How to reduce abandoned carts in eCommerce?
Abandoned carts are one of the biggest challenges faced by eCommerce businesses. Studies reveal that nearly 70% of users leave a website without completing their purchase – meaning 7 out of 10 shoppers add items to their cart but don’t finalise the transaction. Learn more below.
It can be frustrating for business owners and marketers, especially after investing significant time, effort, and resources into attracting potential customers, and guiding them through the sales funnel, but the majority leave right before checkout.
While even the most successful eCommerce websites experience cart abandonment, there are actionable steps you can take to reduce it.
In this blog, we’ll explore proven strategies to lower abandoned cart rates and help you understand the reasons behind why shoppers leave before completing their purchase.
What is an abandoned cart?
An abandoned cart occurs when a shopper adds products to their online shopping cart but exits the site before completing the purchase.
To calculate your cart abandonment rate, you simply compare the number of carts that were created to the number of completed purchases. Specifically, you subtract the number of completed transactions from the total number of carts, then divide the result by the total number of carts. This gives you a percentage that shows how many customers left their cart before making a purchase.
“70.19% – average documented online shopping cart abandonment rate” per Baymard Institute.
For example, if 100 people add items to their cart, but only 30 complete their purchase, your cart abandonment rate would be 70%.
How abandoned carts impact the business?
Abandoned carts aren’t just missed opportunities – they’re a huge financial loss.
In fact, according to Dynamic Yield, retailers lose approximately $18 billion in sales annually to abandoned carts. That’s a massive figure, but the good thing is there are strategies to recover a significant portion of these sales. Every improvement to your checkout process, whether big or small, can potentially reclaim millions.
Also, research from Statista showed that out of the total shoppers who have abandoned their carts, only a third have returned to complete their purchase while the rest chose their competitor. This means you are not only losing your sales; you are making a sale for your competitors as well.
Table of contents:
- Understand why customers abandon carts
- Fix the website structure & usability
- Improve website speed
- Simplify the checkout process
- Optimise mobile experience
- Display cost early
- Offer diverse payment options
- Keep your prices competitive
- Safe & secure checkout with trust badges
- Send automated abandoned cart emails
- Use Facebook and Google re-targeting ads
- Provide urgency or scarcity in the right way
- Use exit-intent popups
- FAQs
- What is an acceptable abandoned cart rate?
- What is the average cart abandonment rate?
- How to fix or reduce abandoned carts?
- How do I track cart abandonment?
- Why do customers abandon their carts?
- At what stage do most customers abandon their carts?
- How long should I wait before sending an abandoned cart email?
- What industries see the highest cart abandonment rates?
Understand why customers abandon carts
Every marketer must understand that people simply don’t abandon their carts. There are many reasons why a shopper abandons their cart and most of the time, it is usually related to the checkout process, costs, trust and reliability.
A study by the Baymard Institutes has found the following reasons to be the main cause of cart abandonment:
- Additional costs like shipping, taxes, or fees were higher than expected (48%)
- The site required account creation before purchase (24%)
- Delivery time was too long (22%)
- Concerns about the security of credit card information (18%)
- The checkout process was too lengthy or complicated (17%)
- Total order cost wasn’t clear from the start (16%)
- The website experienced errors or crashes (13%)
- The returns policy did not meet expectations (12%)
- Not enough payment options were available (9%)
- The credit card was declined (4%)
Let’s look more into some of these problems before going deep into the solution!
High shipping costs
Shipping cost is a major factor when it comes to cart abandonment. Shoppers might add products to their cart when they see your price, but once they see those high shipping costs, they may feel like it’s not worth the effort and leave their carts.
Research from the Baymard Institute has shown that over 50% of online shoppers abandon their carts when they see a sudden increase in the total cost at checkout due to added shipping fees.
It doesn’t seem fair for the customers when they feel cheated when they have committed to a product based on the price alone. So you must be fully transparent about how much the product costs by displaying the shipping costs upfront or offering an incentive of free shipping when customers purchase for a minimum quantity.
