Get Weekly Marketing Tips
Join 30,000+ marketers and get the best marketing tips every week in your inbox
Listen on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or Libsyn.
In This Episode
if you own or manage an online store, you most likely understand the frustration that comes with seeing abandoned carts.
You’ve probably seen users visiting your eCommerce website, exploring your product categories and clicking on product pages. You get excited that some of them click “Add to Cart” — finally, some sales, right?
But then — nothing.
They don’t complete the purchase. Some of them don’t even return to your store.
This problem is known as “cart abandonment” or “checkout abandonment” — and no, they are not the same thing (be sure to watch the video to learn the difference).
Abandonments are more common than you think. Research by the Baymard Institute puts the average shopping cart abandonment rate at 68.81%. That means only a little over 3 out of every 10 shoppers that add products to their cart don’t complete the purchase.
Obviously, that looks bad on paper. But there are many variables that determine what an “ideal” shopping abandonment rate should be (more in the video/podcast)
But why are people abandoning their shopping carts in the first place? According to the Baymard Institute, most people that leave an online store are just browsing — the equivalent of window shopping when visiting brick and mortar stores.
In other words, to fix your cart or checkout abandonment rate, you’re going to need to nudge undecided shoppers to complete their purchase.
Other Factors Behind Cart and Checkout Abandonment
Apart from a lack of shopping intent, shoppers also abandon their cart or the checkout page for other reasons. The Baymard Institute notes that unexpected high costs, such as shipping fees and taxes, are the top factor behind checkout abandonments among US consumers.
You may have come across a website where you’re happily shopping and adding items to your cart, only for you to find yourself slapped with a £20 shipping fee at the checkout page.
Image Source: Baymard Institute
In this episode, our Head Ninja Tim breaks down a few eCommerce best practices to stop cart and checkout abandonments on your store. We go over a number of solutions to these common shopping obstacles that lead to abandonment:
- The “I’m just browsing” crowd
- Unexpected costs at checkout
- Forcing shoppers to create accounts
- Lack of credibility
- Lack of payment options
Dive into the video or podcast to get the full skinny on how to overcome each challenge!
Take Advantage of This Exclusive Offer
We also have an exclusive ContentKing offer for our YouTube followers and podcast listeners! Go to www.ContentKingApp.com/ExposureNinja/ and get a FREE 28-day extended trial of ContentKing.
Timestamps
00:00 — Introduction
02:00 — Checkout Abandonment and Cart Abandonment Explained
06:25 — Cart Abandonment Rate Stats
10:51 — Tip 1: Nudge the “I’m Just Browsing” Crowd to Buy
12:19 — Tip 2: Avoid Surprising Shoppers With Unexpected Costs
17:24 — Tip 3: Don’t Force People to Create an Account Before Checkout
20:22 — Tip 4: Beef Up Your Credibility
23:29 — Tip 5: Offer a Variety of Payment Options
25:30 — Key Takeaways
