If you run an online store, chances are good that there are few numbers that you will see that can make you frown and scowl at your computer screen. We are talking about the inner analytics of your ecommerce shopping cart. You know, the numbers that tell you how many people came to your online store and how many of them converted into a sale. According to a number of different studies and white papers that we will cull information from in this blog (sources include: Listrak, KissMetrics, Baymard, Websurveyors, SaleCycle, SeeWhy, Forrester, Compete and MIT), shopping cart abandonment rates hover at about 68% overall for ecommerce stores across the board.
We’ve already covered how shipping prices and shopping cart abandonment are intrinsically linked. But today we will cover 21 more shopping cart abandonment facts, and how you can safeguard your online store from falling prey to these bewildering statistics. Hopefully, you will be able to glean from this information and use it to make the progressive changes that are necessary to improve your conversion rate and increase your overall retention.
Why Shoppers Abandon Their Carts & What You Can Do About It
One: Retailers, on average, only see a slim 3% conversion rate. That’s considered on the upside, too. Most retailers are thrilled to see a 2% conversion rate. This means that 98 out of 100 visitors to your website are not converting. So what can you do about it?
Improve shopping cart descriptions.
Add high-resolution product photos with multiple angles.
Offer pop-up special deals to keep users intimated.
Advertise low shipping rates and generous returns policies.
Two: 90% of your online leads are actually ice cold in a matter of just 60-90 minutes. To counter this, use these tips.
Be proactive about following up with leads.
Use a productive CRM system to manage your leads.
Nurture your leads to triple the conversion ratio.
Offer leads a special value.
Three: All said and done, an estimated $18 billion is lost annually from the prospective sales that could have been generated if the shopping carts were not abandoned. You can turn these numbers around by doing the following.
Advertise a price-match guarantee.
Make shopping a superfluous and fast process.
Feature a mobile website alongside of a standalone one.
Use retargeting to recapture previously lost sales.
Four: 55% of abandoners will spend more when retargeted to. Therefore, make sure you have a strong retargeting plan in place. Companies like Ad Roll offer competitive rates and plenty of features to choose from.
Five: Peak time for shopping cart abandonment includes from 8-9pm daily. Consider advertising your greatest specials during this time.
Host a nightly ‘happy hour’ sales event to drive more sales.
Offer coupon codes that are active during these hours only and that are not valid after that time has expired.
Advertise your special hourly deals to decrease abandonment rates during this time.
Six: Thursday is the peak day for shopping cart abandonment. Who actually knows why this is, but there is something that you can do about it.
Feature Throwback Thursday sales events every week.
Offer uncanny deals to lure customers in. Even if you break even on the products being sold, you can encourage customers to buy other wares once they are at your storefront.
Create a “Free Shipping Thursday” special to drive more sales.
Seven: Google drives over 70% of all organic traffic online. The solution for this one is simple: focus your advertising efforts on Google. Use Ad Words to get top rankings quickly, and put a strong SEO plan into motion to ultimately grab up long-lasting organic rankings.
Eight: 73% of shoppers want free shipping, saying it’s a critical part of the purchasing decision. To cater to this use discount USPS shipping options to get zone-based pricing on Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express shipments.
Nine: 93% of all shoppers are likelier to make a purchase when free shipping is offered. Shipping is one of your greatest costs. But you can tailor an approach that includes offering free ground shipping on purchases of a set amount or higher. This method works like a charm for Amazon, and can work nicely for your online store, too.
Ten: 63% of your shoppers want a “specials” section on your website that’s easy to access. Therefore, make sure you cater to this by adding that crucial “specials” tab so eager buyers can skip straight to the deals being offered.
Eleven: Offering free returns will appeal to two-thirds of all online shoppers, who want easy and hassle-free, low cost or complementary returns.
Understand that your most loyal customers make the most returns.
Consider the cost of returns as a very effective form of advertising, where you can win over that customer for life with a simple return cost that’s absorbed.
Use a returns management solution to reduce the cost and time involved in processing returns.
Twelve: 12% of your traffic, on average, are returning visitors. If they are not converting, you can consider using an analytic tool that tracks their cookies in their browser and offers them a special deal when they do return. Furthermore, you can also use retargeting for these scrupulous shoppers.
Thirteen: Nearly 30% of all visitors will revisit your website within four weeks. Make sure you use the suggestions offered in the previous tip to increase conversions from these vital returning visitors.
Fourteen: 47% of your shoppers want your site to load in two seconds or less.
You can test your site speed for free at: www.webpagetest.org.
Contact your developer if the speed is too slow.
Consider using a different hosting service.
Explore whether or not your shopping cart might be slowing down your site.
Fifteen: 30% of consumers are conducting shopping comparisons, and are likely to abandon the shopping cart as a result. To counter this, offer price match pledges and incorporate plugins that will scan competitor’s prices and adjust yours.
Sixteen: Shipping cost can drive 44% of your customers away. But you can easily resolve this by using these tips.
Use a discount postage provider like Endicia or Stamps.com.
Get discount USPS Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express rates via Express 1.
Compare your shipping rates to your competitor’s so you can offer the lower price.
Seventeen: 22% of consumers abandon shopping carts because there was not information available about shipping. The solution to this is easy: state shipping costs upfront and make checkouts a simple and short process.
Eighteen: Time constraints account for over 21% of shopping cart abandonment. You can reduce this number by making checkout a one-page process and by adding a convenient guest checkout.
Nineteen: Out-of-stocks kill sales, to the tune of 15%. Make sure your inventory is updated at all times by using effective order management software solutions. If items are out-of-stock, don’t list them on your website.
Twenty: Misleading or confusing product information causes 3% of shoppers to abandon their shopping cart. Make sure your descriptions are short, simple, straightforward, easy to understand and to the point.
Twenty-One: Issues with payment processing contribute to 2% of shopping cart abandonment rates. Make sure you accept all payment forms and offer easy payments through Google Wallet and Pay Pal to increase your sales.