Did you know that the average cart abandonment rate across all industries is 69.57% with mobile shoppers reaching up to 85%? (Drip) This statistic is shocking, especially when you’ve put in so much effort and so many resources to capture that customer in the first place. No matter the industry you are in, abandoned carts are a problem for everyone who has an eCommerce site. Fortunately, we have mechanisms that can help you win them back.
When your customers get that close to purchasing but choose not to, there are a few things that might be preventing them from pulling the trigger. By the end of this blog, you should have a firm understanding of why your customers are abandoning carts and strategies to implement that will increase conversions of said checkout abandoned carts.
What is cart abandonment and why should you address it?
There are different types of abandoned carts depending on where your customer left the process. In this blog, we’ll be referring to when a customer adds a product to the online shopping cart of an eCommerce site but doesn’t proceed to checkout and complete the purchase. Though, our strategies should help to increase all types of abandoned carts when incorporated correctly.
To put it simply, if you don’t care about abandoned carts it means you don’t care about your business missing out on extra sales. (Alexa, play Toccata and Fugue in D minor) But we all know you do and that’s what we’re here for. As content writer Meir Fox once said…
“With $4 trillion worth of merchandise predicted to be abandoned in digital carts next year alone, cart abandonment has become a burning issue that eCommerce organizations can no longer afford to ignore.”
You’ve heard the man - let’s do something about it and increase your profits! To calculate your cart abandonment rate, divide the total number of completed purchases by the number of created carts and subtract from one, then multiply by 100. For example, if you have 600 carts created, and 200 completed purchases, then your cart abandonment rate is 66%. Calculating your cart abandonment rate will allow you to monitor it over time and compare it with previous quarters to see your improvements and celebrate those extra wins!
10 reasons why customers abandon carts
There are a few things that prevent customers from purchasing once they have added a product into their virtual basket. Understanding these customer decisions will help you to optimize your process and boost your sales.
1. High shipping or unexpected costs
Please, I beg of you, do not tack on extra, unnecessary costs to your eCommerce site if you don’t need to. This will frustrate your customers and could cause them to leave forever to find a company that is more honest up-front. Being truthful with your customers right off the bat about pricing will prepare them better for what they’ll really be paying. The last thing you want to see as a customer is your final price doubling due to shipping, taxes, or other fees.
2. Complicated checkout
Causing friction for your customer by making the checkout process lengthy and complicated will cause them to leave. 22% of cart abandoners do not complete their purchase when they are required to create a new user account, and 28% of all shoppers say that it is a reason why they’ve abandoned carts. (Barilliance)
3. Mandatory account creation
Raise your hand if you’ve immediately left a website, stopped taking one of those click-bait quizzes, or cut off a purchase when the business forced you to make an account with them. Nobody likes being forced to do anything, especially when you’ve almost gotten them to purchase.
4. Security concerns
Let’s be honest, purchasing online can get a little sketchy sometimes. People are hesitant about anything that could be a scam or getting their bank accounts hacked (rightly so). Before they know your business, it’s difficult for customers to fully trust you.
5. Limited shipping options or slow delivery
Many big brands such as Amazon have given us the expectation that orders will arrive in around 2 days for free. Kudos to them, but not everyone can maintain this level of shipping or afford free shipping without deeply cutting into their margins. Although you are at the mercy of shipping companies, by giving your customers choices it takes the responsibility off of your hands.
6. Website performance issues
Nobody likes a negative website user experience. Making sure your website is up to par with speed, design, clarity, and overall feel will help to keep customers from bouncing right away. Our team of technical support engineers can help with anything from basic QA to custom troubleshooting!
7. Lack of payment methods
You don’t have to offer cryptocurrency yet (keyword, yet…who knows where that’s going), but offering major credit cards and giving customers as many options as possible will keep them on your site. The fewer options available, the more likely they are to abandon.
8. No coupon codes or discounts are available
Customers are so accustomed to online coupons that they may wait until you offer a discount or find a different product that has one. A solution to this is to design your checkout so that coupons are not obvious, but are available to people who are looking for them, which will encourage them to purchase.