Complicated checkout process
A lengthy or confusing checkout process often leads to frustration. Each additional step – from creating an account to filling out numerous form fields – adds friction that can make customers reconsider their purchase.
Try simplifying your checkout process by adding guest checkout options and reducing your required fields to make it more convenient for the user.
Lack of payment options
Today’s customers expect flexibility in how they pay. If your store only accepts traditional credit cards, you may lose out on customers who prefer alternative payment methods such as PayPal, Google Pay, or even buy-now-pay-later services.
For example, if your site only accepts debit/credit cards, some users might not feel satisfied since they prefer Apple or Google Pay, or just want to purchase in multiple installments.
The above data from Bayward Institutes also show that almost 10% of users abandon their carts due to a lack of payment options. So if you simply provide more flexible payment options, it can boost your conversions by a much larger percentage.
Did not meet expectations
Sometimes, customers might get a feeling that your product might not satisfy their expectations. Before the checkout process, they tend to confirm their choices by reading first-hand reviews, videos, and more.
When customers feel that the value of the purchase doesn’t align with the price or effort required, they often decide to leave the cart behind. Additionally, customers may expect more flexible return policies, faster delivery options, or even better customer support.
If these elements don’t meet their standards, they are likely to abandon the purchase and seek out more convenient options elsewhere.
Website performance issues
Users may also abandon their carts due to technical issues with the website. Slow loading times, crashes, or technical glitches can frustrate users, causing them to abandon their shopping carts and seek out competitors with smoother performance.
If a website crashes or errors occur during the checkout process, customers lose confidence in the security and reliability of the site. Many users fear that submitting their payment details on a site with poor performance could result in duplicate charges or failed transactions.
Performance issues don’t just stop at page load times. A site that doesn’t scale well under high traffic, especially during peak shopping times, can quickly lead to abandoned carts. All these issues show a problem with your digital infrastructure, so you may need to consult with your website host and designer to solve this.
Fix the website structure & usability
A well-organized eCommerce website is like a well-planned store layout – it should guide customers effortlessly from product browsing to checkout. If your website is hard to navigate, you’re likely losing sales to frustrated users. The trick is making sure everything works smoothly, is easy to find, and doesn’t leave customers scratching their heads.
A good website structure boosts usability
Your website should have a good structure with everything in its place for better usability for your customers. Think of your website as a roadmap to your customers. You don’t need to complicate things – a simple navigation menu that has well-defined labels is just enough.
You can use a hierarchical structure, where categories flow logically into subcategories, to make it easier for your customers to explore your products.
For example, If you run a Pet products shop, you should have a home page, an about page, category pages, and so forth. When your customer clicks on your category page, it should have subcategories listed for easy use.
The website Breadcrumb may appear like this:
Home page >> Dog Products >> Dog Foods >> Dog Food Products
This not only helps with streamlining your customer’s focus but also helps in targeting more keywords and intent, which can help in SEO as well. For more information, check out our blog on how to optimise your eCommerce category for SEO.
Improve website speed
According to Google, 53% of mobile users will abandon a site if it takes more than three seconds to load.
Fast loading times are critical, especially for impatient online shoppers. To boost your site’s speed, compress large images, minimise heavy code, and use tools like a Content Delivery Network (CDN), which helps load your site faster no matter where the user is located.
A speedy site doesn’t just keep customers happy – it also helps with your SEO ranking, making it easier for potential buyers to find you.
Check out our blog on how to improve website speed for more information.
Simplify the checkout process
Let’s face it: no one likes paperwork. And if your checkout process feels like filling out a tax form, you’re going to see a lot of abandoned carts. The simpler and quicker it is to pay, the fewer reasons your customers have to leave before completing their purchase.
Use guest checkout options
One of the main reasons people abandon their carts is because they don’t want to create an account to purchase a few items. In fact, about 24% of customers abandon their carts because they don’t want to make an account.
