Four Ways to Avoid Shopping Cart Abandonment

Did you know that, on average, 43 percent of US consumers have abandoned their shopping cart? Many business owners are all too familiar with consumers abandoning items in their cart, which unfortunately means never completing checkout.

 

But what are the key factors stopping consumers from completing the transaction process? Thirty-five percent of US consumers cite a long delivery time as a top reason for shopping cart abandonment, with website security concerns reported as the second biggest reason at 30 percent, and then shipping costs at 29 percent.

 

So if you’re an online retailer, what can you do about it? PayPal has pulled together a cheat sheet of tips for merchants to optimize their checkout process, minimize cart abandonment and encourage shoppers to complete their purchases, and improve sales for small and global businesses with online storefronts.

 

Tip #1: Provide Consumers with Multiple Ways to Shop

Having several opportunities for shoppers to find your store increases the chances of completing the sale. Online businesses must ensure they are offering multiple ways for their customers to shop. This includes a mobile-friendly site that is attractive and easy to navigate. According to PayPal’s 2016 Cross-Border Merchant study, 50 percent of cross-border sales in the US are made from a desktop/laptop, while 25 percent are made from a smartphone, 16 percent from a tablet and 9 percent from another device.

 

Together, these individual platforms create a seamless shopping experience for customers where they can access your store anytime, anywhere – and on average, as stated in The International Council of Shopping Centers’ 2016 study, customers with multiple shopping channel options spend about 3 times more than single channel customers.

 

Tip #2: Streamline your Checkout Process

The number of steps to complete a checkout process is directly correlated to how likely a shopper is to complete the purchase. 19 percent of US customers will abandon a cart if the checkout process is too long or confusing. Pop-up windows suggesting additional items a consumer can buy, “bot tests,” entering in payment details, or even having to re-verify passwords or identity are all barriers to completing a checkout process. When obligatory registration during checkout is removed, there is a 45 percent increase in sales. And more barriers, means more time wasted for the consumer – something not everyone wants to give up.

 

One great way to expedite the checkout process is through PayPal’s One Touch™, which is an optional PayPal feature that allows users to complete purchases faster when checking out. Over five million merchants have opted into One Touch™ across 144 global markets, touching over 40 million customers, showcasing just how important simplicity, speed and ease of use is to consumers around the globe.

 

 

https://www.paypal.com/stories/us/four-ways-to-avoid-shopping-cart-abandonment