We’ve been getting calls lately by concerned E-commerce business owners.

They’re big question: “How do I reduce shopping cart abandonment?”

Shopping cart abandonment has long been a serious problem.

It’s also been a tried and true mystery:

Why do shoppers abandon their carts after they have chosen the item they presumably want to buy?

For several years our designers, developers, and our entire marketing team has attempted to determine the answers.

Here are the most frequent reasons we’ve found for shopping cart abandonment, in order of importance:

• Expensive shipping charges
• Customer desires to compare prices
• Lack of money
• Decided to look for coupon
• Suddenly wanted to shop offline
• Couldn’t find preferred pay option
• Product was unavailable at checkout
• Unable to contact customer support
• Concerned about security (credit card info)

There are other reasons, but those listed above are key.

So, with this in mind, here is a list of ideas you may want to consider implementing if your E-commerce website is suffering from shopping cart abandonment.

Please keep in mind this isn’t an exhaustive list. However, it should give you a few ideas:

#1 – Simplify Checkout Steps. There is some evidence that links reduction of steps to reduction in abandonment rate. But this isn’t the “silver bullet” that most people think. Once people find what they want, they generally make the time to check out no matter how many steps it takes.

#2 – Provide Shipping Costs Early On. Ideally, you want to provide your customers with an estimated shipping cost even while they’re still browsing. Most of the time, clients want to know the “total cost” of their purchase. This is important.

#3 – Add Product Photos Inside Shopping Basket. Some studies have shown that by placing a thumbnail photo of a product inside the shopping basket, you can increase conversion rates by as much as 11%, which is highly significant.

#4 – Show In-Stock / Availability Right On Product Page. Treating your customers the right way means not making them wait until checkout to find out a product is out of stock. With this in mind, providing an estimated delivery date is also a good idea.

#5 – Provide Option To Call / Contact You. Sometimes customers may encounter a problem while checking out. This may lead to them feeling uncomfortable using their credit card in your store (most people feel uncomfortable using a credit card online period). Consider offering a phone number, a dedicated toll-free line is a good idea.

#6 – Offer Variety Of Payment Options. Some people like to pay by check. Others prefer Credit card. Still others by fax. And some even like to phone in their orders. By allowing visitors to pay using their preferred method, you are increasing the likelihood of making a sale.

# 7 – Give Clear Directions. Spoon-feeding your customers with “Next Step” or “Continue Here” checkout buttons on each checkout page will make them feel more comfortable, allow the process to flow more smoothly, and, ultimately, allow you to make more sales.

If you run an E-commerce website and you have a question or need further explanation on anything related to e-business strategy, please don’t hesitate to contact us by phone or email: 203-276-9812