Exclusive Report: The Impact of Cart Abandonment on Ecommerce Revenue
The results and data shared in this report are statistics and facts from over 200 hours of research and user interviews about cart abandonment during online shopping.
Online shopping presents an opportunity to meet customers where they’re at. But even if they intend to make a purchase, the conversion doesn’t come until they confirm their order. Yet for some shoppers, that intention is abandoned into a lost opportunity. Here we share some key insights about cart abandonment in online shopping that you can use to ensure you’re carrying your customers all the way through their experience.
Please contact us if you have any additional questions or would like to request an interview, feedback or perspective on any of the topics covered. Happy shopping!
Cart Abandonment Stats
Average cart abandonment rate is an astonishing 76%!
Online shopping gives shoppers the opportunity to browse without feeling to make a purchase right then and there, as is most often the case in a brick-and-mortar store. Yet OptinMonster found that 76% of online shoppers abandon their carts of items they’ve been browsing or considering purchasing. Abandonment rate is calculated by dividing the number of online shoppers who have added something to their cart by the number of shoppers who have added an item to their cart and then subtracting that number from one. The lower the number, the better your shoppers are converting to customers. These values can be helpful in showing you where your customers are getting lost in their buyer’s journey as well as see how you can improve against the competition.
78% is the average cart abandonment rate for shoppers using a mobile device
For those using a mobile device, that potential abandoning of carts jumps up a few points. Compared to 67% of abandoned carts coming from desktop or laptop computers, 70% carts are abandoned for tablet users while 78% of carts are abandoned for users of mobile devices. This showcases the requirement for websites to be mobile-friendly and optimize the shopping experience for the mobile user. Making sure those on mobile devices can easily find what they need and convert their cart to purchase. Having checkout pages that don’t cause friction for mobile shoppers can help you convert those mobile-first shoppers.
Cart Abandonment Emails Convert on Average at 8%
A common approach to re-engaging those lost sales from cart abandonment is through email follow-ups. Personalized reminders to shoppers that they still have items in their cart can help recover those lingering orders. These emails can be highly effective when using user data and a personable approach in following up about a particular product they had added to their cart. In addition to a high average conversion rate of 8%, these emails also have an open rate of 45% and a click-through rate of 21%.
Clothing has the highest abandonment rate at 40%
When it comes to different product types, not all industries and products have the same abandonment rates. Among popular items purchased online, clothing has the highest cart abandonment rate at 40%. Some of the reasons why clothing purchases are abandoned include clunky website functionality, slow delivery and quality of products. People are also concerned about clothes fitting right, how it looks and getting the best price on the clothing item.
The next highest rate comes with tech-related purchases at 18%. Home products come in at a close 3rd with a 16% cart abandonment rate. Knowing how these rates compare to your product line can help you identify ways to increase your online shopping experience for your customers.
Abandonment rates also vary based on the particular industry in which your products sell. Among the industries with the highest abandonment rates include finance at 84%, travel at 81%, general retail at 73% and fashion at 68%. Depending on which industry your company operates in, you’ll want to know the benchmark to measure how your numbers stack up against the competition.
Conversion rate drops after 14 or more fields during checkout process
The more lines to complete or steps to take to complete an order, the more customers are likely to abandon their orders for something easier or quicker. Ideally, checkout forms should contain 12-14 elements where users have to input information or act in some way. If forms are too short, you won’t get the necessary information to personalize their order and serve them well. If your forms are too long, your customer will become overwhelmed by the process and opt-out for something shorter or smoother, taking up less of their time. Your forms should be designed in a way that matches your customer’s needs while getting the information you need to serve them.
40% of online shoppers add-to-cart without the intention of purchasing
Whether your shoppers choose to make lists or not, a cart can be an easy way for online shoppers to browse and navigate through the buyers’ journey on their own time. Many, at least 40% in fact, search through retail sites and add items to their carts just for the sake of research and looking around. They may be comparing prices or reviews or spending some extra time considering their buying decisions. With deals and a smooth shopping process that drives them to checkout, you can encourage those browsers to follow through on making a purchase.
