Statistics around shopping cart abandonment show that anywhere from 50-75% of online shoppers abandon their carts before checking out. There is an abundance of research and opinions about why this happens, and following are some of the most common:
1) Shoppers change their mind or need a second opinion
2) The checkout process is too long
3) Shoppers experience sticker shock after seeing the final cost of all items in their cart
4) Shoppers are unsure about the reliability or security of a site
5) The checkout process asks for too much personal information
6) The checkout process is cumbersome
The majority of these issues (namely 2-6) can be mitigated with some simple tweaks to the design and marketing of the checkout system. Providing as much information about taxes, fees and delivery options up front; simplifying the checkout process by incorporating clear calls to actions, large buttons and fewer fields to fill out; and reassuring visitors about the site’s reliability through third parties like the Better Business Bureau, a product review from a reputable news organization, “click to chat” functionality and standard security icons will go a long way to ease customers through the checkout system.
But what about customers who change their mind or need a friend or family member’s opinion about a particular product? Online shoppers will often put a product in the shopping cart, utilizing it as their wish list with the intent of getting a second opinion. They may send an email with a link or even print out the product page while leaving the product in the online shopping cart, which they may or may not return to at a later date.
Much of the reason items in shopping carts aren’t abandoned in the physical world is because of the social nature of shopping and being able to get a second opinion from a friend or family member (or a customer service rep) on the spot. In a similar way, online shoppers who can quickly secure necessary buy-in from a second party via technologies like ShopTogether, will be less likely to abandon their shopping carts. In fact, we’re seeing considerably less abandonment on sites that have deployed ShopTogether.
Giving shoppers the ability to invite a friend to look at their shopping cart during the checkout process can also serve a similar role to providing product reviews or customer testimonials. Having a quick “thumbs up” from a friend will help mitigate concerns a shopper may have with the final purchase decision, and there are reams of data showing that the opinion of a friend can go much farther in influencing them than a third party.
We’re finding that mimicking offline social behavior in the online world, that is, allowing shoppers to more easily get a second opinion prior to placing the product in their online shopping cart, can go a long way in reducing abandonment.
Tags: shopping cart abandonment, ShopTogether, social shopping