6 Reasons why customers abandon their purchase & solutions

The typical eCommerce business loses 75% of its sales due to online cart abandonment. It’s time to identify the causes of online cart abandonment and find a solution!

Although many efficient tactics exist to lower cart abandonment rates and recover already-abandoned carts, you must first be aware of the primary shopping cart abandonment factors pushing your clients away.

But remember that not every eCommerce brand will be affected by every justification. You need to know the following to comprehend why your consumers are leaving:

• The types of clients your business draws.
• Your consumer demographics, psychographics, and behavioral information.
• The consumer’s intention to buy.

Understanding your audience, how they purchase, and what turns them away is the key to lowering abandoned carts for your business. Continue reading; let’s examine why shoppers abandon their carts in this article.

Reasons why customers abandon their purchase

Here are a few other causes for cart abandonment and what they represent for your online store;

• Unexpected fees.
• Forcing a new user to create an account.
• Lack of payment methods.
• Limited shipping options.
• Inadequate return policy.
• Better pricing from competitors.

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1. Unexpected fees

Dealing with unforeseen fees during the checkout process is the leading cause of shoppers abandoning their purchases. A buyer places an item in their shopping cart with the intent to finish the transaction. 

However, they are surprised to see other taxes, delivery fees, and even transaction fees when they go to their cart to check out.

These expenses immediately bother and irritate them. In rare circumstances, it may even cause customers to regret their purchases. They are less inclined to continue.

Solution

Provide clients with a complete breakdown of all expenses, including shipping charges, applicable taxes, and any extra costs they can anticipate. 

This will enable you to be honest and lessen the “shock” effect of potential clients only seeing charges at the end of their purchase.

2. Forcing a new user to create an account

It is never a good idea to force consumers to register or create an account to add products to a virtual shopping cart. 

The buyer is prepared to press the “purchase now” button, but they must first enter their email, make a password, and confirm their email. They become irritated or preoccupied and leave their cart.

Asking visitors to register is a sure way to learn more about your audience, but it can also make people less likely to complete a purchase. When a new user account is necessary to finish a purchase, 22% of cart abandoners choose not to do so, and 28% of all customers cite this as a reason.

It can be because they don’t want to divulge personal information to a brand they don’t know yet or because it makes the checkout process more difficult and inconvenient. Customers visit an online store to make purchases, not to set up an account.

Solution

Never demand account creation; instead, allow guest checkout. If you wish to gather emails and other contact information for remarketing, ask the customer if they would want to “Get email updates about my purchase, and other special offers?” after the transaction is complete.

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3. Lack of payment methods

Online shoppers desire the ease of utilizing their preferred payment option. Consumer payment practices are evolving. Online credit or debit cards used to be the most popular form of payment.

Today, customers can pay with various methods, including cards, PayPal, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, and dozens more. Your clients are more likely to desert you if they don’t have enough options. 

Customers may decide to depart if they add things to their cart only to discover they cannot purchase using the preferred payment method.

Solution

Offer as many payment alternatives as you can so that customers can quickly check out with only one click on websites.

By providing safe payment options like PayPal and Amazon Pay, merchants increase customer confidence and simplify the transaction process.

4. Limited shipping options 

The experience of doing business online typically includes delivery. Customers demand on-time delivery and shipping alternatives that meet their requirements. 

Customers who want their things sooner may stop shopping at your store if you only provide standard delivery, which can take up to five days.

Solution

If you don’t already offer faster shipping options, your fulfillment approach has to be changed asap. Using third-party fulfillment services that are carefully positioned close to your customers is the most straightforward approach for larger retailers to accomplish this. 

Give customers a chance to modify shipment details and various delivery options. Allow customers to customize delivery schedules and services to achieve the desired experience.

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5. Inadequate return policy  

Online shoppers want to feel protected when making a transaction. If an item doesn’t live up to their expectations or doesn’t meet their needs, they may quickly return it due to a firm return policy.

Customers are likely to stop shopping if they can’t locate your return policy or if, when they do, it’s unsatisfactory, especially if this is their first exposure to or knowledge of your brand.

Solution

Provide customers with a solid, transparent return policy and a straightforward customer support system to let them buy confidently.

6. Better pricing from competitors

A buyer places an item in their shopping cart but changes their mind and looks to see if they can find a better offer. They may even use one of the various apps for price comparison. 

If customers discover a better offer elsewhere, they will remove items from their shopping carts and choose the competitor offering the better value.

Solution

Provide customers with competitive prices so they will decide to buy from you. Better shipping, customer service, and other features can all help you distinguish. 

Ensure that your website and products are excellent to increase the value of your brand.

Conclusion

There are many reasons why customers abandon their carts, and there are many solutions you can test to improve your rates. Shopping cart abandonment rates are high across the board in eCommerce.

Your cart abandonment statistics will improve if you design your store for the shopping experience and closely monitor customer data and insights.

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