Abandoned carts are an important indicator of an online store’s performance. A high abandonment rate at the checkout stage may point to issues with the website’s design, pricing, or technical features. Let’s look at the key reasons and tools that can help fix this.
Have you ever wondered how much money your online store loses due to abandoned carts? Why do customers spend time choosing products but still fail to complete their purchase? Often, a customer is ready to pay for their order, but something prevents them from doing so: a complicated checkout process, high shipping costs, or a lack of trust in the website. In this article, we will look at the most common reasons and how to address them.
- Main reasons why a customer does not complete an order
- What should you pay attention to?
- Sales funnel
- Example of a sales funnel for an online store
- FAQs
Is the cart ready for checkout, but the customer still hasn’t decided to complete the order? Every online business owner has faced this problem at least once. According to various data, 60–80% of customers add items to their cart but never complete the purchase.
What stops a customer at the checkout stage? What are the main reasons for purchase abandonment? How can it be fixed? We will explore this next.
If a product has been added to the cart but the purchase is not completed, the issue is clearly not related to website traffic or the attractiveness of the page design. This means you need to dig deeper.
Main reasons why a customer does not complete an order
- Additional costs. Additional costs. When proceeding to checkout, the customer is faced with shipping fees, taxes, or hidden charges that increase the final price. This can discourage them and make them reconsider the purchase.
How can this be fixed?
Do not leave shipping costs until the end after all contact details are filled in — show them immediately when the cart is opened. For larger order values, you can offer free shipping — this will positively affect not only the customer’s experience but also the average order value. - Mandatory registration. Creating an account or downloading an app just to make a single purchase is not very appealing.
How can this be fixed?
Add a guest checkout option or quick sign-in via Google account, Apple ID, or Facebook. - Too many checkout steps. The fewer details a customer has to enter, the higher the chance they will not abandon the process halfway through.
How can this be fixed?
Keep only the required fields: full name, phone number, email, and delivery address. Also offer autofill to speed up the process. - Lack of trust in the website. If the site does not display key trust signals, the customer may hesitate and worry about losing their money.
How can this be fixed?
Pay attention to the website design, ensure it has an SSL certificate, provide clear contact details, and include reviews from well-known platforms. - Technical issues. Sometimes the inability to complete a purchase is caused by website errors or payment system failures.
How can this be fixed?
Monitor customer support requests, regularly test the checkout and payment process, and respond quickly to any errors. - Delivery times. A customer may abandon a purchase if delivery seems too slow or unclear.
How can this be fixed?
Offer several delivery options: postal services, courier delivery, or in-store pickup. Be sure to clearly indicate estimated delivery times for each option. - Wishlist instead of purchase. Some customers add products to the cart without the intention to buy immediately — to compare options, postpone the decision, or simply browse the assortment.
How can this be fixed?
Keep items in the cart for a longer period and link the cart to the user. Email reminders and push notifications can also help, as well as showing stock availability or notifying how many people are currently viewing the product.
What should you pay attention to?
It is important to understand that online businesses need to continuously work on website conversion and UX/UI design so that the customer only needs to make a few clicks and feels satisfied. Pay attention to the following points:
- Are your contact details easily accessible: phone, email, or a call widget? Zadarma offers free website widgets, that help convert visitors into customers.
- Is your return or exchange policy transparent? Sometimes free returns or cash on delivery cause less harm to the business than a negative social media post.
- Is instalment payment or cash on delivery available? Flexible conditions increase customer confidence.
- When was the website last audited? Check page loading speed, unnecessary pop-ups, image optimization, and user behaviour using heatmaps.
- Does the website look safe from the customer’s perspective? It should have a clear design, transparent communication channels, links to social media, and a review system. For this, you can use popular services such as HubSpot, with which Zadarma offers a free integration.
- How high is the quality of the content the customer sees? High-quality photos, clear product descriptions, and information about composition and origin are essential elements of a high-converting product page.
Sales funnel
All these points are important from the customer’s perspective. As a business owner, you can track the sales funnel — the journey a potential customer takes from first becoming aware of your brand to making a purchase and returning for repeat orders.
At each stage, some users drop off, and only a portion of them complete the payment. With a CRM system, you can see how each deal progresses from start to finish. We previously shared 7 tips for more effective work with Teamsale CRM. A few minutes of reading can significantly change your approach to running a business.
Example of a sales funnel for an online store
The customer journey to purchase may look like this:
Advertising → Product page visit → Adding the product to the cart → Checkout → Payment → Repeat purchase.
This is the shortest possible path. There can be many more stages depending on the needs of the business, as well as the nature of the product or service.
If each stage is analysed separately and the reasons for customer drop-off are gradually eliminated, sales can be increased even without additional advertising costs. An abandoned order or a sharp drop in visitors on a specific page represents lost sales and missed revenue.
A user who has already interacted with the website — viewed several pages, added a product to a wishlist or cart — has already shown interest. It is much easier to bring such a customer back than to acquire a new one. This can be done using push notifications, retargeting, or email reminders.
The key is to understand what exactly is preventing them from completing the order. That is why sales funnel optimization is considered one of the most effective ways to increase profits in e-commerce. Do not forget the importance of surveys and direct communication between customers and customer support.
The abandoned cart rate is an important signal that should not be ignored. It is not just about lost orders, but about barriers affecting future customers. If your online business is facing this issue, it should not be overlooked. Analyse your sales funnel, review the checkout process, check delivery conditions, and evaluate the level of trust your website builds. The sooner you pay attention to this metric, the more orders you will be able to get without additional spend.
FAQs
Do I need to increase my advertising budget to get more orders?
Unfortunately, increasing your advertising budget will not solve the abandoned cart problem, or, at best, it will only have a limited effect. In many cases, businesses lose potential customers because of technical issues, a complicated checkout process, or a lack of trust in the website. Analysing and optimizing your sales funnel will help you identify the root cause of what is preventing visitors from completing their purchases.
How can I reduce shopping cart abandonment?
Start by reviewing the most common issues your customers may encounter. Is the full cost shown upfront? Are the delivery terms clear? Is the checkout process simple and easy to complete? Reduce the number of required fields, offer popular payment methods, and make it as easy as possible for customers to return to their shopping cart.
How can I analyse the reasons for shopping cart abandonment in my online store?
Start by analysing your checkout process, as this is where the most common reasons for abandonment are usually found. By regularly monitoring user behaviour and testing changes to your website, you can significantly reduce shopping cart abandonment and increase sales without spending more on driving traffic.
