Shopping Cart Abandonment Rates May be Misleading
- By Jane Dawson
- Published 01/21/2011
- Online Shopping
- Unrated
For some time now we have been hearing that the shopping cart abandonment rate is high, very high, at about 60%. This is a dismal return for all of the effort that online retailers put into enticing traffic onto their sites then convincing visitors to make a purchase. However, a new study by McAfee provides insight into that 60% abandonment number.
McAfee has found that 65% of online shoppers wait a day or more to fully convert on a purchase. The study reviewed 163 million online transactions and discovered that online shoppers are very cautious, filling their cart one day, leaving it and returning the next day. What are the issues that raise flags and cause cautious shoppers to re-think before they take the plunge?
Security
The McAfee study went on to evaluate techniques that increased conversion and found that conversions are 11% higher for sites that provide a visual security cue such as a seal from an oversight organization. This finding is supported by a PayPal/ComScore study which found that 21% of purchasers decided against shopping at an ecommerce website because of security concerns.
Clearly, there is value in reassuring your customers that you have taken security seriously and displaying the security seals to prove it.
Return Policy
Many potential buyers worry that the item may not be right and that it will be difficult to return it. You can certainly post your return policy somewhere within your shopping cart area but here are
two simple ways to make your point:
Place a shipping policy icon near your add to cart icon so that the shopper can roll over it and get a message popup with your return policy stated.
Place a message such as returns are never a problem next to your add to cart icon.
Either of these techniques will get your message in front of your customer at the precisely the time it is needed.
Shopping Cart Memory
Be sure that your shopping cart will hold a potential customers items for at least a week to allow them to return and pick up where they left off originally. It is discouraging to fill a cart, not complete the purchase because the boss just showed up in your office or you have to double check with your husband on the birthday gift amount then return to find that you have to start all over again; many people just would not do it.
Reminders
Send out a reminder to your shopper whose cart has been abandoned. Any of several strategies works well, according to marketers.
Remind the shopper that their cart is waiting for them to finish their ordering.
Send a note asking if there is a problem and how it might be fixed.
Send a reminder saying that their cart will expire in seven days so they should hurry back to complete the order.
Offer a discount for returning those this one will probably lead to customers routinely abandoning then waiting for the sweetener before returning to conclude the sale.
Finally, look at your web analytics package to see if you can track returning abandoners and calculate that conversion rate.
McAfee has found that 65% of online shoppers wait a day or more to fully convert on a purchase. The study reviewed 163 million online transactions and discovered that online shoppers are very cautious, filling their cart one day, leaving it and returning the next day. What are the issues that raise flags and cause cautious shoppers to re-think before they take the plunge?
Security
The McAfee study went on to evaluate techniques that increased conversion and found that conversions are 11% higher for sites that provide a visual security cue such as a seal from an oversight organization. This finding is supported by a PayPal/ComScore study which found that 21% of purchasers decided against shopping at an ecommerce website because of security concerns.
Clearly, there is value in reassuring your customers that you have taken security seriously and displaying the security seals to prove it.
Return Policy
Many potential buyers worry that the item may not be right and that it will be difficult to return it. You can certainly post your return policy somewhere within your shopping cart area but here are
Place a shipping policy icon near your add to cart icon so that the shopper can roll over it and get a message popup with your return policy stated.
Place a message such as returns are never a problem next to your add to cart icon.
Either of these techniques will get your message in front of your customer at the precisely the time it is needed.
Shopping Cart Memory
Be sure that your shopping cart will hold a potential customers items for at least a week to allow them to return and pick up where they left off originally. It is discouraging to fill a cart, not complete the purchase because the boss just showed up in your office or you have to double check with your husband on the birthday gift amount then return to find that you have to start all over again; many people just would not do it.
Reminders
Send out a reminder to your shopper whose cart has been abandoned. Any of several strategies works well, according to marketers.
Remind the shopper that their cart is waiting for them to finish their ordering.
Send a note asking if there is a problem and how it might be fixed.
Send a reminder saying that their cart will expire in seven days so they should hurry back to complete the order.
Offer a discount for returning those this one will probably lead to customers routinely abandoning then waiting for the sweetener before returning to conclude the sale.
Finally, look at your web analytics package to see if you can track returning abandoners and calculate that conversion rate.
Jane Dawson
Wholesale forum is one of the best business forums, it is a place where you can meet and discuss with various dropship reviews.
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