6 Shopping Cart Abandonment Stats and Facts that Retailers Must Know in 2022

If you are an eCommerce retailer, you might be losing a lot of money on the table if you aren’t analyzing and taking the necessary steps to optimize your shopping cart abandonment rate. Also, you are not alone in this.

Shopping Cart Abandonment is a major problem in the eCommerce world, and it doesn’t matter what the size of your company is. Even the most perfectly designed online store can have products left in the cart every now and then. But, it becomes a problem when you stop making an effort to optimize the frequency at which it happens.

Having said that, it is also crucial to mention that there is no guarantee that engaged customers will buy items from your store. But, if you opt for strategies that compel them to buy items in their cart, you can skyrocket your revenue by optimizing conversions. 

In our previous article, we mentioned Eight Smart Ways to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment for eCommerce retailers. And in this one, we will talk about some shopping cart abandonment statistics to help you understand this eCommerce metric better and optimize it further for your business growth. So, let’s get started.

What eCommerce Retailers Should Know About Cart Abandonment?

Here is a list of some shopping cart abandonment stats and facts to help you better understand the behavior of modern consumers and grow sales.

1. 48% of eCommerce customers abandon a cart because of extra costs

The Baymard Institute conducted a survey to find out what triggers cart abandonment, and they found that the number one reason behind the same is extra costs.

While various other factors are involved, extra and hidden costs like shipping and taxes are the number one deal breakers. Almost half of the consumers said they would abandon a cart right away if the final cost was more than what was shown previously.

Key Takeaway: To run a successful eCommerce business, focus on being transparent with your customers. If your products are priced higher than competitors, tell them why that is so. Charging hidden fees on checkout will do more harm to your business than profits.

2. 24% of customers abandoned a cart when forced to create an account

In the same research, 24% of customers listed “site requiring an account creation” as the second biggest reason behind cart abandonment. That means modern consumers are time savvy, and they like to shop on the go (sometimes in a hurry).

Obviously, no one likes to fill out a long registration form just to purchase a product. In addition, when other websites are letting them purchase without requiring an account, why would they waste their time on your website?

Key Takeaway: To optimize your shopping cart abandonment rate, it is crucial to eliminate friction from the checkout process. You must provide a guest checkout option to your consumers to optimize conversions.

3. 9 out of 10 shoppers will leave a site if it is too slow

Website loading speed is a matter of concern for most of the online retailers out there. In addition, as per a study by Google, even a 3-second delay in site loading speed can reduce your conversion by up to 70%.

Moreover, when at the checkout stage, consumers have limited patience because they are already losing their money in a minute or two. In such a scenario, if they feel frustrated because of low site speed, they will abandon your website right away. 

Here is some data about how long will shopper wait on your online store to complete a checkout on each stage:

Key Takeaway: The speed of your website is very important when optimizing your shopping cart abandonment rate. Thus, make sure you optimize speed from the very beginning and hire eCommerce store managers that help you minimize your website data and content to improve speed.

Also Read: Google’s Core Web Vitals: How are they affecting your eCommerce business?

4. You can get an ROI of 1,300% using retargeting ads

You can seamlessly optimize your cart abandonment rate by investing in eCommerce marketing and retargeting ads. These ads market products to the interested users and help eCommerce retailers bring back those visitors to the store. 

It is the best method to bring already qualified leads to your store, and you can generate an ROI of 1,300% using retargeting ads. 

Key Takeaway: If you were not able to prevent shopping cart abandonment on your website earlier, you could bring your qualified leads back by reigniting their interest in your products with the help of expert eCommerce marketers.

5. Mobile users abandon carts at a higher rate

According to research by Barilliance, the cart abandonment rate on mobile devices was around 80% in 2019 – the highest as compared to other devices. On the other hand, desktop users had a SCAR of just 73%.

It shows that customers are likely to leave their carts without purchasing on smaller screens, and there can be many reasons behind the same. For example, the slow loading speed of mobile websites or PWA, less responsive designs, or unclear navigation.

Key Takeaway: Building a mobile presence is not enough to grow an eCommerce business. You need to invest in setting up a great mobile experience for your customers in order to maximize mobile conversions. Consider investing in PWA Development if you think your mobile SCAR is too low.

6. eCommerce brands lose around $18 Billion due to cart abandonment every year

Yes, that’s right! Shopping cart abandonment is a serious problem in the eCommerce industry. But, do you know what happens when a visitor abandons a shopping cart?

As per Statista research, when UK visitors left their shopping carts without completing the purchase, less than a third returned to purchase the items. Most of them bought similar products from a competitor’s website.

Key Takeaway: You are not alone in this problem. Retailers worldwide are trying to optimize their cart abandonment rates, and you too can do this with proper planning.

Wrapping Up

As you have seen, the cart abandonment rates are significantly high. Most of the customers like an item enough to add to the cart, but when they find the checkout flow irritating, they leave right away.

Unclear product pricing, difficult checkout process, unavailability of preferred payment options, and more can be among the factors that cause these high cart abandonment rates. However, the good news is that it is manageable. With proper planning and having experts at your side, you can win this battle easily and without burning cash.