Why Are Consumers Leaving Your Ecommerce Store Without Shopping?
Are you frustrated by the high number of customers who add items to their shopping carts but never complete checkout? Don’t worry, you’re not alone! Shopping cart abandonment is a common problem faced by many ecommerce businesses. According to Baymard Institute research, the average documented online shopping cart abandonment rate is 70.22%, based on analysis of 50 studies.
But not every abandoned cart means something is wrong with your store. Some shoppers are comparing prices, browsing products, or simply not ready to buy.
The bigger concern is customers who want to purchase but leave when something gets in the way, like unexpected costs, a complicated checkout, limited payment options, or a lack of trust.
So, why are consumers leaving your ecommerce store without completing their purchase? Let’s look at the most common reasons and how you can fix them.
Common Reasons Customers Leave Your Ecommerce Store
Hidden Costs and Fees
One of the biggest reasons shoppers leave during checkout is an unexpected rise in the final price. For example, a customer orders shoes priced at $150, but as they proceed to checkout, they discover an additional $20 shipping fee and other unexpected charges. The final price is much higher than they expected, so they may reconsider the purchase and leave without buying.
Baymard research also found that 40% of U.S. online shoppers abandoned their carts because extra costs, such as shipping and taxes, were too high. Another 12% said they couldn’t see or calculate the total order cost upfront.
That is why showing a product price alone isn’t enough. If a shopper sees a $50 product and only learns at checkout that shipping adds another $15, the final price can change their decision.
Make your pricing as clear as possible before the customer reaches the payment page. Show shipping costs, taxes, delivery charges, and other applicable fees early in the shopping journey. If free shipping is available above a certain order value, make that information easy to find.
Complicated Checkout Process
Customers want a quick and easy checkout process. If your checkout process is complicated or requires too many steps, customers may get frustrated and leave. This is especially true for mobile shoppers, who want a streamlined checkout process that can be completed on their phones.
For example, if they have to fill out a long form with unnecessary information, they may decide it’s not worth the hassle and abandon their cart.
According to Baymard research, about 17% of U.S. online shoppers abandoned their orders because the checkout process was too long or complicated. This shows why keeping checkout simple and asking for only the necessary information matters.
So, give shoppers a clear way to complete their order. Offer guest checkout, cut unnecessary fields, show progress, and ensure the experience works properly on mobile devices. And don’t overlook small errors. A broken field, failed payment attempt, confusing error message, or page that takes too long to load can change the mind of a customer who was ready to complete their purchase.
Limited Payment Options
Customers have different payment preferences. Some prefer paying with credit or debit cards. Others use digital wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. If your ecommerce store does not offer their preferred payment method, they may leave without completing their purchase.
For example, a customer who prefers using a digital wallet might not want to enter their card details manually. If your store doesn’t support their preferred option, they may decide to shop somewhere else.
To avoid losing customers at checkout, offer a range of secure payment methods that suit your target audience. Make sure the available options are clearly displayed so shoppers know how they can pay before completing their order.
Poor User Experience
A smooth shopping experience matters when customers browse your online store. If your website takes time to load, feels difficult to navigate, or doesn’t work properly on mobile devices, customers can get frustrated and leave before completing their purchase.
For example, a customer might find the product they want but struggle to locate the size options, read product details, or add the item to their cart. Because of this experience, customers may leave and shop elsewhere.
To improve the shopping experience, keep your website easy to navigate, make product information clear, and ensure pages load quickly on both desktop and mobile devices. Test your website regularly to catch broken links, display issues, and other problems that could interrupt a customer’s journey.
Lack of Trust
Customers want to feel secure when shopping online, especially when sharing personal information or entering their payment details. They won’t prefer shopping from a store that looks unreliable or doesn’t provide enough information about the business.
To build trust, display your contact information, provide clear shipping and return policies, offer warranty coverage options, and use secure payment methods. Adding genuine customer reviews and ratings also gives shoppers more confidence in your business and helps them feel comfortable completing their purchase.
Forced Account Creation
Not everyone wants another online shopping account to manage. Some shoppers simply want to find a product, pay for it, and move on. When your store makes registration compulsory before checkout, the extra effort could push them to look for the same product elsewhere. Think about someone buying a phone case or a notebook. They probably don’t want to create a password, verify their email, and fill in extra details for a one-time purchase.
Give shoppers the option to check out as guests. If they want to create an account later to track orders or save their details, they can do so after completing the purchase.
How to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment and Recover Lost Sales
Apart from fixing the issues discussed above, here are a few more ways to encourage customers to complete their purchases.
Send Abandoned Cart Emails
Sometimes, customers just need a little reminder about what they left behind. Send a follow-up email with the products still in their cart and a link to complete their purchase. You could also offer a small discount to encourage them to come back.
Optimize Your Product Pages
Give customers enough information to feel confident about buying. Add clear product images, useful descriptions, sizing details, prices, and customer reviews so they don’t have to search elsewhere for answers.
Consider Offering Free Shipping
Nobody likes paying extra for shipping. If free shipping on every order isn’t possible, you could offer it when customers spend a certain amount or purchase selected products.
Use Exit-Intent Popups
Before customers leave your website, you could show a popup with a discount or free shipping offer to give them another reason to stay. Just don’t overdo it. Too many popups can annoy customers and push them away.
Turn Abandoned Carts Into Completed Purchases
Now you know some of the common reasons why customers leave an ecommerce store without completing their purchase. Sometimes, it’s simply because they’re not ready to buy. But when customers leave because of issues with your website, checkout process, or payment options, that’s something you should pay attention to.
Take a closer look at where customers are leaving your store and what could be stopping them from completing their orders. Even small improvements in the shopping experience can make a difference.
Want to reduce cart abandonment on your ecommerce website? Kinex Media offers ecommerce development and optimization services to help you improve checkout usability and make shopping easier for your customers. Get in touch with us to discuss the issues you’re facing with your website and how we can improve its UI and shopping experience to help more customers complete their purchases.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How can I find out why customers are abandoning their shopping carts?
Sometimes, customers aren’t ready to buy. They are just exploring or comparing products across different stores. But that’s not true for every shopper. Some leave their carts abandoned because of hidden costs, checkout issues, or website problems. Check your website analytics to see where customers drop off and look for patterns that could explain why they aren’t completing their purchases.
- Do abandoned shopping carts always mean lost sales?
No, not always. Some customers add products to their carts when browsing, comparing prices, browsing options, or deciding what to buy. Sometimes, they also wait for a discount code or return later when they have time to complete the purchase. The best practice is to keep up with interested customers and fix issues that make checkout difficult.
- Can an ecommerce website reduce cart abandonment on mobile devices?
Make sure your website loads quickly and displays properly on smaller screens. Use simple forms, easy-to-tap buttons, clear pricing, and convenient payment options. A guest checkout option also makes it easier for mobile shoppers to complete their orders without unnecessary steps.