Registering for an account is a waste of time for most people since it involves filling in a lot of details and verification. After this long process, most customers feel bored or not interested in completing their purchase, leading to cart abandonment.
It’s best to offer a guest checkout option that allows users to skip the sign-up process and quickly make their purchases. You can always encourage them to create an account later by highlighting the perks – like tracking their order or faster checkout next time – but don’t force it upfront.
Minimise form fields
The more information you ask for, the higher the chances your customers will abandon your cart. So stick to the essentials – shipping details, payment info, and maybe an email address to confirm the order.
Autofill features and simple form validation also help speed up the process. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point, avoiding asking for the same info twice.
Optimise mobile experience
According to Statista, even though over half of online shopping now happens on mobile devices, around 85% of mobile shoppers abandon their carts due to a poor shopping experience. The last thing you want is for your mobile visitors to struggle with tiny buttons or confusing layouts.
Mobile shoppers want ease and speed, so make sure your site works just as well on a phone as it does on a desktop.
- Rich categories & product experience: On mobile, it’s important that categories are clear and product pages are packed with details but still easy to scroll through. Use big, tappable buttons, and keep the navigation simple and intuitive.
- Responsive design is key: Your site should automatically adjust to different screen sizes. Make sure your product pages include high-quality images, detailed product descriptions, and reviews, all without overwhelming the user on a small screen.
- Seamless mobile checkout: When it comes to mobile checkout, simplicity is everything. Use a single-page checkout to keep users from clicking through multiple pages, and make sure your payment options are optimised for mobile.
- Payments: Try integrating mobile-friendly options like PayPal, so users can complete their purchase with just a tap. Autofill and address lookup tools also help streamline the process, reducing the time customers spend typing on tiny mobile keyboards. The easier you make it for them, the more likely they’ll finish the purchase.
Display cost early
Customers love it when you are transparent about the costs and discounts much earlier than the checkout process. They don’t appreciate it when you surprise them with high additional fees like shipping costs or taxes at the later stages This leads to abandoned carts when their price expectations are not satisfied.
Make sure you show all costs upfront on your landing page or on the product page to let the customers know what they can expect when they add the product to their cart. This way you are being transparent about what you offer and the customer is also fully aware of how much should they pay.
Show shipping cost upfront
Generally speaking, high shipping costs are one of the main reasons for cart abandonment. And when they are shown at the end of the checkout process, it’s no surprise there are many carts left behind.
Customers don’t want to go through the entire checkout process only to find out the shipping cost at the last minute. Hiding this information leads to frustration and, ultimately, abandoned carts. Instead, provide shipping estimates as early as possible -either on product pages or right when items are added to the cart.
Avoid asking for too many details, such as full shipping information, before displaying the cost.
Show free shipping thresholds
One effective way to keep customers engaged is by offering free shipping for orders above a certain amount.
Displaying the free shipping threshold prominently, such as “Spend $50 more for free shipping,” motivates customers to add more items to their cart. This not only reduces the likelihood of them leaving the cart behind but also increases your average order value.
Showing the threshold early in the shopping process gives them a goal to reach and adds a small incentive to complete the purchase.
Offer diverse payment options
With many payment options available now, different customers have different payment preferences. Nowadays, it is important to have multiple payment options available on your eCommerce website. If a customer doesn’t find the payment option they are looking for, it limits their choices and drives them away from competitors who offer more flexibility. In fact, around 9% of customers reported that they abandoned their carts due to a lack of payment options.
- Credit card options: Credit card payments remain a popular choice, but it’s important to offer a variety of providers. Ensure that your site supports major credit card networks like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. The more flexibility you provide, the more likely customers are to complete their purchase without hesitation.
- Digital payment options: Nowadays, many digital payment options are also becoming popular due to their ease of transaction and security. Digital payment options like PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay allow users to check out quickly, often with just a few clicks or taps, using pre-stored payment and shipping information. So make sure your website offers these payment options to reduce cart abandonment and offer flexibility to more people.
