Cart abandonment is a big issue for E-Commerce stores. A large portion of online shoppers abandon
their carts at some point during the purchasing process, representing a huge amount of lost
potential revenue. More than 70% of online sales are lost because of card abandonment. That’s an
incredible amount of revenue walking out the door.
So why are so many customers abandoning their shopping carts and, more importantly, what can
you do about it?
How to Solve Online Shopping Card Abandonment Issues
Although there isn’t a simple one-fits-all solution to this problem, there are some practical ways that
online stores can encourage sales. Cart abandonment is frustrating, but you should know that every
store, even the world’s biggest brands, struggles to get people to finish their check-out process.
You should use your abandoned carts as an opportunity to understand your customers’ behavior.
We’ll get you started with the 6 most common reasons for cart abandonment and how you can solve
these issues.
Payment Issues
All customers want an easy and friendly checkout process, so you need a seamless checkout process
to increase sales. One study found that more than 10% of customers abandon their shopping cart
because they can’t use their preferred payment method.
It is important to offer all the major payment options and preferrably a few more. Here’s what you
need to do:
- Don’t skip the basics – take payments through debit cards, online banking, and major credit
cards such as Mastercard, Diner’s Club, Visa, AMEX, and Maestro. - Take a look at which payment methods are prioritized by your target audience. You can
integrate more payment methods like PayPal, Apple & Google Pay, Shop Pay, and Amazon
Pay. - Offer Guest Check Out. Many shoppers abandon their cart because they don’t want to
create an account. - Offer payment options that support buy now, pay later. Offer interest-free installments and
split payments to make it easier for your customers to buy expensive items. - Make it easy for your customers to reach out. Offer 24/7 support through email, SMS, and
live chat.
Unexpected Fees
Nobody likes nasty surprises, so it can be shocking for customers to see a shipping fee added to their
bill just before they hit the “Buy” button.
Here’s what you should do instead:
- Add your shipping costs to the prices of your products – customers will appreciate your
transperancy - Have a free shipping threshold – provide free shipping when a cart passes a specified
amount - Emphasize and educate your audience about your unique selling points
Technical Issues
A bad website experience can be frustrating and can even stop your customers from finalising their
purchase. Technical issues, expired discount codes, emptied carts, and poor website experience can
all result in cart abandonment.
A better approach is to:
- Test your website on different browsers
- Ensure your website is mobile-friendly – mobile commerce isn’t going anywhere, and it’s
essential to increase your sales - Provide instant support to your customers through live chat, email, phone, or more
- Offers live technical assistance to improve user journey on your website
- Mistakes are part of the game – reach out to your customers personally and offer them
discounts and guide them through the purchasing process - Ensure your website loads quickly, is easy to navigate, and is user friendly
Long Shipping Times
Delivery plays a vital role in improving the overall user experience and same-day shipping will greatly
encourage customers to buy from you. Customers don’t need to wait for a long time to get their
product and long delivery times may cause them to abandon their cart.
How to avoid refunds and complaints:
- Offer a range of shipping methods, including overnight shipping if possible
- Provide shipping details and company information on your website
- Ensure to add customers support contacts for your customers to get in touch with you
- Communicate with your customers to know what difficulties they are facing and how to
improve them
Lack of Trust
Your customers need to trust you by sharing their personal information. They need to know you
have a secure platform that will keep their private data safe. Customers’ trust isn’t easy to gain, but
it is easy to lose. A lack of confidence in payment security is another major reason for cart
abandonment.
How to win your customers’ trust:
- Get SSL certificates for your website
- Use a secure EPOS system and enable PayPal as a payment method
- Get more ratings and reviews from your customers
- Build social media presence and other digital marketing to establish credibility
Lack of Product Knowledge
Customers want to know that your product is right for them, particularly when it comes to consumer
products like apparel, skincare, nutrition, food, and drinks. If they’re not confident your product
meets their needs, they won’t buy it.
How you can give your customers the product knowledge they need to make a purchase:
- Include FAQ section in the footer of your website and keep it updated to provide the
answer for every possible question your customers might have - Don’t force your customers to call or write to you to get the answer to their question
- Integrate a chat widget to help your customers solve their problems in real-time
Try these practical solutions and increase your online store’s sales in 2022!