35% of shoppers will leave if your website security is not present
Your shoppers want to know their information is protected when they enter their address and credit card information. 35% of shoppers will leave their cart if they don’t feel the site is safe and secure. In addition to what they know about your business, you want to assure them that they will be well taken care of throughout their journey as a customer. With that statistic, it should be imperative that your site has the appropriate security badges and authentication that they are looking for.
$18 billion is lost each year in e-commerce sales due to abandoned carts!
When carts are abandoned, the customers miss out on their product. And online retailers lose out on valuable sales. Each year, e-commerce platforms lose billions, an amount that’s expected to reach $4 trillion within the next year. Cart abandonment has a strong correlation to profitability and sales across online retailers.
55% of shoppers abandon their cart due to unexpected added costs
When consumers plan on checking out their cart, they want to know how much to expect to spend. So when added fees like those for shipping or processing are added on, they’re more inclined to leave. When providing reasons for why they’ve left their cart unpurchased, 55% of people said it was due to those added expenses. This is key to know in helping buyers along their journey of converting to a sale. Providing upfront fees and additional costs added on can help your shoppers be prepared for what they’ll spend and not be surprised when extra fees are added on for shipping or processing.
Additionally, OptinMonster notes that 21% of shoppers attributed their abandoned cart to the fact that they couldn’t see their order total upfront This lack of clarity can really frustrate shoppers. To alleviate their concern and improve your conversions, boost transparency or customer awareness of the price they’ll be charged upon moving into the checkout stage.
Evening and weekend shopping times show the highest cart abandonment rate
When it comes to a particular timeframe of when people are most likely to abandon their carts, evenings can be dangerous for cart abandoners. According to AnnexCloud, the highest cart abandonment rates are between 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Whether it’s due to an increased number of people shopping to relax in the evening or more people just browsing, the evening has higher potential for lost sales.
Knowing this, you can incorporate engagement tools like pop-ups or re-targeted emails to lower your rate of potential cart abandonments. From a day-to-day standpoint, weekends have the highest cart abandonment rates. Abandonment rates can jump to 90% during Saturdays and Sundays. Conversely, Wednesdays and Thursdays tend to be the best days for conversions in online shopping.
Checkout process improvements increase conversion rates by 36% on average
When websites are optimized to meet customer needs, shoppers pay attention. When online retailers incorporate optimization strategies that smooth the checkout process, they can increase their conversions by about 36%. Gathering data about how your customers feel about your checkout process can provide key insights into ways you can continue to delight your customers and raise your conversion rates.
Furthermore, optimizing your website can recover a significant amount of revenue for your business. In fact, about $260 billion can be recovered across e-commerce platforms with checkout improvements and customer attention.
60% of customers are abandoning due to poor user experience
When online shoppers browse with an intention to make a purchase, they want to know they’ll be taken care of and have a great experience. Your website can help them accomplish that. But when it doesn’t they’re bound to leave without completing their purchase.
34% of online shoppers attributed their abandoned cart to the fact that there was no option to checkout using a guest account and 26% of online shoppers said that the checkout process was too complicated for them to want to continue to fulfill their purchase. These user experience issues can be due to a range of issues from a clunky interface to poor design. In either case, knowing these dangers can help you optimize your buyer’s journey online to ensure customers can navigate through the site with ease and delight.
80% of users leave if a website has more than a 3-second load time
In addition to making your website smooth and convenient for checkouts, it should also be something customers can do within a reasonable amount of time. In fact, 57% of customers will leave a page if they have to wait three or more seconds for it to fully load. Yes, online shoppers are impatient.
With busy schedules and frequent multitasking, people don’t want to wait around to see what you have to offer. What should really make online retailers pay attention is that 80% of those who left because of a slow page won’t return for another chance. While having a cool design with engaging functionality can help pique a user’s interest, it should also have a quick loading time to keep your visitors staying with your site along the buyer’s journey.