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The average shopping cart abandonment rate globally is 69.80%.
Do you know how much you lose? Have you also Googled ‘How to reduce shopping cart abandonment’ time and time again?
Now you’re probably familiar with the standard tips and tricks. These mainly relate to improving your checkout flow. Have you seen improvement? Or are you still in doubt about where or how to start?
We created a structured guide to unique shopping cart recovery tactics for your benefit.
Table of contents:
Imagine that you’re filling up your shopping cart in a supermarket. You get distracted by something – maybe an unexpected phone call. You walk out of the store, forgetting all about your cart and your dinner. In the real world, you would only do this in an emergency. But in the world of eCommerce, it happens all the time.
Shopping cart abandonment is one of the biggest problems an online business faces.
Abandonment is an eCommerce term used to describe a visitor on a web page who leaves that page before completing the desired action.
Cart (or basket) abandonment may be the most obvious. But there are different types of abandonment across various sectors:
In short, three in every four shoppers leave their carts instead of buying.
Statista found that when UK shoppers abandon carts, less than a third return to buy the chosen products. Instead, a quarter of them will buy an identical product from a competitor.
Let’s take a closer look at the impact that cart abandonment has on the eCommerce business:
Yet, abandoned carts often indicate a website or customer experience problem. Find the root causes of this problem and fix them. Your abandonment rate will drop, and your revenue will skyrocket.
Cart abandonment rate is calculated as a percentage. It tells you what percentage of your shoppers add items to their cart but don’t complete their checkout.
Here’s how you can calculate your abandonment rate:
[1 – [ (#) completed purchases / (#) shopping carts created ]] * 100 =
(%) Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate
Here’s how the math works:
Let’s take an example. You have 300 shopping carts initiated. But shoppers only made 200 purchases. In other terms, about 66% of your shoppers left without completing an order.
That’s a lot of money left on the table, right? But, surprisingly, a 66% cart abandonment rate is pretty good compared to industry averages.
To find your current rate, you can look at a handful of data sources:
a) If you’re using Magento, the default Magento 2 offers an Abandoned carts report (Magento Admin Panel > Reports > Abandonment Carts). The report lists all registered customers who have abandoned carts that are yet to expire.
The abandoned cart report grid lists the details below:
Moreover, the Magento connector allows you to enroll your abandoned carts into an Engagement Cloud program. You can now execute an omnichannel strategy. The connector also allows you to send an abandoned cart email series to recapture lost conversions.
b) If you’re using Shopify, you can quickly access all the numbers you need under Analytics > Reports. Look for (1) the total number of sessions where a customer added a product to the cart. And (2) the total number of sessions where a customer purchased a product.
c) If you’re using WooCommerce, you might need to install a plugin, for example, Cart Reports. This plugin allows you to view your rate and metrics, such as most abandoned products.
If you have the Enhanced Ecommerce feature turned on in Google Analytics, you can also access your rate there. If you’ve set up eCommerce tracking in Google Analytics, you don’t have to do the match yourself.
Google Analytics automatically tracks and calculates the conversion and abandonment rates for you. Just navigate to Conversion -> Ecommerce -> Shopping Behavior, and you’ll find the numbers you need.
In the Shopping Behaviour report, you’ll see a funnel report that tracks five main activities:
The numbers at the top of each column represent each activity’s count. The numbers at the bottom represent each step’s drop-off. In the example, cart and checkout abandonment are not too bad. But at the same time, browse abandonment is shocking.
Another powerful feature of the Shopping Behaviour Report is that it allows you to break down the purchase funnel by segments. Right below the funnel chart, you’ll see a table like this.
By default, it breaks down the data by user type. However, you can choose to break down the data in various ways. By geographic location, device type, campaign medium/source, etc. Then you can compare shopping behaviour among different segments.
The average online shopping cart abandonment rate is 69.80%. Based on data from 44 different studies analysed by the Baymard Institute. The percentage of abandoned carts ranges from as low as 57.60% to as high as 84.27%.