9. Using the cart as a wish-list for future purchasing
I’m playing devil’s advocate here. Customers could be leaving your products in their cart with the intent to buy and for the sole purpose of returning to purchase later. Though this is rarer than other reasons for abandoning cart, it is still a reason customers haven’t gone on to make their purchase yet.
10. They simply aren’t ready to buy or are still looking around
This may have absolutely nothing to do with your business and relates more to the customer. Maybe they are shopping for gifts a tad too early. Maybe they are saving up for your product. Maybe they’re shopping around to compare prices. Whatever the reasoning, implementing our below strategies will help to encourage them to make the purchase.
10 abandoned cart strategies to win customers back
Ultimately, customers will do whatever they want, and we can’t blame them for that. However, there are steps - as a business - that you can take to make it easier for them to choose you and to continue choosing you. Here’s the juicy part…
1. Use email marketing software to create abandon cart email automation
Two words: email automation. These campaigns will be your right-hand man, your best friend, and the reason you’ll be kicking yourself for not taking advantage of them sooner. If you aren’t utilizing abandoned cart email automation run, don’t walk, to set them up. (But do take the time to test and ensure that they are set up correctly, as they will be constantly sent out to your audience.) And, if you already have an abandoned cart email automation set up, it never hurts to go back in and check that everything is still functioning as expected.
*Note that this tip is first because it is the most valuable for you if you are not already doing it. It doesn’t matter if you use Constant Contact, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Mailerlite, or any other email marketing software, you’ll want to create abandon cart email automation and set them up in a dynamic way to personalize their experience. Each email marketing software should give you customization options.
2. Analyze where customers are leaving
Closely inspecting where the majority of your customers are abandoning cart is the simplest way to tell what the problem is. From there, you can take action to optimize your process and continue to monitor the results.
3. Create a fast checkout experience
First things first, ensure that your site is mobile-friendly. In 2022, mobile retail eCommerce sales in the United States are projected to surpass 430 billion U.S. dollars, an almost twofold growth since 2019. (Statista) Consider making your checkout only one page to avoid frustrating your customers.
4. Highlight shipping terms
Even if you do not offer free shipping (because let’s be honest, shipping is through the roof nowadays), it’s still recommended to be up-front and honest with your customers before they even begin the checkout process.
5. Make it easy for customers
If products are difficult for customers to find, they’ll just leave. By building strong and clear calls to action and coaxing your customer through their shopping journey, it keeps their transactions stress-free so they don’t get distracted by other things.
6. Offer guest checkout
Compared to forcing customers to create a whole account, you could offer the option for shoppers to choose guest checkout. You can always create email automation inviting them to create an account later, but getting them to purchase once they’ve added item(s) to their cart is the goal. Once they see how amazing your products are, that will be encouragement enough for them to go back and make an account when they turn into repeat buyers.
7. Clarify your exchange or return policy
If we’re talking about a new customer who hasn’t tried your products before, they may not know if they’ll like it or if it will be exactly what they’re looking for. Maybe you sell clothing and customers are interested in exchanging for other sizes. There are many reasons why customers want to exchange or return, but as a rule of thumb, always being honest with customers and telling it like it is from the get-go is the golden standard.
8. Provide 24/7 chat or phone support to answer all questions
Customers want answers and they want them ASAP. By offering a round-the-clock support team who can answer any and all questions they may have, it allows you to secure their purchase right when they are thinking of buying from you - as opposed to putting in all of the extra efforts to get them back on your site. Our customer support teams are here to take the weight off your shoulders!
9. Make it simple for customers to make changes to their order
Once they’ve added an item to their cart, customers may change their minds and decide they want a different size, color, design, or different product than the one they’ve chosen. Making this easy for them to swap will keep them on your site and not clicking into the next one.
10. Make customers feel safe with seals of trust and use secure transaction methods
Audit your site for trust seals and secure transaction indicators. Then, display at least one trust seal on every shopping page. If you promise to take care of customer data and keep their information secure, work hard to make sure this rings true.
How Influx can help
Our trained team of support professionals offers 24/7 support so that you can keep your sales coming in night and day 365 days a year. Trigger more leads, upsells, and happy customers. Contact Influx today!
