Why don’t they buy?
It’s a question that many online retailers ask themselves when they notice that their shopping cart abandonment rate is higher than they would like…
You might have read in our previous post why shopping cart abandonment is a problem for retailers and what it consists of.
If you haven’t yet, it’s not too late, and if you have, then you may understand just how important it is for your business.
You think you have done everything to get your visitors to the point where they are ready to buy. You have answered their questions, offered them free shipping, and discounts, and even included a few bonuses in the purchase.
However, before they can check out, you see something that causes you heartache: shopping cart abandonment!
There are reasons for this, and in this blog post, we’ll list the 11 most common reasons for digital shopping cart abandonment so that you can avoid it from happening on your site.
Top Reasons for Digital Shopping Cart Abandonment
- Hidden costs at the checkout
- Lack of trust in the online retailers
- The check out process is too complex
- Poor user experience
- No coupon codes or discount
- Unsatisfactory return policy
- No fast delivery option
- Lack of online shopping payment methods
- Having to create a guest account
- Lack of digital customer service
- The checkout isn’t correctly translated
Hidden costs at the checkout
It’s one of the most frustrating digital shopping cart abandonment factors, so what is it?
Unexpected costs at the checkout are extra fees that will be charged to your credit card once you start completing your purchase. Think about the unexpected shipping costs, taxes, payment methods extra fees…
The problem with unexpected costs at the checkout is that they often require customers to spend more time checking to make sure that they don’t accidentally purchase something that they hadn’t planned for. They’ll end up spending more time on the site, making fewer purchases, and increasing digital shopping cart abandonment – it can be a vicious cycle!
If digital shopping cart abandonment is an issue for your business, make sure that you announce all charges to your customers before they actually access the checkout. It can help reduce digital shopping cart abandonment rates substantially.
Lack of trust in the online retailers
In this digital world, it’s easy for a customer to feel that they will be taken advantage of.
Online shoppers are no longer just browsing your site. They are actively investigating you and your business on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and other forums before deciding whether or not they will make a purchase.
If they can’t find that information quickly on social media or on your website, if they can’t read other buyer reviews or customer testimonials to reassure them, their brand trust might go down.
And when a customer starts doubting before a purchase, it’s never a good sign for the store cart abandonment rate!
The checkout process is too complex
Another one of the most important reasons why you might notice high shopping cart abandonment rates might be due to a long or complicated checkout process.
Shoppers abandon more easily their cart if they are feeling overwhelmed by the number of steps, the complexity, or any unclear questions in the checkout process.
It’s important for E-commerce sites to simplify the checkout page and remove anything that might deter customers from completing their purchases.
Online customers prefer a quick and simple experience but if they don’t feel like they’re in a hurry, then they might end up being more patient!
Poor user experience
The shopping user experience is a lot more than just a nice-looking site.
Customers have many unique needs and expectations, and retailers need to focus on providing them with an easy and pleasant experience to ensure digital shopping cart abandonment doesn’t occur!
If they find that the user experience is poor, the website took too long to load, had a complicated checkout flow, or that the website was unstable or occasionally crashed, then digital shopping cart abandonment will be inevitable.
In order to create a digital experience that will have customers completing their purchases, you need to focus on providing the best possible customer experience from start to finish. This includes a seamless digital checkout process as well as a site that operates smoothly at all times!
No coupon codes or discount
This is another digital shopping cart abandonment factor that might have different effects depending on your business.
When you don’t offer digital discount codes, coupons, personalized discounts, or specials for your customers, you might notice a higher cart abandonment than when you do!
They will start to see your digital store as too expensive and not worth the effort.
It’s important to show digital shoppers that completing their order will save them money or give them an exclusive deal!
Unsatisfactory return policy
If digital shoppers don’t feel like they will be able to return what they bought, then they might just wanna leave the checkout process and cart abandonment is bound to occur!
It’s important for an online store to offer a satisfying return policy that customers can trust. If you provide them with returns and exchanges quickly and easily, digital shopping cart abandonment might decrease over time.
When E-commerce digital shoppers find that they can’t return their online order or exchange a product easily, their trust in you and your store decreases.
They will start to feel like it’s too much of a hassle and online shopping cart abandonment might occur!
No fast delivery option
Tired of customers abandoning digital shopping carts?
You might want to look into this next factor – because another main reason why checkout abandonment can be high for some online retailers is the lack of shipping options and especially with expedited shipping.
Shopping online comes with its advantages and disadvantages, and shipping is a great deal to handle for an eCommerce store (We can actually help you with our free shipping software if you are struggling with logistics).
Even if it might be complex to implement, having several shipping options and prices can really be helpful in reducing shopping cart abandonment.
If potential customers don’t feel like they can get their products delivered quickly, then they might have to leave their online shopping carts and go to a brick-and-mortar store or a competitor to get them on time.
If you want to reduce cart abandonment and offer better shipping options then get started with ShipSimple today!
Lack of online shopping payment methods
As abandoned shopping carts can happen at any part of the sales funnel, it’s important to pay attention to all details.
Providing your customers with a variety of different payment options can actually help to raise the number of completed transactions.
Indeed, the shopping cart abandonment rate is higher when customers notice that you’re not offering their preferred digital payment method.
Suggesting several payment options can then enhance the customer journey and help them feel safer in their payment process. They will see they have several payment options to choose from, among which, maybe their preferred one.
Having to create a guest account
Creating a digital account might seem like an easy task at first, but the process can be frustrating for digital shoppers if it isn’t done right.
Creating digital accounts is usually easy, which is why many online stores use that process to create more revenue streams. Indeed, many digital store owners invite customers to create their accounts in order to collect data and information about them.
However, this strategy may just backfire on store owners as digital shoppers might become frustrated with creating their accounts and they will choose to abandon their shopping carts.
A way to overcome that problem is as easy as creating a guest checkout option.
Lack of digital customer service
Digital customers are always in-demand of excellent customer service. They want to feel valued and supported when making a purchase online.
And sometimes, while buying online, customers who initiated transactions might need that extra piece of information that they are missing to complete their purchases.
A common issue is that in many online stores, no immediate online customer service is provided to answer these questions that would prevent from getting more abandoned carts.
Make sure you have an easy phone line or a chatbot they can contact.
The checkout isn’t correctly translated
For international online retailers, language barriers can be a digital shopping cart abandonment factor.
If the checkout is not correctly translated, it can cause understanding difficulties for your customers when they try to make their purchases.
Since they are at a stage where they must provide sensitive personal and payment information, you risk losing a potential customer if translations aren’t properly done.
The digital retail industry is evolving quickly. With the rise of digital marketing and eCommerce, more customers are shopping online than in previous years.
The digital customer experience has never been more important as it can be difficult for shoppers to overcome some barriers when deciding whether or not they should complete their purchase on your site.
As we just discussed, many common mistakes are being made, but fortunately, now that you have a clear eye on those, you definitely have all cards in hand to reduce cart abandonment of your online store.
Any other reasons for cart abandonment you might have thought of? What factors have you noticed on your side that affected your online sales? Let us know.
