Marketing Bites

Lower Your Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate

Many of us have been guilty of it. You’re browsing through stores online, looking to purchase something at a great deal. You find the item, add it to the cart, and proceed to the checkout. However, something (shipping costs? unsecure site?) stops you from completing the transaction, so instead, you close the site without making the purchase. This is known as shopping cart abandonment, and it’s a common issue that eCommerce sites are working to address.

It’s estimated that shopping cart abandonment rates vary between 50 and 70% (depending on what study you look at). Regardless of the exact number, this still reflects an extremely high number of shoppers who are not completing their transactions. In the hopes of increasing sales, it’s important to know the success rate for your shopping cart, as well as understand the potential factors behind abandonment.

Calculate your shopping cart abandonment rate with the following formula:

1 - (number of orders placed / number of shopping carts created*) = percentage of carts not converted into orders. If your percentage of abandoned carts seems high, there are numerous ways you can improve the shopping experience for your customers.

One way you can lower your rate is to be upfront with any additional costs. Nobody likes the surprise of seeing extra money tacked on to their purchase at the very last second. Transparency with any extra charges (freight, handling, taxes, etc.) as early in the checkout process as possible goes a long way, even if it’s just an estimate.

There are a number of factors that drive shopping cart abandonment. Read our full article, Lower Your Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate, for more information plus tips to ensure that more transactions are completed.

 *Find the number of shopping carts created on your eCommerce site by checking your session funnels and goals in Google Analytics. Click here to learn how to review funnels and goals in Google Analytics (or set them up if you haven't already). 

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Marketing Bites are short actionable tips to help you market your business. Each Bite contains a marketing idea and an easy to complete action. The Marketing Bite is emailed weekly to subscribers.

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