It differs by device. Mobile has the highest percentage of abandoned carts. (Barilliance, 2018):
Lots of factors play a role in cart abandonment. Therefore, rates will vary according to:
The average rate depends on different factors. That’s why we caution against using any of these numbers as a benchmark.
It’s better to set a moving target and say that a good abounded cart in your particular business case is one that’s always improving. Lower than last month’s and trending the right way over time.
Let’s do the math.
Imagine your rate is 65% (pretty good so far!). Let’s say you have 167 carts and 100 transactions per month, and your average order value is $1000. So, your monthly revenue is $100,000. If you improve your rate to 60%, your monthly revenue will increase by ((65/60)-1)% =8.333%. Thus, you’d see an extra $8,333 in revenue per month.
Your abandonment rate works as a negative multiplier to your sales. The lower it is, the more benefit you will get from improving it. $8333/month from improving your abandonment rate by just 5%!
Now, imagine what happens if you improve that rate a little every month.
Here are some sobering data for eCommerce marketers:
The statistics help show us what abandonment reasons we should pay attention to. The critical takeaway here is that abandonment kills conversions.
These shopping cart abandonment statistics prove you’re leaving money on the table. People are already visiting your website. They view products without putting them in their cart. They put products in their cart without checking out.
Complicated checkout processes, unclear pricing, and high shipping costs drive shopper exits.
The good news? It’s preventable.
You’ll never be able to eliminate cart abandonment. But start by learning what causes shoppers to abandon their purchases. Then, you can address it to improve your conversion rate.
Every eCommerce store is different, but here are some common reasons why carts are abandoned.
Let’s dig into some of the specific triggers for shopping cart abandonment:
Users on the web often ‘comparison shop’ to find the best deals. Unfortunately, these shoppers are price sensitive and will leave your store for a lower-priced option.
Also, shoppers get dissuaded if they add items to their cart only to find out later that they can’t buy them. Either because the item is out of stock or due to restrictions on how much each person can purchase.
You can help prevent customers from jumping ship. Offer special discounts and coupon codes.
Be upfront about product availability and quantity limits. It helps set expectations that a product might have limited availability. This reduces consumer frustration.
Non-product costs matter, whether shipping costs, import taxes, currency conversions, or extra fees. Together, they play a decisive role in determining whether it’s worth buying from an online retailer. The shock of unexpected costs usually occurs after shoppers have entered their shipping information. Once they see the fees, they may re-evaluate their purchase and abandon their carts.
Be transparent about all costs before the customer reaches the final checkout flow.
List shipping costs early in the funnel. If you offer free shipping, emphasise this in a free shipping bar at the top of each page. Or, if you can’t offer free shipping, make shipping costs explicit on product detail pages. Then, potential customers won’t be surprised at checkout.
If you can’t offer free shipping, consider flat-rate shipping. For example, “$9 flat-rate shipping in the US.” Of course, some shoppers won’t want to pay for it. However, by listing this cost upfront, the customer avoids an unpleasant surprise.
Consider offering free delivery to customers. If you do, display it prominently in your checkout process. Bake shipping costs into product prices. Variants on free shipping are: 1) Across-the-board free shipping. 2) Geographically bound shipping (“Free shipping in the US”). 3) Free shipping once customers reach a minimum order value (“Free shipping for all orders over $29”). An upside of the latter model: Fewer small orders while you reward customers if they put more items into their cart to reach the threshold.
You can compare prices between carriers to find the best price, but don’t forget about service quality.
Whether or not you can offer free shipping to customers, there are workarounds to reduce the cost:
First-time customers of your online store want a fast, friction-free checkout experience. Time-consuming fields aren’t essential to buying an item online. There are advantages to customers having an account. But requiring users to create an account adds an unnecessary extra step to the checkout flow. Regard it as a secondary conversion not comparable to the purchase. One of the leading causes of shopping cart abandonment is the lack of a guest checkout option.
