What is cart abandonment in marketing?

What is cart abandonment?

Cart abandonment happens when people add items to their online shopping cart but leave the ecommerce store without completing the purchase. This can happen for various reasons, such as not being ready to buy or encountering technical issues during checkout.

While cart abandonment can mean lost sales in the immediate term, it also provides an opportunity to improve the customer experience and boost conversion rates in the long run.

Why do people abandon carts?

The average cart abandonment rate is 70.19%, which means that for every 10 shoppers who add items to their cart, only 3 will complete the purchase. Common reasons why visitors abandon their carts include:

1. They’re comparing prices across multiple brands

Shoppers often use their online cart as a wishlist while browsing and comparing prices across brands. If your competitors are offering a better deal, your visitors may abandon their carts and buy elsewhere. This means you may benefit from a deeper analysis of your business economics, if you’re seeing high cart abandonment rates for certain products.

2. They encountered unexpected costs

Surprise costs like high shipping fees or extra charges at checkout can make people second-guess their purchase. Shoppers appreciate transparent pricing as soon as possible in the checkout process.

To prevent any last-minute hesitation, display an accurate cost breakdown early on, including taxes, handling fees, and shipping costs. That way, customers know exactly what to expect before they reach the final checkout page.

3. They’re facing a complicated checkout process

A complicated checkout process can frustrate shoppers, leading them to abandon their carts. The more steps or forms they have to complete, the harder it becomes to finalize the purchase.

Simplify your checkout process by:

Allowing guest checkout without forcing visitors to create an account
Minimizing form fields to gather only essential information
Enabling autofill options for a faster, more convenient experience
Offering a variety of payment methods
Including a progress bar so people know exactly how close they are to completing their purchase

4. They were looking for promo codes and discounts

Shoppers love a good deal, and it’s not uncommon for them to abandon their cart in search of promo codes or discounts. To help seal the deal, try offering limited-time discounts or promotions. This may be the nudge they need to finalize their purchase.

5. They experienced technical issues

Slow load times, crashes, or error messages can hurt the shopping experience and lead to abandoned carts. These issues often stem from:

Server problems
Outdated website or software
Incompatible plugins or extensions
Insufficient bandwidth

To turn visitors into paying customers, monitor your website’s performance and tackle any technical problems head on. Track load times, fix broken links, and make sure your site is fully optimized for all devices.

6. They have security concerns

Online shoppers need to feel confident that their personal and payment information is protected when shopping. If your website lacks proper security measures, shoppers might leave their carts behind, worried about credit card fraud or identity theft.

To put their minds at ease, display trust seals, SSL certificates, and payment security logos, showing that their information is safe with your brand.

7. They didn’t like your return or exchange policies

A limited, unclear, or missing return or exchange policy can discourage shoppers from completing a purchase. People want the reassurance that they can return or exchange items if they’re not satisfied, the product arrives damaged, or there’s a mistake with the shipment.

Make sure your return and exchange policies are clearly visible on your website to prevent any confusion or frustration.

8. They were faced with excessive cross-selling or upselling

Cross-selling and upselling can boost sales, but overdoing it can frustrate the shoppers and push them away from completing a purchase. Instead, focus on offering only relevant, complementary products that genuinely enhance the customer experience.

How to reduce the number of abandoned carts

If you struggle with high cart abandonment rates, implement these strategies to recover lost sales and maximize profit:

1. Improve your website experience

Improving your website experience is key to reducing abandoned carts. Here’s how you can improve the website and checkout experience to reduce cart abandonment:

Use subscriber data to suggest relevant products via email and SMS based on browsing history or past purchases.
Collect and display customer reviews and testimonials to build trust and credibility.
Optimize your website and app for fast load times and mobile responsiveness.
Simplify your checkout process, reduce form fields, and offer guest checkout.
Offer competitive and transparent prices with no hidden costs.

2. Use exit-intent pop-ups to encourage a complete purchase

Exit-intent pop-ups trigger when shoppers are about to leave your site without completing their purchase. They can offer a last-minute incentive, such as free shipping or a discount code, to encourage shoppers to stay and complete the checkout process.

When using exit-intent pop-ups:

Use a clear and attention-grabbing headline.
Keep the pop-up short and simple.
Provide clear and easy-to-follow instructions on how to redeem the offer.
Offer a time-sensitive incentive to create urgency.
Make the pop-up easy to close.

3. Use retargeting ads

Retargeting ads use cookies to track shoppers who left items in their cart and show them personalized ads on social media or other websites they visit. These ads are reminders and can entice shoppers to return and complete their purchases.

To make your retargeting ads effective:

Segment your target audience based on the products left in the cart.
Use eye-catching visuals and compelling copy to grab attention.
Set frequency caps to avoid overwhelming potential customers.

4. Build cart abandonment flows

While you can’t avoid abandoned carts altogether, you can automate cart abandonment emails to make sure shoppers come back and complete the purchase.

You can personalize these emails by automatically including the customer’s name, the items they left behind, and a strong call to action. While it’s not necessary, you can even set up dynamic discount codes based on item value to incentivize people to complete their purchases, especially if they’re expensive.

To make your cart abandonment emails stand out:

Write a compelling subject line.
Keep your email concise and easy to read, with numbers and bullet points for clarity.
Use high-quality images of the abandoned products.
Set up urgency triggers, like limited-time offers, to encourage quick action.
Make sure your CTA button is clear and prominent.

Send the email within 2–4 hours of cart abandonment. Limit the number of follow-up emails to 3—a reminder, a limited-time offer, and a final message with an alternate product recommendation.

Why cart abandonment flows are important

Automating cart abandonment emails through a marketing automation platform will save you some valuable time in recovering lost sales. Cart abandonment flows are valuable because:

1. They drive the most conversions

Cart abandonment flows work because they remind the shoppers of what they left behind not that long ago. With click rates of 6.25%, these emails are exceptional at getting customers back on track to complete their purchases.

2. They generate significant revenue

When it comes to generating revenue, cart abandonment flows are top performers. These emails boast the highest revenue per recipient of any automated flow, averaging $3.65 per email and up to $28.89 for the top 10% performers.

3. They scale up with your brand

Once set up, cart abandonment flows run on autopilot, continually working to recover lost sales no matter the size of your brand and the number of potential customers abandoning their carts. This helps you focus on growing your brand and subscriber lists through new product launches or seasonal campaigns while these flows do the heavy lifting in the background.

Use Klaviyo and build high-converting abandonment cart flows

To create, deliver, and track effective abandonment flows, use a marketing automation platform like Klaviyo.