5 Ways to Reduce Your eCommerce Store's Cart Abandonment Rate

Let's face it, cart abandonment sucks. It's frustrating to see potential customers add items to their carts and then leave without making a purchase.

Not only does it hurt your sales, but it also puts a damper on your store's average order value (AOV).

Baymard Institute's data says that the average cart abandonment rate is 69.99%.

Yes, that's nearly 70% of potential customers leaving your store without making a purchase.

In fact, according to Forrester research, shopping cart abandonment costs eCommerce businesses a whopping $18 billion in lost sales revenue every year.

So, how can you reduce your eCommerce store's cart abandonment rate?

Well, there are a few simple tweaks you can do. In this blog post, you'll discover five ways you can do to reduce cart abandonment and increase your store's average order value  (AOV).

‍

Why Customers Abandon Their Carts

‍

If you are asking, "Why am I getting so many abandoned carts?" Well, you're not alone.

A lot of online stores are hitting the same wall.  

The good news is that understanding why customers abandon their carts in the first place can help you reduce it.

There are several reasons customers abandon their carts, but some of the most common ones include:

• High shipping costs
• Unclear/complicated checkout process
• Not enough payment options
• Lack of trust in the site
• Website design is not optimized for mobile devices
• Unexpected hidden costs (taxes and fees)

It's also worth mentioning that doing a cart abandonment analysis can help you identify the exact reasons and factors that are causing your customers to abandon their carts since they can be different for each store.

To do that, you can use tools like LiveChat and HotJar, which allo you to track customer behaviour on your website.

‍
‍

What Is A Good Cart Abandonment Rate?

Well, the answer depends on your industry and product type.

Generally speaking, a good cart abandonment rate for eCommerce stores is anything below the average of 69.99%. The lower the rate, the better.

Now that you have a better understanding of why customers abandon their carts and what qualifies as a good cart abandonment rate, let's jump into the five strategies to reduce cart abandonment.

‍

Simplify the checkout process

As mentioned above, one of the major reasons customers abandon their carts is due to a complicated and unclear checkout process.

You see, when a customer gets confused or frustrated, they are more likely to abandon their cart and just leave your store.

Therefore, it's important that you make your checkout process as simple and straightforward as possible.

This means you should minimize the number of steps customers need to take in order to complete their purchase.

The simpler and easier the checkout process is, the more likely customers will complete their purchase.

‍

Offer multiple payment options

‍

Another way to reduce the art abandonment rate is to have multiple payment options available for customers.

Having only one or two payment options is actually quite limiting and could force some potential customers to abandon their carts out of sheer frustration.

By offering multiple payment options, you make it easy for customers to complete their purchases without having to worry about not having the right payment option available.

‍

Send cart abandonment emails

One of the best ways to reduce cart abandonment is to send abandoned cart emails.

These are automated emails that you send to customers who have added items to their cart but haven't completed the purchase.

These emails typically include reminders about items in the cart, links to continue where they left off, and other incentives such as discounts or free shipping.

By sending abandoned cart emails, there's a good chance you can significantly reduce your cart abandonment rate.

‍

Leverage social proof

A practical way to apply this strategy is to use social proof on your website.

Social proof is when you showcase customer testimonials, reviews, ratings, and other types of endorsements on your website.

This type of content helps build trust and credibility with potential customers by giving them the assurance that other people have had positive experiences with your store.

‍

Make sure the website is responsive

Finally, it's critical that you make sure your website is mobile-optimized and responsive.

A lot of consumers use their mobile devices to shop online, so it's important that your website looks good and functions properly on mobile devices.

If it doesn't, then customers are more likely to abandon their carts and leave your store.

By investing in a good mobile experience, you can reduce your cart abandonment rate and increase the average order value of your store.

‍

Conclusion

Cart abandonment happens, and there is no universal solution to get rid of it. However, by following these five strategies outlined above,  you can reduce your cart abandonment rate and increase your average order value (AOV) as a result.
‍
By simplifying the checkout process, offering multiple payment options, sending cart abandonment emails, using social proof, and ensuring your website is responsive, you can create a better shopping experience for your customers.

As a result, customers will be more likely to hit that checkout button and complete their purchase.  

If you need in implementing these strategies or any eCommerce consulting, shoot us an email and we'll be happy to help.