Those who have some kind of online commerce know very well, or at least should know about one of the biggest horrors of this modality: cart abandonment. Their impact is huge, after all, they are potential sales that don’t end up well, and your business is precisely what gets harmed.
Some studies, such as the one carried out by e-commerce Radar, in 2017, indicate that the average cart abandonment in Brazil is about 82%. That means out of every 100 people who come to access your store page and put some products in the online cart, 82 will not go ahead with the purchase, and only 18 will be converted into actual purchases.
It does not take a huge research on the subject to notice that there is great wasted potential for sales and, and therefore, profits. But how do we reduce the cart abandonment rate? What are the elements that lead the person to abandon the purchase?
Calm down! The intention of this text is to help you solve this problem, so follow us to learn how to reduce your cart abandonment rates!
What is the scenario of abandoned shopping carts?
The first thing we need to do to start thinking about solutions to this big problem is to learn how common and comprehensive it is. We have already mentioned the average abandonment of carts in Brazil is extremely high.
In the US, some surveys, such as the one by Baymard Institute, show that just over two-thirds of customers abandon their shopping carts. That shows this is not only a Brazilian problem, but it is possible to reduce this percentage, perhaps even to levels below the American ones.
What are the impacts of the abandonment?
Before we move on, you may still wonder if it is really necessary to invest in reducing this dropout rate. After all, some resources need to be spent on things like the design of your e-commerce, and it is always important to measure what returns these investments will bring.
That’s why it’s so important to have an idea of how big an impact the abandonment can have on your company’s finances. There are estimates that electronics trading companies lose about US$18 million a year due to cart abandonment.
In addition, other surveys show that, after abandoning the cart, less than a third of the customers return to complete the purchase. And as if that wasn’t enough, the same research shows that about a quarter of them buy in a competitor the same product they were considering buying in your store.
Now you have an idea of how negative the loss of these sales is for your trade.
What are the main causes of these abandonments?
Why don’t customers continue shopping? What are the points that influence people to choose to follow or not with purchases? We’ll take a look at this so we can figure out ways to get rid of these problems.
Several issues block your online sales and cause people to abandon their shopping cart. Among them, issues such as the need to register on the website, excessive procedures before completing the purchase, and too many questions to know the buyer’s profile are also shown as barriers.
These things are seen as incentives for abandoning the purchase because the customer often demands a more objective way to make the purchase, and this bureaucracy ends up discouraging them. In addition, other issues addressed directly to the operation of the website show an impact on these issues; among them, the lack of price transparency, and the lack of security of the page.
One last element is the freight value, which ends up being pointed out as one of the most important in the loss of online sales. After all, the high freight value, added to the product value, often results in a price higher than the customer’s budget, or that simply doesn’t pay off.
In addition, depending on the segment, having more expensive but faster delivery options can be very important and necessary to avoid the dropout.
What strategies and tips can be adopted to reduce the statistics?
Well, we’ve talked a lot about the causes of cart abandonment, and their impacts on the company, but how about we start dealing with solutions? We will now look at some strategies to decrease the percentage of cart abandonment in your e-commerce.
Freight and delivery times
As mentioned before, freight has great weight and impacts online purchases. Precisely for this reason, seeking strategies that compensate for freight costs, such as discount coupons, for example, are an interesting way to deal with the problem.
In addition, another good idea is free shipping for purchases above a certain value, thus generating an incentive for consumption.
Being aware of delivery deadlines is another very important thing, since certain customers may require certain products in a hurry.
Registrations and information
A big deterrent, as mentioned before, is the bureaucracy often requested to proceed with the purchase. We understand the need to gather information to produce something custom for the customer, but we must be careful and choose the right means to do it.
Forget the mandatory registration. There is no reason to require the customer to register on your site. Replace it with the option of social media log in, the one done via other social networks. Through this resource, it is possible to have access to various information from social networks, which can eliminate the need for possible questionnaires as well.
But if for any reason it is still necessary to ask a few questions before buying, remember to make it short and convenient.
Anyway, cart abandonment is a big problem for all e-commerce, anywhere in the world, but knowing how to deal with it can result in great income gains. Removing barriers, questionnaires and other bureaucracies is important, as well as optimizing the site and planning promotions to compensate for freight.
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