Softrax

Cart Abandonment

What is Cart Abandonment?

Cart abandonment occurs during online shopping when a customer adds a product or service to their cart but does not complete the checkout / purchase process.

Why is Cart Abandonment an Issue?

An abandoned cart reflects a sale did not go through as well as lost revenue for the company. This lost revenue has a direct effect on a company’s bottom line, especially if the cart abandonment occurs at high rates of abandonment. In addition, online businesses typically invest in marketing and advertising to attract customers, and this investment is called the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). Abandoned carts result in a higher customer acquisition cost in the long term.

Why Do People Abandon Their Carts?

Although there are some factors leading to an abandoned cart that businesses can’t control, such as a customer being distracted by a phone call as they were about to hit “buy,” there are others that businesses should review:

  • Unexpected fees: Shipping costs or taxes that are not revealed until checkout can stop customers from completing their purchases. Businesses should make sure any additional costs are clear before the customer puts the item in their cart.

  • Complicated checkout process: A lengthy or overly complicated customer experience at checkout process can frustrate customers to the point of abandoning a purchase. Businesses should routinely examine the customer checkout experience to make sur it is as intuitive, speedy, and non-intrusive as possible.

  • Concerns about security: If a customer does not have faith that their financial information will be kept secure, they may decide to skip the payment altogether. Businesses should do all they can to promote their data protection methods.

What is the Cart Abandonment Rate?

The cart abandonment rate is a crucial e-commerce metric that measures the percentage of online shoppers who add products to their shopping cart but do not complete the purchase.

 The formula for cart abandonment rate is:

(Number of carts abandoned / number of carts created) X 100

The cart abandonment rate is typically expressed as a percentage.

According to Zippia, the average cart abandonment rate is 69.82%, so any number below that is good.

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