How to Combat Cart Abandonment

Now think about the last time you deserted a basket full of items just before you were about to proceed to an online checkout. Sound familiar? That’s because this a common behavior among online shoppers – better known as shopping cart abandonment. Recent studies have shown that an estimated 70% of ecommerce visitors abandon their shopping cart before their transaction is complete. This is said to cost a staggering $4 trillion a year in lost revenue and it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

A large cause of the cart abandonment epidemic is simply a consequence of how consumers shop online. For example, many people use online shopping as a form of window shopping, whether it's to compare prices, save items for a later date or exploring different gift options. There will always be an unavoidable element of cart abandonment, but at the same time there is a significant percentage that is easily recoverable.

Discover how Checkout.com helps businesses to optimize their payments.

Checkout challenges

According to research conducted by the Baymard Institute, the second most cited cause for cart abandonment is difficulties associated with the checkout process (only second to an account creation request). Alongside this, the study suggests that sales can be increased by up to 35% by just improving the checkout process.

So how can these missing sales be recaptured?

Steer and simplify the payment flow

Providing shoppers with a visual indicator of how far they have progressed throughout the entire checkout process is a must, always keep in mind that the less steps you have, the more conversions you are likely to get. Keep it as simple as possible.

Preserve your environment

It might seem obvious but the importance of having a native integration with your payments page shouldn’t be underestimated and yet it is still neglected by far too many merchants. You’ve invested substantial resources into creating your brand identity and crafting the best possible online store, so why falter at the last and most important stage of all?

Can you imagine walking into a store and then being asked to complete your payment through a backdoor that leads to a small room? You’d probably refuse. With this is mind, it’s imperative that your payment page integrates seamlessly into your online store, providing users with a frictionless experience.

Be mobile ready

These days, around one third of payments are now made through mobile. Therefore it’s critical that all payment flows be completely responsive across all mobile devices.

Add value with flexibility

It’s essential that shoppers are given the opportunity to be flexible and are able to make amendments to their order, even at the checkout stage. It all comes back to the user experience. By giving shoppers the capability to update quantity/remove items and the option to add items, you’re continuously adding value.

Convenience is key

Implement a one-click payment method to make it easier for customers to pay via securely stored details using “tokenization” technology. This enables customers to save their information the first time they make a purchase from your store. Moving forward, there is no need to re-enter payment details, everything is simply completed with one-click.

Be transparent   

Display all key payment information on one single page – including:

• Product details
• Buyer information (ID information and billing address)
• Shipping address and delivery date
• Payment methods

Have the privacy policy, shipping details, FAQ and returns policy within easy reach of the checkout screen.

Keep it simple with numbers

We’ve all experienced the frustration that comes with entering a wrong digit when trying to input the long credit/debit card number. One quick way to avoid cart abandonment associated with this dissatisfaction is to simply auto-format the card number field with spaces in 4-digit blocks.

The formatting of these spaces (primarily for AMEX cards) will need to be changed based on the card type. Then the auto-detection comes into play, based on the first starting digits of the card number – this is 4 for Visa, 3 for MasterCard and 5 for American Express. This leads to a reduction of steps associated with the payment process since you no longer have to select the card type – it’s all automatic.

Know your audience

Present as many local payment options as possible in order to maximize conversion. This allows customers to pay via their preferred payment method. Alongside this, automatically adapt your language based on the IP address of your customer. These small details make a huge difference.

Companies spend a significant amount of time and resource into creating the best possible online experience for shoppers, supplemented by expensive marketing campaigns as a means to attract potential shoppers to their store. After investing so much, it would be disappointing if they failed to convert visitors to customers at the very last stage of the purchase funnel – the checkout step.

Transactions are the lifeblood of any business. By following the insights above, organizations will have a better chance of delighting customers with a frictionless payment experience, increase their revenue and avoid more cases of cart abandonment.