The Dirty Little Secret About Shopping Carts

by Cheryl Sarges

There's a dirty little secret about shopping carts no one likes to talk about: most shopping carts are abandoned before they ever get to the checkout counter. Read on to find out how to reduce your abandonment rate.

January 10, 1999

Imagine you’re in a department store and see a woman pushing her shopping cart laden with items. As if in a dream she stops, looks down at the contents of her cart for a moment and then exits the store – never looking back to see her cart, lost and abandoned in the aisle. Welcome to the reality of e-shopping.

Merchants rarely factor in the shopping cart abandonment rate they’re likely to witness when opening up a new Internet store. Why? They don’t believe it really happens. And when they do find out it’s a cold dark horrible secret. I for one am a die-hard abandoner – I figure I do it at least once a day in a variety of online stores from bookstores to cheese shops. Am I sick and warped? Many merchants think so. But let’s take a look at both sides of the story and you can form your own judgement.

When building an online store it’s a merchant’s job to fill that store with products that a customer wants. Secondary to this is constructing the store in such a way that makes consumers want to purchase goods from you. This takes into consideration security issues, graphical design and ease of shopping and checkout. When shopkeepers look at the numbers and see people spending 30-60 minutes in their store, filling a shopping cart with items and then leaving, never to be seen again, merchants can’t help but hold up their hands in defeat. Something must be wrong! No one would spend this much of their precious time here without checking out. There must be errors, design issues, or browser incompatibilities…. SOMETHING! Nope, you’re wrong.

Look at this from the flip side. Joe consumer is clicking across the Internet and happens across a store that catches his eye so he stops in for a look-see. Great products, good prices, Christmas is only 250 days away by golly, so he starts filling up his cart. Then, without warning, BAM! Reality sets in. "We just bought a house, we have last Christmas bills left to pay, what the heck am I doing buying more stuff? The Internet isn’t going anywhere, so I’ll wait and come back later." With that, Joe consumer is off, heading into the horizon of cyberspace. If you’re lucky, he bookmarked you and is honestly planning to return.

Hook ‘em first

From personal experience dealing with large PC OEMs with Internet stores, I can testify that about 2-5% of users abandon their carts at the checkout page, and of course there’s a higher percentage that never even make it that far. The issue is simple: No call to action. And even this little tidbit won’t eradicate the problem entirely. You’re always going to see people leaving their carts. I for one actually enjoy filling a cart with all the luxuries I can’t afford. It’s like a little internal fantasy world where I’m the richest person on earth and spending on a whim. Unfortunately, whims lead to debts and lucky for me I firmly practice the art of self-control. At least most of the time. The easiest way to push me over the edge is to offer me an incentive to purchase now. Coupons, free shipping, and buy one get one free offers are always a draw. However, the merchant needs to draw the line between promoting and abusing these deals. Internet consumers are pretty bright. If your "promotion" never ends, they’ve lost their immediate call to action. Of course free shipping as a regular policy is good, but it may not hook a new buyer into your store as much as a "first time buyer" discount. And for that matter, a second purchase discount, and a third. Internet consumers are like lemmings. They thrive on routine. If you can hook them for their first 3 purchases and follow through with good customer service and a reliable product, they’re much more likely to follow you to the ends of the earth (and over that cliff) as a loyal customer.

Keep ‘em forever

Remember, your business will survive only on repeat purchases, so focus not only on hooking the new fry but on keeping them and securing their recommendations. A loyal, repeat customer will draw in the first time customer for you, so don’t spend all your time chasing something you don’t already have. Instead, cultivate your customers as if they were precious Tahitian oysters. Shower them with affection and gratitude through preferred customer discounts and bonus store offerings not available to the general public. Don’t be afraid to be a loss leader, not only to gain new customers to but keep your existing ones happy and spreading the word. Take Land’s End as an example. These guys had a huge mail order business and were one of the first successful Internet stores out there. How do they keep their customers coming back? Great offers like their Overstocks section and their "On the Counter" promotion where you can sit and watch the prices decline over time. Of course if you sit too long you run the risk of missing out entirely, but oh how exciting it is to watch those prices go down! Even though I don’t shop there I can’t resist stuffing items in my cart and envisioning the great bargains appearing at my door! It only takes one satisfied person to increase your customer base tenfold, and that person is more valuable than a rare black pearl. It’s much more expensive to hook a first time buyer than it is to keep a satisfied customer, so don’t lose sight of your priorities. Look at me. Even though I haven’t bought there I’m sure at least some of you are hightailing it to Land’s End to see what all the fuss is about. Bottom line? I’m definitely a different breed. That I can manage to resist clicking the checkout button is completely beyond most human comprehension, including my own.

You’ll always have abandoned shopping carts. Don’t dwell on those few "sickos" like myself who thrive on making you sweat your business model. Chances are we’ll probably return when we pay off the house. Or sooner…. if you give me a discount!