Alongside this survey, additional research was compiled by PayPal and comScore who indicated that 45% of online shoppers in the US abandoned their purchases more than once over a three week period, resulting in neglected purchases totaling around $110 (£70) on average.
This trend is likely to be felt in the UK market (or may already be occurring), here's the top reasons given for not completing an online purchase and a number of ways to help combat them:
1. Cost of Delivery
The main reason cited by shoppers for abandoning their goods was high delivery charges, with over 46% agreeing on this.
The simplest way to resolve this issue is to offer free delivery, or provide a free delivery option for orders over a set value. If that isn't possible, try to keep charges in line with, or cheaper than, your competitors.
Another tip is to make sure that any delivery costs are detailed on main product pages, so that customers don't have to wait until they reach the checkout to find them.
2. Comparison Shopping
Customers who abandon their goods in this manner sometimes never intend to buy from the online outlet. It's more likely they visited the site as a means of comparing the cost of shopping with other outlets. 37% of shoppers gave this response.
Staying ahead of competitors in terms of price, quality and service is the most effective way of ensuring that when shoppers compare between outlets, it's your Web site they return to purchase from.
It's also important to make sure that the comparison process is made as simple as possible for visitors to your site. This includes making prices and delivery costs highly visible and giving customers the option to save their basket so they can return to their purchases easily.
3. Cash Flow Issues
One simple reason for abandonment: 36% of shoppers claimed it was due to a lack of money.
Staying ahead of competitors with low prices is the most effective way to prevent shoppers abandoning purchases due to a lack of finance. Offering wish lists that a user can add items to and send to friends and relatives, or simply making sure that baskets can be saved for a later date can often help to increase sales.
4. Discount Code Search
27% of those surveyed claimed they abandoned their cart to search for a code that would offer them a further discount on the purchases they were about to make.
To tackle this issue, there are two suggestions. Firstly, next to the discount box you could add a link that says "Don't have a discount code? Click here to search for one" and provide links to sites you know display your codes.
Whilst this may mean that you end up offering more discounts, at least the sales will be completed - and it will increase the possibility of repeat business.
The second option, either on the last page before payment is made or in the confirmation e-mail, is to display a message saying "We see you're not using a discount code for this purchase, so we'll send you one by e-mail to use next time".
This will encourage repeat purchases and prevent customers feeling that they have missed out. However, if neither of these tactics reduce abandonment, omission of the discount code box may be the best solution.
5. Decision to Shop Offline
26% of shoppers decided to purchase their goods offline instead of online.
This is not so much of an issue for those companies that have outlets both online and offline, as the sale has not necessarily been lost. However, great efforts should be made to secure the purchase offline if an online purchase has not taken place.
A consumer is increasingly likely to research a product online (especially for goods like high end appliances) before they purchase. To ensure that the research leads to your outlet, implement 'reserve and collect' strategies and provide a host of helpful information like nearest store details, opening times etc.
6. Payment Issues
Nearly a quarter of those surveyed abandoned their goods after failing to find a payment method they could use or that they felt was appropriate.
Companies should attempt to be as accommodating as possible in terms of offering a variety of payment options to ensure sales are not missed. Online payment sites such as PayPal and Google Checkout are becoming more widely accepted by consumers.
Sites that offer these alternatives are likely to pick up sales from consumers in a hurry, or without their card details to hand, as both allow you to store card or bank details for later use.
7. Goods Unavailable
23% of shoppers found that the goods they had selected were unavailable when they arrived at the checkout and didn’t have an option but to abandon their cart.
It would be better to highlight any problem with stock availability early on in the shopping process, rather than leaving it until customers reach the checkout.
Additional ideas include offering alternative products similar to the one that's unavailable or an 'Amazon-like' strategy of "People who bought this item also bought...".
FInally, offering useful advice about when the product will be made available again, or adding the option of 'stock alerts' via email, can persuade customers to return.
8. Customer Support
A lack of customer support caused 22% of shoppers to decide against purchasing due to the omission of any contact details.
An obvious drawback of shopping online is the absence of a shop assistant to help with any product queries, an interaction that may be of particular importance when buying expensive goods.
To counteract this absence, good customer support must be easily accessible. Contact details should be made apparent throughout the site, a phone number on every page if possible, so that customers can easily get in contact .
'Live Support' options should also be considered for customers who don't have the time to wait in a call queue or who aren't able to get to a phone.
9. Security Concerns
Just over a fifth of consumers had doubts over a site’s security and cancelled their purchases.
Whilst many online consumers feel safe shopping online, clearly security concerns can still hamper purchasing decisions. Sites should assure consumers of their security measures through comprehensive information that is clear and accessible to all.
Feel free to call us today (0845 058 9050) and chat with one of our consultants about Ecommerce, conversions or shopping cart abandonment issues.