What is Cart Abandonment?
Cart abandonment refers to when a customer places items in their online shopping cart but leaves the website without completing the purchase. It’s a major issue facing ecommerce businesses today.
Research shows that the average online shopping cart abandonment rate is remarkably high at 69.57%. This means that for every 100 customers who add items to their cart, nearly 70 will abandon their cart without buying. With the majority of online shoppers failing to complete purchases, cart abandonment represents lost revenue opportunities for online retailers.
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step for ecommerce businesses looking to recapture abandoned cart sales through recovery efforts. The high average abandonment rate reveals the large number of customers who show initial interest but ultimately do not convert.
Why Do Customers Abandon Carts?
There are a variety of reasons that lead shoppers to abandon their online shopping carts before completing a purchase. Some of the top reasons include:
Payment Issues – Customers may run into problems during the checkout process, such as declined credit cards, issues with applying promo codes, or challenges with third party payment gateways. This can cause frustration and lead to abandoning the cart.
Shipping Costs – Sometimes customers get to checkout and are surprised by the shipping charges. Particularly for heavier or bulkier items, high shipping costs beyond what a customer expects can deter them from finishing the transaction.
Lack of Trust – For first time customers or on newer ecommerce sites, some shoppers may lack trust and confidence to complete the purchase. They may be unsure about the legitimacy of the business or security of providing payment information. This perceived risk can stop them from going through checkout.
Account Registration – If a checkout process requires creating an account before purchasing, this extra friction can result in abandoned carts. Customers don’t want to spend time signing up before they can complete the transaction.
Unexpected Costs – At checkout, additional fees or charges can appear like taxes and customs duties that shoppers didn’t account for. These unexpected costs can sticker shock customers and cause them to abandon their carts.
Lack of Information – If the checkout process doesn’t provide enough information about shipping timelines, return policies, or contact information, customers may feel hesitant completing the purchase. More information and reassurance is needed.
Technical Issues – Glitchy or slow performing websites, errors during checkout, lost internet connections – any tech problems on the customer side can interrupt the buying journey and lead to abandonment.
Changing their Mind – Some customers simply have a change of heart during the checkout process and decide not to purchase after all. They may feel the item is too expensive, get buyer’s remorse, or realize they don’t need the product.
What is Abandoned Cart Recovery?
Abandoned cart recovery refers to the strategies and tactics ecommerce businesses use to win back customers who added items to their online shopping cart but didn’t complete the purchase. The goal is to recover the lost sale and convert shoppers who abandoned their carts into paying customers.
There are a few main methods stores use to recover abandoned carts:
- Email campaigns – Sending targeted emails to shoppers who left items in their carts unfinished. This involves collecting contact info at the time of adding to cart and using it to trigger automated emails after a set time, like 1 day later. Emails remind customers of the left-behind cart and offer incentives to complete their purchase.
- Retargeting ads – Displaying ads to cart abandoners on other sites they visit, enticing them to come back and finish buying. Retargeting uses cookies to track shopper behavior.
- Push notifications – Sending mobile alerts if a customer abandons on mobile. This requires an app and permission to send notifications.
- Social media ads – Running paid ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram targeted to those who recently abandoned a cart. This uses pixel data for custom audiences.
- SMS messages – Sending abandoned cart reminder texts if the shopper provided a phone number. SMS has high open rates.
- Chatbots – Using chatbots to send cart recovery messages via chat in real-time when abandonment happens.
- Pop-ups – Displaying cart recovery pop-up messages when the shopper returns to the website later on.
The main goal of these tactics is to remind customers of their cart, provide incentives to complete the purchase, and make it easy for them to pick up where they left off.
Benefits of Abandoned Cart Recovery
Implementing an effective abandoned cart recovery strategy provides numerous benefits for ecommerce businesses. The main benefits include:
Increased Revenue and Conversion Rates
The primary benefit of abandoned cart recovery is increased revenue. By reaching out to customers who abandoned their carts and persuading them to complete their purchases, businesses can recover lost sales. This directly translates to higher revenues.
According to research by SaleCycle, abandoned cart recovery can increase revenue by 10-15%. Retargeting abandoned carts also increases conversion rates. Customers who have already shown interest in products are more likely to purchase when reminded. Effective recovery campaigns can increase conversion rates by 30% or more.
Higher Customer Retention
Abandoned cart recovery helps retain customers for future purchases. By following up promptly with customers after they abandon their cart, businesses can build engagement. This improves the customer experience and makes shoppers more likely to return. Sending targeted, personalized offers also makes customers feel valued.
Recovering abandoned carts provides an opportunity to find out why customers left. Businesses can then resolve issues and improve customer satisfaction. This builds loyalty so customers will shop more in the future instead of going to competitors.
Implementing an Effective Abandoned Cart Recovery Strategy
Abandoned cart recovery takes effort, but the payoff can be immense. Here are some tips for implementing an effective abandoned cart recovery strategy:
Create Targeted Campaigns
- Segment your audience and create targeted email campaigns based on cart value, products left behind, customer history, etc. Personalized emails see higher open and conversion rates.
- Test different email copy, offers, timing, and design to determine what resonates most with your audience. Optimization is key.
- Offer an incentive like a discount code or free shipping to encourage cart completion. Make sure the incentive is valuable enough to motivate action.
Utilize Retargeting
- Use retargeting ads on Facebook, Google, etc. to remind customers about items left behind and bring them back to your site. Retargeting has high returns compared to cold traffic.
- Create retargeting ads tailored to the specific products customers abandoned. Showing the exact item helps trigger their memory.
- Be careful not to over-retarget customers or they may get annoyed. Frequency capping can help prevent retargeting fatigue.
Avoid Common Pitfalls
- Don’t immediately send abandoned cart emails, wait at least a few hours so customers can complete purchases organically first.
- Keep your email list clean and remove customers who have completed purchases or shown no interest. Targeting the wrong users will sabotage your efforts.
- Test across devices and ensure your campaigns are optimized for mobile. Much shopping activity happens on smartphones these days.
- Monitor results closely and tweak campaigns frequently. Abandoned cart recovery requires diligence to realize the benefits. Don’t set and forget!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cart Abandonment?
Cart abandonment occurs when customers add items to their online shopping cart but leave the website without completing the purchase. With an average abandonment rate of 69.57%, it represents a significant loss of potential revenue for ecommerce businesses.
Why Do Customers Abandon Carts?
Customers may abandon carts due to payment issues, unexpected shipping costs, lack of trust, required account registration, unexpected costs at checkout, lack of information, technical problems, or simply changing their mind.
What is Abandoned Cart Recovery?
Abandoned cart recovery involves strategies to win back customers who added items to their cart but didn’t complete the purchase. Methods include email campaigns, retargeting ads, push notifications, social media ads, SMS messages, chatbots, and pop-ups.
What are the Benefits of Abandoned Cart Recovery?
Benefits include increased revenue and conversion rates, higher customer retention, and the opportunity to understand and address the reasons behind cart abandonment, improving overall customer satisfaction and loyalty.
How to Implement an Effective Abandoned Cart Recovery Strategy?
To implement an effective strategy, create targeted campaigns, utilize retargeting ads, avoid common pitfalls like immediate email sending, maintain a clean email list, optimize for mobile, and regularly monitor and adjust your approach.