The Main Reasons for Online Shopping Basket Abandonment and what to do about it

An interesting piece on Econsultancy indicates the key reasons for Shopping Basket abandonment, which Experian estimates is costing UK retailers £1bn+ each year. In an online survey conducted by Econsultancy and TolunaQuick, 44% of customers indicated that they had abandoned a purchase, and cited high delivery charges as the key reason.

Results and key questions as follows:

After adding items to your basket, what would make you abandon your purchase?

• 77% - High delivery charges
• 55% - Technical problems
• 49% - Prices too high
• 26% - Needing to register before buying

Once you are in the checkout process, what would deter you from completing the purchase?

• 71% - Hidden charges
• 58% - Concerns about payment security
• 44% - Technical problems or slow loading pages
• 37% - The process takes too long
• 33% - Lack of contact details
• 26% - Difficulty filling in forms
• 23% - Security features such as Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode

How to combat the key causes of Shopping Basket Abandonment

1. No surprises! Be upfront and transparent about all charges
2. Always try to give at least 2 delivery options, e.g. cheaper normal post and more expensive express courier
3. Always try to give at least 2 payment options, e.g. PayPal and Credit Cards
4. Have an SSL Certificate on Checkout, Registration and Login - most shoppers will be reassured by HTTPS designation in browser
5. Belong to a relevant retail association - e.g.ABTA or Internet Shopping is Safe
6. Sign up to Trustpilot for unbiased customer reviews
7. Use a Single Page Checkout - everything simply laid out on a single screen means faster and easier checkout
8. Allow shoppers to buy with PayPal - without needing to register or logon
9. Ensure business address is clearly visible - shoppers are far happier doing business with someone they can place geographically
10. Have a named customer service representative with picture and contact details on site - shoppers are even happier doing business with someone they can put a face to

Our Social Commerce Solution Affino has been engineered to tackle all the key points indicated above - Contact our Business Development Director Marcus Svensson on maxrevenue@affino.com for further insights on Affino’s revenue generating abilities.