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The good news is that those shoppers who you thought were disappearing may not be gone, they may just be delaying.

Dr. Paul M. Gibson
Chief Executive
PureNet

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BuySheds Direct is the leading specialist online retailer of garden buildings, fencing and decking. PureNet designed and built a multi-site B2C eCommerce solution that could cope with high volumes of traffic. Conversion rates are now 15% higher.

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SUCCESS STORY

Ride-Away is the leading supplier of equestrian equipment and has customers worldwide. The B2C eCommerce Solution provides a first-class shopping experience and in built SEO helps acquire more visitors. 300% growth was achieved within 6 months.

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What is driving shopping cart abandonment?

Shopping cart abandonment affects nearly every online merchant.  A whitepaper produced by McAfee, the ecommerce and data security company, called Digital Window Shopping: The Long Journey to "Buy", cites a survey conducted by comScore, in which comScore attempted to determine why shoppers abandon their carts, even after they have chosen the item they presumably want to buy.

According to the whitepaper, the most frequent reasons why shoppers abandon their carts are:

  • High shipping charges: 46 percent
  • Comparison shopping: 37 percent
  • Lack of money: 36 percent
  • Looking for a coupon: 27 percent
  • Wanted to shop offline: 26 percent
  • Couldn’t find preferred pay option: 24 percent
  • Item was unavailable at checkout: 23 percent
  • Couldn’t find customer support: 22 percent
  • Concerned about security of credit card data: 21 percent

High postage costs and security concerns drive cart abandonment

Following from the results, above, postage prices are the number one reason shoppers abandon their carts.  This should be a signal to merchants to lower their postage rates, even if they have to stand some of the cost themselves. 

Eliminating or reducing fees for postage allows merchants to compete with ‘big-box’ companies like Amazon that routinely offer free shipping if purchases are over a minimum order amount.

Online security is a huge concern also, and rightly so.  This same study discovered that 21 percent of buyers said they decided not to shop at a given site because of “security concerns.”  As an online merchant, it is important to communicate your commitment to security at every stage of the shopping process.

“Digital window shopping”

According to the figures, shopping cart abandonment might be high, but an unexpected number of shoppers return within a few days to continue or complete their purchase.  The study reviewed 163 million online transactions and discovered that nearly 65 percent of online shoppers wait a day or more to complete their purchase.

This trend in customer shopping behavior has typically been categorised as shopping cart ‘abandonment’, but with further scrutiny it might indicate another motive – the shopper being cautious or as McAfee term it, “digital window shopping”.  These types of shoppers can turn into loyal repeat customers, but only after the etailer establishes trust and credibility.

PureNet’s Dr Paul Gibson, says: "The good news is that those shoppers who you thought were disappearing may not be gone, they may just be delaying."  

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