6 Common Reasons for Cart Abandonment and How to Fix Them

Fight the abandoned cart rate in your e-commerce with effective strategies. 

One of the worst enemies of an e-commerce business is none other than cart abandonment. Why would a user give up on buying the products they already took the time to choose? Next, we'll explore both the causes and the measures you can put into practice to prevent it.

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What does "abandoning a cart" mean? 

Imagine someone who stumbles upon an online shoe store whose style matches the one they wear. While browsing the catalog, they start adding one, two, or three pairs they fell in love with; however, something happens before they decide to start the checkout process, so the cart is dramatically forgotten. A tragedy!

The owners of these businesses know that a cart abandonment equals the loss of a buyer, so if instead of happening once, it happens ten times, the direct threat to sales becomes a reality.

The reasons must be analyzed carefully, because at first glance it might seem that the main problem is the product itself, when other factors also come into play, such as the customer experience they receive.

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Data worth paying attention to 

Statistics gathered by Orienteed during mid-2023 detected the following behaviors in purchases made through an online business:

• 84% of the cart abandonment rate comes from consumers using a mobile device.

• The most common reason why 48% of users leave their cart is shipping costs, taxes, and additional fees.

• 24% give up on buying something because the e-commerce website asked them to create an account.

• 22% back out when they realize that the shipping time will be too long.

All this information will be our starting point to detail the points that follow.

Why do people abandon their cart?

Extra costs 

If people notice that a considerably high amount has been added to the final cost of their products between shipping, taxes, and other fees, they will prefer to leave the purchase halfway rather than pay a price that doesn't match their estimate at all.

Fix it like this

Be clear about fees and try to display them on the product page, near the product price.

If possible, offer a reward; perhaps a small discount or free shipping when accumulating several purchases.

Account creation is required

Let's go back to the example of the person who finds the shoe e-commerce store: while waiting for the payment confirmation page to load, they're already imagining themselves wearing the shoes with the outfit they'll pair them with; however, their hopes are dashed when a box appears asking them to create an account to complete the purchase.

They're discouraged at the thought of entering their email, choosing a username and password, then waiting for a confirmation code to arrive… Too much hassle that also takes time. The result? An abandoned cart.

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Fix it this way

• Allow people to purchase without needing to register.
• Incorporate fast, uncomplicated checkout pages that don't take too much time from customers

Price comparison with competitors

It's no surprise that someone might simulate buying a product just to find out how much they'll pay compared to what other similar stores offer, so don't forget to create strategies that help your business stand out.

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Solve it with these tips

• Although we've already talked about adding attractive discounts, add an extra promotion for a first purchase; that way, you'll motivate users to buy from you.

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User experience within the website 

If navigation in your store isn't clear, people will end up frustrated. Some of the most common problems people encounter are slow page and image loading, an overload of pop-up windows announcing news or offers, and a lack of buttons that help customers find what they need. 

The chances of giving up on a purchase also increase with technical failures, for example, when after entering their payment details, the website didn't register them and shows an error.

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Keys to fixing it

• Optimize your website so it works properly on both desktop computers and mobile devices, especially the latter given the percentage of consumers we already showed you who prefer to shop on those devices.
• Put yourself in the buyer's shoes and test the experience of purchasing on your own e-commerce site; that way, it will be easier to identify what urgently needs to be improved or implemented.

You don't inspire enough trust

Data theft is a persistent problem today; no one wants their banking information to end up in the wrong hands, which is why customers make sure to verify that the e-commerce site where they plan to buy something is reliable.

What they usually check are purchase policies, the payment methods they accept, and reviews other users have left on various products, which are in fact decisive in whether someone concludes that a business is trustworthy.

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Tips that will help you improve

• Add payment methods that provide security to your customers and don't require them to enter their data on your website. PayPal is a good option, as are interbank transfers.
• Highlight your customers' comments and make them visible to support your brand's reputation.

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Final thoughts 

No more abandoned carts! Empathy with the user is vital, but once we understand the background of the situation, we can get to work and improve everything that needs a push. The reward: sales in bulk. 

Finally, why not take a look at our blog post on customer service metrics? It will be very useful to complement the information we just provided.