As consumers, most of us have done it. At least I have. Adding stuff to my shopping cart and then for various reasons, leaving it high and dry mid-way. About 7 out of 10 shoppers are abandoning their shopping carts after loading them and checking out. This poses a huge problem to the e-Commerce industry as there are billions of dollars of lost sales in those abandoned carts. To find a solution to the problem, we first need to identify the various reasons that are causing it. Let us look at a few critical reasons and their solutions here.

Reason # 1 – Just Like That

A recent survey conducted on US online shoppers showed that about 59% of them abandoned their shopping cart just because they were just browsing and were not really ready to buy. Many shoppers are on your e-Commerce site just to find the price, availability, type, color of a product so that they can then go to a physical store and make a better deal.
Solution - We really can’t do much about such shoppers who have no intent whatsoever in purchasing online. However, a compelling user experience when coupled with great offers/discounts could change some of those frugal and fickle shoppers’ minds.

Reason # 2 – Additional Costs

So your user is about to be converted to a consumer and has checked out with a loaded cart only to find out at the last minute that they are being charged extra taxes, shipping fees, convenience fee, etc. ! You’re giving them a ‘sticker shock’ which can immediately change a happy shopper’s mind and abandon the cart.
Solution – Try giving your users a total cost right at the beginning which will include taxes and all other fees. A shipping fee calculator based on their area code should be provided before they load their cart. Free shipping works wonders on those freebie loving shoppers.

Reason # 3 – A poor UX design

A shopper will not trust your e-Commerce site if they run into errors. If they come across any inconsistencies in your website, it might raise questions on the authenticity of your product and website. With the rise of Mobile usability, about 35% of shoppers are using their mobile phones to make purchases. If your website does not look good or work well on a mobile device, there are high chances of them leaving your e-Store for some other.
Solution- Make sure your website is consistent throughout every phase of shopping and free of errors. You will need to have a Responsive web design that will help your e-Commerce site look great on any device regardless of its size.

Reason # 4 – Complex checkout process

Most users don’t generally like filling out forms online. If presented with a bunch of form fields to be filled out, the user might lose interest and leave their cart and your website in a heartbeat. It is not only time consuming but also quite unnecessary sometimes.
Solution- Firstly, try not to force your users to sign in/up – give them a Guest login option, which makes it faster and easier. Reduce your form fields by sparingly using them and consolidating some fields if possible. Studies claim that you can increase your conversion rate by 35% by designing a simpler checkout process and having lesser form fields.

Reason # 5 – Very few payment options

If your website is targeting at world-wide consumers, you should bear in mind that people from different parts of the world use very different methods of payment. For example, in the U.S and Canada, the most preferred mode of payment is via credit cards. Whereas in the Asia-pacific region, most people make online payments via Debit cards, Mobile / e-Wallets, Net-banking etc. If a user finds that you do not offer to receive payment through his most comfortable and trusted mode of payment, he will not hesitate to abandon your shopping cart.
Solution- In order to stay in the competition it is best to provide plenty of payment options to your users. It also helps to have trusted security badge icons or trust seals from brands like Norton or Verisign to give your users a sense of security when they perform transactions on your e-Commerce website.