E-commerce Stats: Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment

According to a study from Dieringer Research Group, Inc. (DRG), 114.1 million adults searched for product information online in 2003, and 98.9 million of this group went on to make purchases. In comparison, 106.7 million adults made purchases through the traditional mail-order catalogs, telemarketing, and direct mail channels.

Despite capturing purchases via this new channel, websites saw an increase in shopping cart abandonment over the previous year as a percentage of converted sales in the second and third quarters of 2004. Some sources claim the rate of abandonment is as high as 50-75%. So what can you do to reduce abandonment? Understanding your customers' behavior helps determine where your checkout process could use improvement. Cart abandonment is a natural occurrence in online stores, much different than in physical locations.


Some suggestions for reducing abandonment:

• Make the checkout progression short and easy to follow (large icons for "continue to payment")
• Provide explanation for any unusual information you collect
• Make the checkout process as easy for new customers as returning customers
• Provide a link back to the product, to open in a new window
• Illustrate security measures (secure shopping icons, https://)
• Add pictures inside the basket
• Provide shipping costs early in the process, avoid surprises that deter purchasing
• Make editing the shopping cart easy
• Provide complete contact information and appear approachable
• Track your site activity throughout the purchase or non-purchase of items – from the time a customer leaves a shopping cart to the return. With more detailed information, you can see areas for improvement, helping you turn more shoppers into buyers.

Studies suggest that shopping cart abandonment is more often tied to website design issues rather than technological or other problems. According to a December 2003 survey by NetIQ, the main reasons for abandonment:

1. surprise costs (such as shipping and handling)
2. requests for too much information from the user
3. lack of information about the product