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Share Visitors abandoning their shopping cart before reaching checkout is a big issue for e-businesses. Up to 80% of customers don’t finish the process, leaving you empty-handed.

Consider what that would look like in a grocery store: 4 out of every 5 customers in line for the cashier decide to leave the store. Your employees probably wouldn’t know what hit them. Why are these two worlds so far apart?

Why do we abandon our shopping carts

The simplest reason could be the low threshold of filling an online shopping cart. A lot of research offers insight on current abandonment numbers. Less investigated are the points at which customers leave during the checkout process. Here are three big reasons why abandonment rates are this high:

Abandoned shopping carts are a big challenge for e-commerce

Missing or unclear information

No clear indication of delivery time or what the shipping costs will be are great examples of missing vital information your customers need before they checkout. Not showing the number of steps during checkout can also cause abandonment.

Friction points

Your checkout process should be smooth as silk. Nearly all e-commerce platforms have their own friction points that deter your customer from finishing the order. Most common friction points are:
  • Requiring users to register for the shop before checkout
  • Asking for personal details not relevant to the purchase 
  • Not being clear on why you ask for specific personal details
  • Having a checkout process that is not mobile- or tablet-friendly  

Second thoughts

In our enthusiasm we add something to our cart without really thinking it through. Then, moments later we ask ourselves if we really need or want it. These second thoughts lead to a lot of unfinished orders.

What we can do about it

Improving your checkout starts with gathering enough relevant data on all the steps in your checkout process. Not having sufficient data or not being able to separate results between each step will keep you in the dark. The success of your improvements relies on the quality of the data you use.

Get valuable insights from user experience testing. Invite your network to complete specific assignments to see where they struggle, hesitate or hit a friction point. This should give you a pretty good idea on where you need to improve your checkout process.

Next up is investigating missing information and friction points during your checkout. Balance the results of your research based on necessity and impact to define which improvements to implement first.

Try turning your multistep checkout into a single step variant. Case studies show that switching to single step checkouts increases conversion up to 20%. Even automatically checking address details based on postal code and number make checkout smoother and less prone to error.

Get that sale

Relieving your customers’ hesitations is probably the most difficult part of improving your checkout process thanks to the personal element this involves. Sending your customers a personalized email nudging them to complete the sale could be enough to get them back.
Use what you know about your customers to give them the promotion they need. If all previous purchases were sale items then chances are that an additional discount will do the trick. With a first-time buyer persuading them with additional information on shipping and your return policy might be what makes the difference.

Testing various methods will give you insights on what works best for your business. If your results don’t improve you should consider using a reminder email to ask your customer why they abandoned the cart. You'd be surprised by the answers you receive.

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Blog on reducing the abandonment in your cart by @erwinwerkman. Reducing friction points and upping the quality of your data #SHOPABANDONMENT # EMPTYCART  Share
At average, 3 out of every 4 visitors abandon their shopping cart. This blog helps you reduce those numbers and generate more sales #SHOPABANDONMENT # EMPTYCART  Share