These days, it’s never enough to sell high-quality products or design an eye-candy e-commerce site. Your online payments process matters, as well. The reason is that more people are abandoning their carts.
To give you more ideas about the severity of the problem, here are some facts to remember:
Percentage of Abandonment
No official numbers can provide the exact abandonment rate or percentage. The reports suggest that it can be as low as 60% or as high as 75%. It means that as many as 6 to 7 of your potential customers decide not to proceed with the purchase.
The rate can also significantly vary among industries. According to Statista’s 2018 report, it’s the highest in travel-related sectors. The airline group, for example, could experience an abandonment percentage of 87%. That’s way higher than the average.
It’s the lowest in fashion and retail, where the percentage was below 75%. Nevertheless, these figures are still notable.
Reasons For Abandonment
Customers have plenty of reasons to skip buying. Some of the common ones include:
-
Speed of the website (usually, they close the page if it takes more than three seconds to load)
-
Cost of shipping
-
Unavailability of the products
-
Unclear or missing return policies
One of the top causes is the design of your checkout page. Buyers are more likely to hit the close button if:
-
They need to set up an account or fill out a long form for registration
-
They struggle with adding their credit card and shipping information
-
The checkout process takes many pages
-
They couldn’t use or add vouchers and promo codes
-
They face an error after filling out their details
Meanwhile, a growing number of customers are window-shopping online. They visit ecommerce shops, partly as a part of their product research. However, they purchase these items offline, usually from different shops that offer them at a lower price.
Curbing the Abandonment
Every customer who abandons his cart is lost sales for you. While you cannot make everyone happy, you can do something to lower down your percentage. Here are a few ideas:
Seamless Integrated Online Payments Platform
Ecommerce tools can be one of the effective ways to improve your payment process. You can add it to your website without coding, and it can already perform the following functions:
-
Offer a faster and easier-to-understand checkout process
-
Create analytics data, which you can use to improve your checkout page and process
Cart Abandonment Email
In some cases, customers may abandon their carts because they are in a hurry or have no means of buying it at the moment. A cart abandonment email is an excellent strategy to encourage them to proceed.
You can send it at different times:
-
Within 30 minutes after cart abandonment
-
Within 12 to 24 hours after the page is closed
-
Within 2 to 3 days after cart abandonment
The sooner you can send it, the better. Use the principle of scarcity to your advantage.
Overall Buying Process
Consumer behavior changes over time, and for your online store to survive, it needs to adapt. What else do you need to appeal to your target market?
-
Flexibility in shipping, including same-day or express delivery
-
Omnichannel approach (e.g. buy online and pick up offline)
-
Updated information about inventory
-
Updated, transparent, and fair return policies
-
Promotions such as vouchers or price match
-
Reviews or social proof section
A high percentage of cart abandonment is not the end of the world for your business, but time is your friend here. Fix it as soon as possible before it increases your opportunity costs.
online cart -DepositPhotos