The success of your online store depends on the checkout experience.
Give shoppers a guest checkout option that doesn’t require them to sign up or log in. You avoid losing a quarter of your purchase-ready site visitors.
While, yes, a sign-up helps you collect valuable customer data, it’s not a good idea to force customers to do this.
You will have to sacrifice some of the sweet data marketers crave by offering guest checkout. However, you’ll also make things easier for your customers. A smooth experience means a higher conversion rate. Also, there is a better chance that they will return to your shop.
The easier you make it for people to buy from you, the more sales you’ll make. You’ll still receive their email even if they check out as a guest. You can always prompt them to create an account later.
Online shoppers want to cross the finish line as quickly and efficiently as possible. They will abandon the checkout flow if it is too complex or time-consuming. And not only this time. It will deter them from ever purchasing on your site again.
All customer personal data (name, birthday, address, etc.) help you understand the customer. But as a retailer, you should prefer a sale to gaining information about the customer.
With a poorly optimised checkout, potential customers experience unnecessary friction and confusion. For example:
The best way to uncover these issues is through an audit. Some practical options include:
Pop into Google Analytics and use the reports to figure out where customers are leaving. The Goal Flow Report, Users Flow Report, and the Enhanced Ecommerce feature can all come in handy here.
Look through records of wherever customers engage with you to figure out why those drop-offs might be happening. For example, are there any recurring checkout complaints? Check your live chat logs, SMS, support emails, and social media tags. Look for and systematically document any trends.
Form hypothesises based on your analysis and feedback. Then, have them tested via user testing services. You can also DIY your user testing. Gather a group of potential customers who fit your persona and have never seen your site before. Then, ask them to walk through the checkout flow. Ask them to talk you through what they find helpful or confusing. A workshop like this can provide stunning insights into what your customers are thinking.
First, you find out where consumers are getting stuck in the checkout flow. Then, you can begin testing improvements.
- We at MageCloud offer a free 30-minute website perfomance audit/consultation to help you optimise your eCommerce store.
The easier you make it for customers to move between their cart and your store, the more likely they will stick with it and check out.
Help your customers to navigate your site. The navigation options between your checkout and product pages should be intuitive and logical. The more work you force prospective customers to do, the less likely they will cross the line and convert.
One way to simplify the checkout flow for users is to offer a seamless one-click checkout.
Another helpful tactic is allowing shoppers to save their carts for later. Make it effortless for customers to save – and later return to – their carts-in-progress.
Customers often have strong preferences as to how they would like to pay. They only complete a purchase if there is a payment method that seems convenient to them. Whether it’s PayPal, Apple Pay, or a buy now, pay later option.
Long gone are the days of customers having to enter their card details into their browser.
Credit card payment options are a no-brainer. But today, consumers have more payment choices than ever. PayPal is still going strong. However, mobile payment systems are becoming increasingly popular, particularly among younger demographics.
Amongst some of the most popular payment methods are:
By offering more payment options, you’re giving your customers what they want.
Shoppers expect delivery of their items within a reasonable timeframe. If they must wait too long, the value of shopping online over going into a store diminishes.
Shoppers want to know when they will receive their order. So, let them know the delivery times as soon as possible.
Implement a messaging system that notifies them that their order is on its way. Using their email, you can automate this process with the help of email service providers.
If you use WordPress for your e-commerce store, you can also install order tracking plugins that allow them to check the status of their package.
Don’t forget to make sure that tracking numbers or codes from your carrier are accurate.
Customers often get information on return policies and warranties after adding items to their cart. Shoppers want to know that should anything go wrong with the product, they can quickly return it to the retailer and receive a refund.
Returns policies are essential even before purchase. Shoppers want to know that they have options for items they buy online. For example, returning it for a full refund if it’s different from what they expected.
