The proliferation of eCommerce and mCommerce has made lives easier for both buyers and sellers. It is playing a vital and transformative role in the growth and expansion of businesses, both big and small.
There are also ample tools, products, and services available to power such businesses further and streamline their operations. For instance, DIY app builders like AppMySite have made it easier to convert a website to APK or other mobile app formats and any business can now build an app of its own.
However, even the best of businesses cannot succeed with robust infrastructure and technology alone. What one truly needs to complement and complete these, is a content and loyal consumer-base. If you manage to engage your users, inspire conversions, and motivate them to return for more purchases, accept our applause.
However, if you are suffering with huge number of abandonments then do not get disheartened. This problem is more common than what you would imagine. Cart abandonments are a reality of the eCommerce and mCommerce space and one cannot remain oblivious to it.
So, what should you do? The best strategy would be to identify the problems causing the abandonments and work towards countering and conquering those problems. Today, we are here to help you with the same.
So, stay tuned and learn about the most common issues or errors that cause cart abandonments. Also discover solutions and suggestions, and overcome the challenges with ease.
Suggested Read: 10 points to consider before choosing a CMS for your eCommerce business
Some significant statistics related to cart abandonment
Before we get to the reasons, let us first dive into some statistics and get an empirical understanding of the reasons behind cart abandonments. Some significant facts and statistics related to cart abandonments are as follows:
- The average cart abandonment rate for eCommerce stores is around 70 per cent.
- Smaller screen sizes can lead to more abandonments. Therefore, mobile users can have a higher abandonment rate of 85.65 percent if not optimized for performance, design, adaptability, and speed.
- Hidden and high costs is the number one reason behind cart abandonments.
- Being forced to create an account is the second highest reason behind cart abandonments.
- 57 percent of shoppers are likely to abandon if they have to wait for more than three seconds for a page to load.
- 55 percent of shoppers will abandon if they have to re-enter their credit card or shipping information.
- 46 percent of shoppers agreed that they abandoned because they were unable to redeem discount coupons.
- 39 percent of mobile users abandoned because of difficulty entering their personal information
- Checkout optimization can increase conversions by 35.62 percent.
The facts listed above give a clear picture of the prominent reasons behind cart abandonments. Stay tuned to get the detailed insights and know about these causes in detail.
Suggested Read: How to reduce your mobile app uninstall rate and minimize app abandonments
5 reasons for cart abandonment with solutions
Now let us cut to the chase and discover the most common reasons behind cart abandonments. The top five reasons are as discussed below:
#1: Huge and hidden costs
As discussed in the statistics section above, this is the topmost reason behind eCommerce cart abandonments in many countries.
If the prices are not declared correctly and clearly, if your pricing strategy lacks consistency and transparency, if the prices are too high, or if there are many hidden costs on your platform, then you will automatically suffer.
Most customers will abandon your website or app if the basic rule of ethics and transparency is not met. So, try to be honest, clear, and transparent when you list the prices for your products, services, etc.
Solution:
Add detailed product information and let customers know what they are paying for and how much they need to pay. If the prices are too high, then justify it with valid reasons.
For instance, many food delivery apps like Zomato raise their delivery charges during a bad weather and declare this reason clearly in their app. Some products tend to be on the expensive side because they are exquisite, exclusive, handmade, meant for the luxury living, etc.
You can also attach a sentimental or philanthropic value to the product if it genuinely adheres to these parameters. For example, some products can be costlier because a part of the earning is donated by the brand to charity. Basically, you can identify and validate your own reason and try to convey it to the customers.
Also remember to make customers feel that they have bagged a great deal or discount. As long as they feel rewarded, they will happily pay even for some expensive items.
#2: Forced or complicated sign up
Who likes being ordered or forced to do something out of their will? Obviously, no one! So, why force your customers to go through the ordeal of complicated and forced sign ups?
Pushing customers to mandatorily sign up or register for shopping on your website or app can lead to a huge number of cart abandonments. As discussed with facts above, customers tend to reject platforms that force them to sign up.
Not offering a guest browsing and shopping option can turn away customers and end their journey before they have actually started it. So, avoid adding any such complicated and forced step on your platform.
Suggested Read: The importance of guest browsing and checkout feature in mobile apps
Solution:
Create a website and an app that offer a guest browsing experience to users. For instance, with AppMySite, you can build an app for your website and enable the guest browsing feature with the click of a button.
This will help you attract even skeptical users who are not so sure about sharing their personal information right from the start. You can pick your moment and ask incoming website visitors and app users to sign up once they are gripped to the experience.
You can make sign up mandatory for redeeming gift coupons, availing discounts, etc. By offering a guest checkout option, you can eliminate the second biggest cause of cart abandonment and mark yourself safe in this department.
