As e-tailers, we all know too
well how many shopping cart abandonments happen on a day-to-day basis.
Those are actual people who have put an item from our website in their
cart as a sign and interest and BOOM…they disappear. To another website
they go and perform the same task or actually purchase an item.
According to an e-tailing group
survey, “nearly 60% of U.S. online retailers experience cart abandonment
rates of over 20%,” reports e-Marketer. A study by PayPal and comScore,
“found 45% of US online shoppers had abandoned shopping carts multiple
times in just three weeks.
Most importantly from the merchants’
point of view, the average cost of abandoned goods in those shopping
carts was $109.
In the same study, 46% of online
shoppers said high shipping charges were a ‘very important reason’
for emptying carts.”
In this particular study, other
reasons for shopping cart abandonment were:
- Wanted to comparison
shop: 37%
- Lack of money: 36%
- Wanted to look for
a coupon: 27%
- Wanted to shop offline:
26%
- Couldn’t find
preferred pay option: 24%
- Item unavailable
at checkout: 23%
- Couldn’t find
customer support: 22%
- Security concerns:
21%
So, how can we as merchants
improve our shopping cart abandonment rates? First, you must use a platform
in which the data allows for you to actually contact some of these shoppers
and it all starts with them creating accounts on your website.
When a shopper creates an account
on your website that means you have captured that shoppers data such
as a name and a phone number or email. You can go through shopping cart
abandonment data daily, or once every two days, see what shoppers with
accounts have abandoned their cart and you can choose to email them
or call them.
The best results from this
strategy I have personally seen have come from emailing or calling these
customers and offering them a 5-10% coupon off their purchase.
Also, some tips from reasons
stated by the research by PayPal and comScore are:
- Offer coupons: In
this economy, shoppers are really looking to spend as least as possible
and really looking for coupon codes online.
- Phone number: Make
sure you have a phone number where customers can reach you. Often times
shoppers feel unsecured when they don’t see they can talk to a live
person and may move on right there and then.
- Pay Options: Offer
as many payment options as possible. That includes all types of credit
cards, PayPal, Google Checkout, and Bill Me Later if you qualify.
- Customer Support:
This can go hand in hand with the phone number issue but make LIVE CHAT
and a PHONE NUMBER prominent to the shopper. Make sure they know how
to contact you and make it readily available for them.
Pablo Palatnik heads the Marketing Department
at Fortune3, a Shopping Cart Software Company
based out of Doral, Florida.