Offer a no-questions-asked money-back guarantee (or a similar offer of assurance). This reduces the potential objections a prospect might have about buying from you. Even if you already have an incredible return policy, showcase it mid-checkout. Put it front-and-center! Don’t hide it in the depths of a terms and conditions page.
Do whatever you can to make customers feel better about buying from you.
Buying stuff online is normal, but customers are still (rightfully) wary of sending money to a brand they’ve just met.
Most web users are very cautious about online payments. They aren’t always comfortable providing credit card info online. They will not follow through with their purchase if they don’t feel safe or have concerns about their payment data security.
The journey to recouping lost eCommerce revenue doesn’t start at the checkout page. The entire user experience influences how likely a customer is to buy. Like with people, customers judge websites very quickly. Therefore, success is rooted in choosing the best eCommerce platform for your store.
Consider any apps that can reduce cart abandonment across your entire eCommerce site.
These includes:
Compared to a product with zero reviews, shoppers are 270% more likely to purchase a product with 5+ reviews. We believe other shoppers more readily than we believe sellers. Collect great reviews, testimonials, social media clips, and further social proof for your Product and Product Detail pages. Then, you can build trust that carries through checkout and beyond.
A slow, buggy, or unstable eCommerce site will cause shoppers to get frustrated and leave.
For example:
Shoppers are less likely to enter their payment information after experiencing an unexpected crash or slow page load times. They fear that they’ll be double-charged for the purchase or that their payment might fail. Unfortunately, this fear is persistent, and they will also be less likely to revisit your website.
Monitor your analytics and perform regular reviews of the checkout process. Ensure that there are no technical issues or glitches. Also, ensure that the code on your checkout page is optimised.
At best, user experience issues make the shopper reluctant to try checking out again. At worst, they diminish the shopper’s faith in your ability to process their order or manage their credit card information. “What if they double-charge my card?” If customers are afraid, they will seek a more stable site.
Make sure to regularly test your site in various browsers (Chrome, Safari, etc.). Test on different device sizes and both fast and slow internet connections. Usability issues are often best monitored and prevented by development teams. Therefore, you should also ensure that you have someone monitoring site updates, page load times, and bug reports.
eCommerce shopping cart conversion rates drop 7% for every one-second delay in a page’s load time.
It is easier to optimise some on-page technical elements than others. For example, your images should be as optimised as possible. Then you maintain the crucial balance between quality and speed. You can also limit the use of ad network trackers, poorly implemented tags, social plugins, and other bloat. Both will increase your page load times.
If you’re aware of an inevitable delay when processing payments, consider introducing a visual representation of the delay. For example, a loading bar or progress indicator that assures customers that something is happening.
Refer to our detailed guide: Magento Technical SEO Issues You Shouldn’t Be Ignoring
Shoppers often find themselves inundated with offers and promotions from multiple retailers. Deal-seekers may expect your store to offer similar discounts. If you don’t, they may choose to buy from your competitor.
Many shoppers pause when they see an empty “apply coupon” field at checkout. The bare field whispers, “there’s a discount out there; you just have to go and find it.” It’s a typical situation with bargain-hunter shoppers.
Depending on how often you offer coupons or discounts, you have a few different options:
Visitors, who are “just-looking” or Lookers, aren’t there to buy; they’re there to window shop. The Baymard Institute estimates that as many as 58.6% of US shoppers abandon carts because they’re simply browsing. They are researching to buy later or doing comparison shopping. Thanks to the internet and the rise of mobile commerce, customers have access to many options when shopping online.
The last group of reasons why shoppers abandon carts is a catch-all. While it feels good to sort human behaviour as we did above, the gritty truth is that humans are unpredictable. There are plenty of other reasons someone ditches a cart — and many of those aren’t solvable.
For example:
And as many other reasons as you can imagine. The point is that you can’t account for every irrational quirk of human nature and the universe, nor should you try to.
Remember, you’re not trying to eliminate cart abandonment; you’re trying to improve your specific rate.