Suggested Read: Tips to offer the best onboarding experience to your mobile app users
#3: Complicated checkout processes
This is yet another big cause of high abandonment rates. Do not let your checkout process become a big puzzle that users need to solve. If the checkout process will have too many steps or require a huge effort from the customer’s end, then it will infuriate your users.
In today’s age, customers are really impatient and have a very short attention span. If their journey will be complicated, they will not think twice before abandoning it.
For instance, if customers don’t get their preferred payment options, upfront payment is not easy to calculate, cards get declined, return policy is not satisfactory, express shipping is unavailable, coupon codes are missing, or other such issues are persistent, then it can make the journey erratic, and hence abandonments are bound to happen.
Solution:
Design an effortless and frictionless checkout experience for your users and make them feel rewarded at every step. Add multiple payment gateways and options for easy and secure payments.
If you wish to add extra fields for data collection that are not of much worth to the customer (like “where did you hear about us”), then place it at the end of the buying process and not at the start or somewhere in between.
Try to minimize form elements, keep the steps limited and make the checkout rewarding. Additionally, try to make the process interesting and exciting. Add ample gift coupons and discount codes, introduce new offers and deals at regular intervals.
#4: Security and Privacy concerns
Many brands neglect this fact, but security and privacy concerns can also cause abandonments and increase the churn and bounce rate. Users will not take a second to retreat if they smell anything fishy or are not satisfied with the experience.
If the journey is not very smooth, intuitive, and aesthetically and functionally rich, it might create a bad impression on users and make them skeptical. There are many other factors that can trigger security concerns in users.
For instance, if your return policy is erratic, the platform crashes or has higher load time, there are multiple zero states and errors, there are design or content flaws or the layout is outdated, the SSL certification is missing, then these factors can act as deterrents and drive your users to abandon the website or app immediately.
Users can also feel a sense of insecurity and threat if their desired payment options are not available on the platform or if they fail to get through the process in one or two attempts. They can also abandon it if the website or app seeks too many permissions from your users.
Suggested Read: Best practices for accessing and handling user permissions: Part I for iOS apps
Solution:
There are multiple practices that you can adopt and ensure to make your users feel safe and secure as they browse through your platform and make purchases. For instance, you must be strategic when you seek user permissions or ask for sensitive information from your customers.
Assure and reassure your customers that you respect their privacy and that their data is safe and secure. Offer a smooth and frictionless experience to your customers and ensure that your online store is safe and secure.
Regularly audit and upgrade your platform, optimize pages for adaptability and performance, and also update the layout and features from time to time. Conduct multiple tests and make sure that your website performs well across various screen types, sizes, etc.
Additionally, you can also add customer testimonials and organic reviews with ample proof. Especially focus on garnering reviews for the products you offer on your site. It can help you gain immediate customer trust and inspire more people to buy. Build as much social proof as you can as it will make your game stronger and attract more sales.
Suggested Read: How to clean and secure a hacked WordPress website?
#5: Lack of ease, inspiration, and clarity
Confused by the header? Let us decipher it for you. In simpler words, customers will abandon your app if their journey is arduous, dull, and confusing. The end-to-end process must be absolutely smooth and effortless for your users.
The website or app should be designed intuitively to guide users and help them navigate from one point to the other. Else, users might feel lost and give up due to the lack of guidance. The design, arrangement, layout, content, offerings, etc., must all coherently fascinate and motivate users to move ahead in the purchase funnel.
A lack of immediate and easy customer support and assistance can also lead to abandonments and users might feel deserted and lost.
Additionally, abandonments can also happen if your users lack clarity, shopping goals or are just browsing for fun or research purposes. While this may seem like something beyond your control, you can still tackle this issue with the right strategy in place.
Solution:
The solution to the first issue in this category is simple.Offer ease of usage to your customers and win them over. You can create an app if you have not already, and give one touch access to your customers for an amazing mobile-friendly shopping experience.
Design creative assets and layout that catches your users’ eyes. Pay attention to detail as you create the home screen, banners, categories, menus, buttons, etc., as these should make your user’s journey easier and not complicate things further.
Try to capture the attention of those users who do not really intend to buy. You can offer discounts, create a stock or offer urgency, add a loyalty program, or use other lucrative techniques to keep them hooked and inspire them to take action.
Do not forget to add a one-click chat button and extend the immediate support feature to your customers. You can mobilize your agents to help them, address their concerns and resolve their issues.
Chat support can also power you to motivate customers to convert while you help them through the process. When their concerns will get addressed and they will feel attracted and inspired, customers will start purchasing instead of turning back. It can increase conversions and give a boost to your success while decreasing abandons.
Suggested Read: The unlimited benefits of integrating chat feature in your mobile app
Create an app that inspires to scroll more & buy more!
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