Abandoned cart
What is shopping cart abandonment?
Shopping cart abandonment happens when a shopper adds products or services to their online basket but leaves the website before completing the purchase. The cart abandonment rate can be calculated by dividing the number of completed transactions by the number of carts created, then subtracting the resulting percentage from 100%. Monitoring this rate is an important indicator of friction points in your sales funnel or checkout process. Reducing cart abandonment by making your checkout smoother and more transparent can directly improve your conversion rates and increase overall revenue.
Why do customers abandon carts?
There are a variety of reasons why customers might leave a shopping basket without completing their order, such as:
- Unexpected shipping costs or unclear shipping thresholds (e.g. surprising international shipping fees or minimum spend requirements for free delivery)
- Confusing return policies or lack of a returns guarantee
- Lack of voucher codes or discounts
- Complicated or slow checkout process
- Mandatory account creation before buying
To reduce cart abandonment rates, you can implement solutions like offering a guest checkout option, being transparent about all shipping costs upfront, simplifying the checkout page, making your return policy easy to find and understand, and offering incentives like discount codes or free delivery thresholds. By identifying why customers leave before completing their order and addressing those pain points, you can improve your customer experience and encourage more successful purchases.