- Buy now pay later options: With the rise of services like Klarna and Afterpay, buy now, pay later (BNPL) options have become increasingly popular. These services allow customers to split their payments into smaller, manageable instalments, making larger purchases more appealing. This way, you can reduce cart abandonment from customers who are hesitant to pay the full price but are willing to do it in instalments.
Keep your prices competitive
In eCommerce, price is a huge factor that drives your customer’s attention. You should aim for competitive pricing by regularly checking with your competitors and your value proposition to offer the best price to the customers. This way customers feel more confident in completing a purchase and reduce cart abandonment.
Even in the final moments of the checkout process, customers may feel like double-checking the prices with your competitors. It takes a few seconds to open a new tab and check your competitor’s prices, and if the customer feels like your competitor offers more value for a lower price, then this leads to cart abandonment.
Offering time-sensitive discounts, promotional offers, or loyalty programs can also keep your prices attractive and customers to come back.
Safe & secure checkout with trust badges
Security is one of the biggest concerns for online shoppers, especially when it comes to entering personal and payment information. Trust badges – such as SSL certificates, payment verification icons (like Visa, and MasterCard), and security seals – give customers confidence that their data is safe.
Displaying these badges prominently during checkout reassures customers that your site is secure, reducing the risk of cart abandonment due to trust issues. Shoppers need to feel that their credit card details are protected, and these visual cues reinforce that safety.
Send automated abandoned cart emails
Abandoned cart emails are a powerful tool for recovering lost sales. These emails remind customers that they left items in their cart and encourage them to complete their purchase. Sending a follow-up email within a few hours of abandonment can significantly boost recovery rates. You can also personalise the email by mentioning the specific items left behind and, if possible, offer incentives to bring them back to checkout.
You left item(s) in the cart – personalised email
You should send personalised emails to reduce cart abandonment. They work wonders by directly connecting with the customer and reminding them of the items left behind.
It’s best to address them by their name, mention the items they’ve left behind, and provide a direct link to their cart. This way, you can remind your customers where they’ve left off and simplify the process for the customer to back to your website.
Here’s a guide on an email automation checklist for eCommerce using Klaviyo and Mailchimp.
Offer a discount or free shipping
Adding a small incentive – such as a discount or free shipping – can make the difference between an abandoned cart and a completed purchase. Offering 10% off or free shipping in the follow-up email often tips the scales in your favour.
Customers appreciate feeling like they’re getting a special deal for returning to their cart.
Last value offer
You can also create urgency by giving out last-value offers. A limited-time offer like “$10 OFF + Free Shipping – Valid for 24 Hours Only” encourages customers to act quickly.
This can be mainly used to capture the FOMO (fear of missing out) and encourage customers to complete their purchase to get the deal.
Use Facebook and Google re-targeting ads
You can also use retargeting ads via Facebook or Google to bring back potential customers who have abandoned their carts. You can display targeted ads that remind users of the products they left behind, even as they browse other websites or social media.
Retargeting ads are like gentle reminders for your customers, reminding them of what they’ve left behind in their cart. Since most customers forget about their carts, sending an ad with a direct link to their cart can help to return and complete their checkout process.
For example, if a customer has left some items behind in your cart and left the website to scroll through Google Facebook or other platforms, you can set retargeting ads to remind them of their abandoned cart with some incentive or discount to encourage customers to come back and buy your product.
For more information on retargeting and increasing eCommerce sales, check out our blog on tips to increase eCommerce sales.
Highlight product benefits to win back customers
When you are creating retargeting ads, make sure you highlight the product benefits carefully. Sometimes, customers are too distracted or might not be convinced enough to get back to your website and complete the purchase.
When you highlight the product benefits again with reviews, testimonials, or unique selling propositions, you assure the customers of the value you provide, giving them more confidence in completing the purchase.
Use high-quality visuals and clear messaging to make these ads more appealing and persuasive, increasing the likelihood of bringing the customer back to complete their purchase.
Provide urgency or scarcity in the right way
In eCommerce, everything comes down to finding the right products at the right price that provides the right value. So scarcity and urgency are good motivators in driving the customer to make the purchase. But, you must make sure to strike the right balance.
