Reducing Shopping Cart Abandonment

Shopping cart abandonment, a phenomenon where buyers add products to their on-line cart but never check out, will cost online retailers nearly $63 billion (U.S) in lost sales this year according to a 2004 report published by business information provider, Datamonitor.com.

• Consumers surveys show that the primary reasons for cart abandonment are:
• Unexpectedly high shipping costs or long shipping times.
• Lack of detailed product information including warranty agreements.

Too much personal information required to complete the checkout process. This includes forcing a buyer to "create an account" before checkout.

If you are experiencing high cart abandonment rates then perhaps your site has one or more of these barriers to sales. Although it is a relatively easy process, most online retailers do not take the time to act like a customer and experience their web site from a buyer's prospective.

Shipping Costs

Compare your shipping costs to those of your competitors. If yours are higher then find out why. Are you getting the best rates from your courier or delivery service? Negotiated rates are possible, especially if you do a respectable volume. Perhaps your competitors are using a lower priced shipping provider who would also be happy to have your business as well. Either way, all it takes is a telephone call to start the negotiation process.

You may be eligible for discounted shipping costs because of some membership or business affiliation such as a buying club. In many countries American Express Card Members, or American Express Card Merchants get automatic discounts with major carriers. The trick is, you won't get them without asking.

You don't have to play 20 questions. Just call your shipper and say "How can I get lower rates". If you are a good customer they won't want you to defect to the competition.

Shipping Times

If you only offer one shipping method, such as parcel post, look into providing additional options. Let the customer decide how fast is fast enough for them. Of course, you'll have to balance the services levels against the shipping price concerns but, with a little bit of strategic planning and negotiation, it can be done. Also look into having multiple carriers available so the customer can make the choice that's best for them.

Lack of Detailed Product Information

If you are reselling products that are manufactured by other companies, the chances are that your product description contains only the basic information that the manufacturer provides. This can be woefully inadequate. Not only because those details are usually sparse, but they very often lack any "sell". Here's an example from an actual furniture reseller's web site:

"Manchester Sectional Sofa Set, White Glove Delivery , contact us if you have any questions by web form or phone. Bottom sides are vinyl, additional cost for full leather."

Not very inspiring or informative is it? Here's what it becomes after a product copywriter gets a hold of the description:

"Black is back and so are sectionals. This luxurious 4-piece Manchester Sectional Sofa Set, plus oversized ottoman, is clad in genuine leather for softness and comfort everywhere that touches the body; and die-matched vinyl covers the bottom and sides for extra-long wear. 100% leather is available for just a little bit more. This quality sectional includes a 10 year warranty against cuts and normal wear and a lifetime warranty on the hardwood and steel frame. Of course this finely crafted ensemble comes with our White Glove Delivery Service as well. You know that you have a room that's just begging for a sectional, so click on the Add to Cart button and we'll contact you for a delivery date. Questions? You can call or click the Contact Us link at the top of the page."

A little bit of dedicated effort, combined with a bit of salesmanship, can increase sales and decrease cart abandonment at the same time.

Too much personal information required

This is a tough one, but it doesn't necessarily have to be. If you are collecting name and address information, before checkout, and your site's Credit Card payment screen collects the same information, then look into the possibilities of making some changes to your checkout pages. Most Credit Card processing companies do what's called a "postback" or "callback". That means that their software will pass back the customer's name and address information to your web site after the purchase. You need what is generally called an "IPN" or Instant Payment Notification script running on your server. Your payment service provider probably has all of the integration information that you need right on their web site. Just call and ask.

If you don't get postback information then consider postponing the collection of personal information until after the customers goes through the checkout. Your Payment Service Provider sends the customer back to a page on your site after the order is approved. Just make that page the one where you collect the additional information. The customer may still not like it, but they've already paid so there is no way that they can abandon the cart.

You work hard to get customers to your web site. Don't throw business away unnecessarily. take the time to look at your web site through the eyes of the buyer. Who knows, maybe you'll get some of that $63 billion that the other sites will lose this year.

- 13th September 2004

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