Research reveals why e-baskets get abandoned

A study of e-retail data shows checkout complexity and lack of security credentials lead to high basket abandonment for online retailers

Recently released research taken from brands selling online has found a number of reasons for increased shopping basket abandonment.

A study by e-commerce email and marketing automation software company Bronto Softwarefound that a a common reason for abandonment  was that 83% of brands use five or more pages from basket to confirmation, while 35% of brands do not show security certifications, creating another barrier in building consumer confidence to complete their sales.

Inflexibility costs at checkout

It also found website flexibility is also critical, where 21% of brands do not allow product quantity changes, meaning consumers have to click back through their orders, making the process less intuitive and more frustrating. A better approach is to feature a constant order summary that reflects the customer’s basket status at any point, the study suggested.

At least fewer than 10% of brands still require registration or account creation and do not offer guest checkout, which slows the purchase process and leads to more abandoned baskets. But Bronto stressed that streamlining this process is still imperative in the bid to increase conversions.

The study also underlined the importance of post-abandonment emails, as only 13% of the 100 brands surveyed currently run such programmes. Examples it said include emails informing customers that their baskets will expire soon or offering incentives, such as free shipping.

Managing e-customer expectations

At a seminar today, entitled From Abandonment to Conversion: Why Shoppers Abandon and What Merchants Can Do About It, Bronto will recommend that brands and retailers set customer expectations when designing e-commerce sites so that shoppers can see clearly how many steps it will take to make a purchase and what is required.

Kestrel Lemen, marketing strategist at Bronto Software, said: “In the early days of e-commerce, it was sufficient to stock of a product, launch a website and wait for the orders to pour in. But now, armed with smartphones and a raft of price and product comparison resources, customers are more demanding and likely to abandon a shopping basket for any number of reasons.

“Retailers and brands need to focus on the purchase process because all the marketing in the world won’t make up for a poor checkout experience.”

Readers interested in attending the free seminar can click here for more information and to register to attend.