It’s not advisable to simply spam emails or messages indicating the scarcity or urgency and expect the customer to come back. It all comes to tapping into the psychological mindset of the customer by offering incentives or FOMO.
- Sales end reminder: Reminding customers that a sale is ending soon can push them to act. Phrases like “Only 24 hours left!” or “Sale ends tonight!” create a sense of urgency, encouraging customers to complete their purchase before they miss out on the deal. The fear of missing out (FOMO) is a psychological trigger that can drive higher conversions, especially when tied to a time-limited discount.
- Saved cart will be deleted: Another effective tactic is to inform customers that their saved cart items won’t be available forever. Letting them know that their cart will expire soon adds urgency to the decision-making process. This small push can motivate them to complete their purchase before losing their selected items.
- Price increase notification if applicable: Notifying customers of an upcoming price increase can also drive immediate action. If a product’s price is about to go up, letting the customer know beforehand gives them the incentive to lock in the lower price while they still can. This tactic works particularly well for customers who are price-conscious and need that extra push to complete their purchase.
Use exit-intent popups
Exit-intent popups are triggered when a user moves their cursor toward the browser’s close button or navigates away from the site. These popups offer one last attempt to engage the customer before they leave, often by presenting a special offer or reminder.
When customers are about to abandon their cart, an exit-intent popup offering a discount or free shipping can stop them in their tracks.
For example, offering “10% off if you complete your purchase now!” or “Free shipping for today only” gives customers a compelling reason to stay and complete the checkout. The key is to make the offer attractive, capturing their attention before they click away.
Exit-intent popups work well because they create a sense of last-minute urgency and give customers a final opportunity to take advantage of a deal before leaving the site.
FAQs
What is an acceptable abandoned cart rate?
An acceptable cart abandonment rate varies across industries, but on average, a rate of 60% to 70% is typical for most eCommerce stores.
While this might seem high, it’s important to remember that even small improvements – such as optimising the checkout process or displaying shipping costs upfront – can significantly reduce this percentage and improve conversions.
What is the average cart abandonment rate?
The average cart abandonment rate globally hovers between 69% and 79% across various industries.
Mobile users tend to have higher abandonment rates compared to desktop shoppers. This makes it crucial for businesses to optimise the mobile experience, reduce complexity in checkout, and provide clear, upfront pricing to improve conversion rates.
How to fix or reduce abandoned carts?
To fix cart abandonment, start by simplifying the checkout process – reduce form fields, offer guest checkout, and display all costs early. Ensure your website is fast and secure, and offer multiple payment options. You can also send automated cart recovery emails or retarget customers through ads, reminding them to complete their purchase with incentives like discounts.
How do I track cart abandonment?
You can track cart abandonment using tools like Google Analytics with the Enhanced eCommerce feature, which shows drop-offs in the checkout process. Many eCommerce platforms, such as Shopify and Magento, offer built-in reports for tracking abandoned carts. Heatmaps and session recordings can also help identify where users are exiting.
Why do customers abandon their carts?
Common reasons include unexpected costs like shipping fees, a complicated checkout process, the need to create an account, or a lack of payment options. Slow site performance and concerns about payment security also drive cart abandonment. Simplifying the checkout experience and being transparent with costs can help reduce this.
At what stage do most customers abandon their carts?
Most customers abandon their carts during the checkout process, often due to surprise costs, a lengthy checkout experience, or the need to create an account. Analysing this specific point with funnel analysis helps pinpoint where optimisations are needed.
How long should I wait before sending an abandoned cart email?
It’s best to send an abandoned cart email within 1-3 hours after the cart is abandoned. Following up within this window keeps the purchase fresh in the customer’s mind and increases the likelihood of them returning to complete the purchase.
What industries see the highest cart abandonment rates?
Industries such as travel, fashion, and luxury goods tend to experience higher abandonment rates, often due to higher price points or more complicated checkout processes.
