$4 trillion is an almost unimaginable sum of money. Yet in the first three months of 2015 alone, this is how much the retail industry has lost out on. The reason? Over three quarters (77%) of online shoppers are abandoning their carts and turning their backs on potential purchases, for reasons that are largely preventable by retailers.[1]
Ecommerce sales have grown 13 per cent in the last year and with UK shoppers spending on average £7.1 billion a week online, the opportunities for online retailers are huge. With so many potential sales at stake, companies need to do their utmost to ensure each click on “add to basket” translates into a completed sale.
Cart abandonment is one of most pressing issues online retailers face today, so we carried out a global survey of over 60,000 consumers to discover more about what drives people to leave their online shopping basket before the point of purchase.
The results revealed that, of those who stated that they intended to buy but then abandoned their online shopping at the checkout, 13 per cent said it was down to web technical problems, 10 per cent were still deciding if they actually wanted the item and 8 per cent claimed it was because their preferred item, colour or size was not available.
When it comes to cost, an astonishing 59 per cent of shoppers who intended to buy but they abandoned their shopping basket to possibly buy later said that if they were offered a “20% off” or less discount off the cost of their shop, then they would follow through with their purchase.
After hearing from the customers themselves, we’ve come up with four top tips to show retailers what they can do to appeal to indecisive or price-conscious shoppers and encourage them to complete their purchase.
1. Be there all the way
Currently, many merchants are attempting to prevent the loss of customers by sending basket abandonment emails to people who left the site without purchasing their items. This technique only tackles the problem after the customer has left, which is far too late. In fact, many retailers are also placing too much emphasis on securing a customer’s initial interest but failing to help them to the point of purchase. Retailers need to look at how they’re currently interacting with customers throughout the entire retail journey, not just focusing on bringing them in or only sending useful purchasing information after that customer has already left. Once ecommerce providers are prepared to stick with customers throughout their whole shopping journey, they then need to consider what sort of information or offers they can provide along the way to encourage customers to complete that purchase, examples of which are contained in the next three steps.
2. Help them find what they want
Of the respondents who had intended to purchase but instead abandoned an online shop because they couldn’t find the item they were looking for, 62 per cent said that a retailer offering to help them find the item they will likely want. Make sure that you’re supporting shoppers by making it easy to find all of your products or offering them an alternative route to help find products.
3. Don’t let ‘out of stock’ stop a purchase
We’ve all been there – when you find the exact item you’re looking for, but it’s out of stock online. When this happens, retailers could do more to help out potential customers. Of those who intended to purchase but said they abandoned their shopping cart because the product they want is out of stock, 77 per cent would like the online store offered to locate it in the right size or colour so that they could go ahead with that purchase. Brands need to go that extra mile if they are to retain customers and avoid losing out to their competition. If an item is out of stock, help the shopper by offering a close alternative or sourcing it from somewhere else. Customers will appreciate it if you go this extra length and you will reduce the chance of them heading to another store to buy that item.
4. Save them money
9 per cent of shoppers who intended to purchase stated that they abandoned shopping on a website because, once they completed their shop, they found that the price was too high, putting them off making even a single purchase. It only takes a small promotional offer to push this uncertainty into a transaction, with 31 per cent of this group saying that an offer for 20 per cent or less off of their shop would help them click “buy”. Make sure you are notifying all consumers on the current offers your brand is running. Even if you can save them a bit of money through percentage off offers or removing delivery charge, you’re more likely to encourage them to a completed purchase.
Overall, the best advice for brands is to make the retail journey seamless and listen to your consumers. Of those self-confessed abandoners who intended to purchase, most would be encouraged to complete a purchase if a retailer went just that little bit further to provide them with the items they want, at a price they like, through a quick and easy ecommerce experience. If you can engage with each customer at all points in that journey, you’ll have a happy consumer and one less abandoned cart.
Article written by Hayley Silver via eseller.net
[1] IMRG, eCustomer Service Index (source)