Can you reduce chaos in the universe?
No. Don’t try.
However, there are a few other practical ways to decrease cart abandonment. Some of them may also help recapture this type of lost conversion.
Your potential customers abandon their shopping carts for many different reasons. If you address those issues as early as possible, it will result in reduced shopping cart abandonment.
Reducing your shopping cart abandonment rate will be an ongoing process.
Step 1. Analyse user behavior for conversion funnel leaks. Tools like Google’s Advanced Ecommerce Analytics can help you create comprehensive conversion funnels. There, you can map out exactly where shoppers are dropping off.
Step 2. Collect customer feedback about pain points. Don’t be afraid to ask both converted shoppers and cart abandoners about how you can improve your checkout. Getting direct feedback from your customer base can reveal insights that may not show in your data analytics tool. You could also consider a focus group. Together, customers can work out problems that you’d never see on your own.
Step 3. Conduct A/B testing. Run A/B tests to see which checkout designs, layouts, and forms of content perform the best. Ensure that when running A/B tests, you alter only one variable at a time. Then you can identify exactly what impacts the performance of the new campaign.
Step 4. Start optimizing. We went through the reasons for abandonment and detailed how-to fix each issue. Now, let’s dive into some marketing tactics.
Despite your best efforts to reduce cart abandonment, some customers will always leave their carts.
That’s where two other crucial strategies for dealing with cart abandonment come in. These strategies are aimed at capturing the customers after they’ve already left your eCommerce site.
There are two main methods of cart recovery:
Cart recovery emails are another way to recoup lost revenue. Did the user log in or enter their email address during the checkout process before leaving your site? Then you can send them an abandonment email.
Tips for creating an effective abandoned cart email:
If the shopper has given you their phone number and opted-in to receive texts from you, you can send an SMS reminder. Facebook Messenger is also an option.
Texts usually require less design and formatting than emails. However, the core is the same. Messages should still be simple, personalised, and sent in time.
Ad retargeting is another powerful tactic in cart recovery.
The advantage of retargeting is that it works even if the user did not enter their email address. Thus, you can remain top of mind for the customer as they are browsing the web.
The beauty of online shopping is that most customers use several channels at once. That’s why retargeting is essential for eCommerce retailers who need to reduce cart abandonment.
Use tracking pixels or cookies on your site to show the abandoned products. To do that, you can work with your development team or contact us if you need any help.
Facebook remarketing is perfect for targeting shopping cart abandoners. Pixel collects all shopper’s data, including abandoned products. Finally, dynamic product ads show customers the exact items they’ve left. You nudge them to head back to your website and complete the purchase.
Remarketing with Google AdWords and Bing Ads is also a great idea.
The tips we mentioned earlier can help reduce your cart abandonment by optimising the checkout process on your store. But retargeting can help you to win back the prospective customers that you will lose along the way.
– Send timely push notifications with the right offers.
– Segment users, then target and localise the push notification.
– Create a sense of urgency.
– Send a series of push notifications.
– Images make a push notification stand out but use them sparingly. Not every push notification needs an image.
Social proof is evidence that other people have purchased and found value in your product or service. You can use information like the number of people who have viewed your offers, recent sales, photo reviews with authentic pictures taken by actual customers, as well as your best reviews on authoritative sites like Google and Trustpilot. Also, entice customers to leave good reviews and recommend you to others.
One thing is clear. Poor user experiences cause shoppers to abandon their purchases. That’s why we’ve collected our most effective suggestions below.
Try these proven solutions if you want to reduce the number of people who abandon their shopping carts on your site. Check off the ones you follow in your store, and you know what to work on!
Among the most critical: Ensure that a competent dev team constantly monitors your uptime.
These improvements all address the solvable reasons consumers jump ship. Implement them all, and you’ll have a less distracting path to purchase and see huge conversion gains.
Get in touch, and we’ll provide you with a free audit of your website and show you where you can improve conversions.
