The Ultimate Guide To Shopping Cart Abandonment in E-Commerce

Informational Article
Abandoned cart optimization

Let’s begin with the fact, the e-commerce sector has seen remarkable growth since 2020. Studies revealed the year 2020 alone saw a 44% growth in e-commerce sales and the number has been rising ever since then. While the retail shoppers have seen a pitfall in sales, digital stores have surprisingly capitalized by garnering more than usual.

However, the picture is not always this bright! The truth is with more people spending time on digital platforms, ad clicks and browsing products is a big pastime for many.  Sadly, this has given rise to abandoned carts. Do you know the average cart abandonment rate is around 69%? Of course, it is a cause of worry for many e-commerce marketers. But, the good news is there are effective ways that can help you combat abandoned carts to foster conversions. Even before you plan on hiring the Shopify development company in Austin, it’ll be great to have a clear picture of what exactly are the abandoned carts.

In this post, we will guide you from scratch on abandoned carts and solutions to minimize the risks. Let’s begin!

What is Cart Abandonment?

In e-commerce terms, when the online shopper starts the checkout process to place the online order but drops before completing the order. Well, any item that enters the cart but fails to make it through the complete transaction process is considered ‘cart abandonment.’ Shopping cart abandonment is an important parameter for judging e-commerce online success.

The rate of shopping cart abandonment is calculated by the total number of transactions that were initiated with the total number of completed transactions. It helps the marketers get the exact percentage of users that signal purchasing intent but still didn’t complete the purchase.

If your customer is deciding not to buy the product just last minute before the checkout, then it’s a red flag for your business. It’s time to find the possible reasons why shoppers are exiting before the checkouts. Let’s find out some of the common reasons.

4 Common Reasons For Cart Abandonment

Shopping Cart Optimization

Complicated Checkout Process

Online buyers expect the site/app to work seamlessly. If the checkout process is complex and time-consuming, then buyers are likely to leave the site before completing the checkout process.

Casual Browsing

One of the biggest benefits of online shopping is you can casually browse anytime anywhere. More than 60% of the users use carts as their virtual wishlist. They might begin surfing with the intention to buy the product but are likely to abandon the cart.

Hidden Costs

Around 57% of the online shoppers are likely to abandon the carts simply because they are presented with unexpected costs. It can be in the form of shipping costs, taxes, packaging fees, and more.

Limited Delivery Option

Shoppers look for brands that can provide them with a good number of delivery options. Some look for in-store pickup options while others look for cash on delivery options. Having limited delivery options can be a big reason for the user abandoning the cart.

How To Recover Abandoned Carts

How to reduce cart abandonment

The good news is every problem has a hack! Yes! All those who are struggling hard to regain their customers back can minimize cart abandonment and recover the sales even after the customer leaves the site. Wondering how? Well, we will guide you with steps that can be helped in addressing abandoned carts.

Section Your Cart Abandoners

To recover the abandoned carts, you first need to segment the types of shoppers visiting your site or app. Categorizing them based on specific parameters will help you understand the different consumer behavior and allow you to act in a better way. For example – you can categorize them based on interest, types of product, shopping frequency, cart value, and more. By generating such insights you can understand the different needs and desires of the individuals.

Send Abandoned Cart Emails

Without a doubt, emails are one of the most popular and reliable ways to target cart abandoners. Emails yield around 46% in comparison to regular emails. The reason for this popularity is that regarded emails help in rendering the shoppers where they have left and can even tempt them to add more to the cart to make more profitable deals.

The best way to practice abandoned cart email campaigns is:

  • Catchy Headline: Believe it or not, but headings can be a big game changer! If the headline is worth it then users will definitely open it. For this, you need to go bold and have a catchy meaning in the headline that catches the user’s attention.
  • Pick The Right Time: The first email should reach your abandoned cart users within one hour of them existing the page. It helps them know you value your customers and want to serve them with the best.

Check the top 5 email marketing tools to make the email marketing easier.

Invest In Retargeting Ads

Whether it is website sidebars or social media, retargeting ads has a way to go! By targeting the users with personalized ad campaigns that meet each user’s interest and behaviors can surely increase the click-through rates.

What do you need to do?

  • Select The Right Platform: You can find ample platforms offering retargeting solutions. Before investing in any, make sure you research the features that suit your brand’s needs best.
  • Actionable CTAs: Short and crisp CTAs are definitely a win! Instead of focusing on ‘browse more items’ or ‘shop now,’ focus directly on the checkout page.

How To Prevent Cart Abandonment

Cart abandonment ecommerce

Be Easy On Transaction Forms

So, you have successfully lured your customers to buy products from your site, but you ended up giving them a lengthy transaction form. Trust me, it won’t woo them! The transaction forms act as a crucial tool in building trust among the users. When you ask your users about the personal details you actually ask them to trust you for their personal details and it is obviously a big thing for them. And why not? It’s not just asking them about the contact details, it is seeking their credit and debit card details. To build that trust you can include trust signals on your site by including security or verified logos. It will surely help to build that trust among the users.

Include Thumbnail Images Of Products

Until or unless the user is a serious shopper, they are likely to forget the things they have added to the cart. Adding thumbnail images throughout the purchasing phase is like a continuous progress indicator that they have placed the items in the cart and reassures them from time to time. When exploring the e-commerce stores, the users are likely to indulge in distracting items which they actually don’t intend to buy but enjoy exploring. It might distract them from the actual purchases, so the continuous reminder through thumbnail images can keep them in line and lower the risk of abandoned carts.

Ensure A Seamless Navigation Between The Store And Cart

Not every customer will directly search for the product they need and move on for the checkout procedure. More than 65% of customers take time to explore the site and then make purchases. So, to keep the audiences engaged and provide them with a seamless user experience, streamline the navigation process. It is really important to ensure smooth navigation between the cart and the store as it is considered to be one of the best ways to reduce friction during the checkout process. Big e-commerce giants like – Amazon keep on experimenting with the checkout flows to serve their customers with the best and urge them to shop more from the site.

Final Takeaway

It won’t be right to say that abandoned carts are a setback for e-commerce businesses, it can turn out to be a great opportunity for businesses. Through this blog, we have tried to cover every aspect of cart abandonment that can maximize your inputs and bring the best for your users.

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