FAQ – Why are my customers abandoning their shopping carts?

Some customers use the shopping cart as a wish list and keep track of the product list to follow sales. Consider having a separate wish list where they can store their cart contents for a later checkout. Many checkouts will delete themselves after a certain amount of time.

There could be unexpected hidden costs at checkout, including high shipping costs and taxes. Consider free, subsidized shipping costs, flat rate shipping, or encourage to order more for free shipping.

The customer couldn't remember password - in 2017, Oxford University said one-third of purchases not made were due to customers not remembering their password. Consider having a straightforward password retrieval or guest checkout with no password needed.

Is the customer looking for a coupon code - this happens a lot, especially if you have this field in your checkout. Consider offering them a coupon code that will appear on your website or when they're abandoning the cart.

Most customers want their purchase delivered within days, and if you can't provide it, they will find someone who can. Make sure you can deliver or offer them an incentive to wait.

Do you offer many payment options? Some customers may not have the credit card or PayPal account you offer. Make sure you include more payment options. if you have an established customer do you allow them to be billed

Customers may feel they are buying the wrong part or service. FAQ's on your site, or a chatbot is an effective way to help them make their purchase. A live chat is also a great salesperson helping them with a decision.

Customers may have privacy or security concerns with your checkout. Does it take them to an unknown third-party payment processing, or does your website have a high-level security certificate?

Some fill up their shopping carts with no intent of purchase to set a budget for future purchases (maybe waiting for a sale) or filling up the cart for just entertainment. You still have the opportunity to make a sale in the future and try to get their email or contact information to send out emails with special offers.

Is your registration process cumbersome, or is the checkout complicated? Consider having a focus group (or family members) go through the checkout and note how to streamline the process.