{"id":45400,"date":"2021-03-12T10:00:58","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T17:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/resources\/what-is-shopping-cart-abandonment\/"},"modified":"2023-06-07T17:01:34","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T00:01:34","slug":"what-is-shopping-cart-abandonment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/resources\/what-is-shopping-cart-abandonment\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Shopping Cart Abandonment?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What is shopping cart abandonment? Shopping cart abandonment is when a potential, current, or returning customer begins an online order but doesn\u2019t complete the purchase. Thus, resulting in a shopping cart that has items but is left without a sale.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We\u2019ve all been there: You\u2019re aimlessly browsing online, contemplating making a purchase, but before you pull the trigger and hand over your credit card, you click off the page or app. Though this seems like an innocent pastime when you\u2019re bored or passing time, it’s a big problem for online retailers and those who are hyper-focused on sales.<\/p>\n

In fact, digital marketers and content creators are tasked with lowering the click-off rate, thus reducing shopping cart abandonment. This is usually tackled through a variety of different tactics, from email and pop-ups to website flow and copy updates and beyond.<\/p>\n

Common shopping cart abandonment scenarios<\/h2>\n

For example, a digital marketer might conclude that customers aren\u2019t going through the checkout process because sales tax and shipping costs aren\u2019t given until a payment method is provided.<\/p>\n

Because people want to know the total of what they\u2019re spending before they hand over a credit card, it makes sense they would “x” out. To solve this, a marketer will change the flow, utilizing better UX design and experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Or, say, a customer clicks off but added many sales items to their cart before they left. An effective way to lure them back to the website to finish their purchase is to send a brief email about the sale coming to a close. If they are serious about obtaining the item, they will likely be tempted to click through the email so they can take advantage of the savings.<\/p>\n

Another scenario is one of the most problematic: technical issues. Often, if a website freezes, takes a long time to load, or otherwise fails the customer, they aren\u2019t likely to convert. The same is true if any part of the checkout process is confusing or frustrating. With so much competition, online shops and services have to make their offerings crystal clear to avoid customers going to their competitors.<\/p>\n

Digital strategists and content writers can help identify the pain points<\/a> and guide engineering teams through restructuring processes to improve the experience.<\/p>\n

Why does shopping cart abandonment happen?<\/h2>\n

Step one of coming up with solutions is understanding the common reasons behind shopping cart abandonment. Every website and audience will have different reasons for clicking off before submitting a purchase, but there are some common causes all digital marketers should keep an eye out for.<\/p>\n

These include, but are not limited to:<\/p>\n