reach checkout.
If there are any extra costs that increase the final price of the product, this can lead to shopping cart abandonment.
Reason #3: The user experience is poor
A low-quality user experience can cause website visitors to abandon their carts.
For example, a slow-loading website can lead to impatient shoppers refusing to wait around to buy a product. A site that isn’t mobile responsive may mean customers struggle to complete the checkout process and eventually give up.
Reason #4: The checkout process is too long or complicated
Speed and efficiency are everything when it comes to shopping online and the checkout process. If buying takes too long or your website asks for unnecessary data, customers can quickly give up.
A complicated checkout process with multiple distractions like links and advertisements can also confuse shoppers, pull them off their buying journey, and lead to lost revenue.
Reason #5: They are unable to find a discount code
Potential customers expect to get the best deal possible for your products. If you don’t offer a coupon code, there is the risk that they may leave your site and try to find one before checking out. When they do this, they may not return, or worse, buy from a competitor instead.
Customers are more likely to search for a discount code if a product is a big-ticket item, if they know a competitor offers a similar product, or if your e-commerce store frequently offers discounts. As a result, the expectation for deals and discounts is more pronounced for consumers in sectors like jewelry (65%), home goods and furniture (64%), finance (60%), and apparel (60%).
Reason #6: They don’t trust your site
Shoppers won’t give their personal data and credit card details to just any e-commerce store. You need to first give them a reason to trust your website and show that you will handle their information in line with regulations like GDPR and the CAN-SPAM act.
If customers aren’t confident that you are who you say you are, or that you will protect their personal information, it is likely that they will abandon their carts.
It’s also important to ensure any marketing channels that drive people to your website, like ads, social media posts, and email marketing newsletters, are trustworthy too. Mailchimp makes it easy to add customer testimonials and social media posts into your email campaigns, and ensures you collect subscriber data in accordance with data privacy regulations.
Reason #7: They’re not happy with the delivery or payment options
When setting up your online store, you can opt to offer a range of payment providers (for example, Apple Pay or PayPal) and delivery options (for example, click-and-collect or expedited delivery).
However, customers want to buy products on their terms. If you don’t offer payment or delivery options that align with their needs, it may result in abandoned shopping carts.
Reason #8: They’re just browsing
Some customers may visit your website without purchase intent.
They might be exploring their options, comparing prices with other online retailers, or just be “window shopping” for the fun of it.
A lot of customers treat their shopping cart as a wish list or a place to bookmark products they like until they’re in a position to buy.
How to improve your cart abandonment rate
Now that we’ve looked at some reasons why cart abandonment happens, what can you do to reduce the risk of it occurring?
Here are 8 ways to encourage customers to make it through your checkout page.
Approach #1: Use conversion rate optimization to identify why people are abandoning their carts
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of making small changes to your website that can encourage customers to convert.
You can use CRO to determine what issues are leading to abandoned carts and identify what you can do to help customers through the checkout process.
For example, let’s say you use heat mapping tools and identify that some of your customers were repeatedly clicking on a non-clickable element on your checkout page. As a result, they got annoyed and left your site without buying.
Removing or modifying this non-clickable element will make it easier for customers to complete their purchases as well as increase online sales.
Approach #2: Offer guest checkout
Providing a guest checkout option, where customers can buy from your site without creating an account, can significantly reduce shopping cart abandonment rates.
If you don’t want to offer guest checkout, consider including a social sign-on option, where customers can log in to your website with an existing social media or Google account. This means they don’t have to register for a brand-new account to buy from your site.
Approach #3: Be up front with delivery costs
Providing clear shipping costs as early as possible in the sales process means shoppers are fully prepared. This not only lowers your average cart abandonment rate but generates trust and goodwill in your business.
Clearly specify your shipping costs (as well as any extra costs like taxes) on your product pages and in your website’s frequently asked questions.
Approach #4: Implement a better checkout design
The ideal checkout flow for an e-commerce store is short, streamlined, and transparent. This increases the chances of customers making an online purchase and reduces the chances of online cart abandonment.
Offering guest checkout is only one way you can improve the checkout process. You can also:
- Provide an extensive range of payment options.
- Optimize your checkout flow for mobile devices.
- Minimize the amount of data you ask customers for.
- Use autofill to make it easy for customers to enter their information.
- Limit your checkout to just one page. If this isn’t an option, use progress indicators so customers can see how far they have to go to complete their purchase.
Approach #5: Create retargeting ads
If shoppers abandon their carts, there are marketing channels you can use to encourage them to come back and complete their purchase.
One of the options available is retargeting ads. Retargeting ads are advertisements that remind previous visitors to come back and check out your products and services if they leave your website without buying.
You can set up retargeting ads on Google Ads and social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Approach #6: Send cart abandonment emails
Another way to recover abandoned carts is through cart abandonment emails.
A cart abandonment email is an automated email that encourages a customer to buy a product or service they have left in their cart.
You can provide additional information in this email to persuade customers to buy, like reviews and user-generated content. You can also offer an incentive like a discount code.
Approach #7: Display coupon codes clearly
You can reduce the risk of shoppers leaving your site to find a discount code by prominently displaying any codes on your website, for example, in a banner at the top of the page.
Alternatively, you can automatically apply any discounts at checkout.
If you don’t offer discount codes, remove the code field from your checkout so shoppers know not to leave your site to look for a code.
Approach #8: Use trust signals to show your credibility
A trust signal is a piece of information you display on your website to show that you’re a reliable and credible business. These signals reassure customers that you’re trustworthy, which means they’re less likely to abandon their carts.
Examples of trust signals include:
- Reviews, ratings, and testimonials
- Awards your business has won
- Qualifications and accreditation
- Guarantees and warranties
- Logos of clients you work with
- Links to your business social media profiles
Key takeaways
- What is shopping cart abandonment rate? Shopping cart abandonment rate is the number of web visitors who add items to their shopping cart but don’t make a purchase. This number is expressed as a percentage.
- Seven out of 10 customers abandon their online carts. A large proportion of online shoppers don’t complete their purchases.
- High cart abandonment rates can harm your business. They can lead to lost revenue and low levels of trust in your e-commerce store.
- Shoppers abandon their carts for a wide range of reasons. They might not want to pay additional shipping costs, you might not offer enough payment methods, or they may just be window shopping.
- You can take steps to reduce the number of abandoned carts. Some ways you can do this include implementing a guest checkout, simplifying your checkout flow, and choosing the right payment methods.
- You can get shoppers to return to an abandoned cart. Popular abandoned cart recovery methods include retargeting ads and abandoned cart emails.