Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate Went Up by 2.7% in Q1 2008

Shopping cart abandonment rate increased in US by 2.7% from 57.88% in Q1 2007 to 59.43% in Q1 2008. Abandonment of shopping cart pages was more in the first quarter of 2008 when compared to same period in 2007 according to Market Live Performance Index. The study says, two third of consumers put items into shopping cart but end up without buying the items.

Facts related to shopping cart:
The following facts are according to Market Live Performance Index 2008.

• The percentage of visitors to shopping cart increased by 0.51% from 8.36% in Q1 2007 to 8.87% in Q1 2008.
• Percentage of visitors who take desired action i.e. making a purchase, registering form etc. is slightly increased by 0.51% from 3.45% in Q1 2007 to 3.96% in Q1 2008.
• Percentage of visitors leaving a page without visiting any other page i.e. bounce rate, increased by 6% from 32.9% in Q1 2007 to 38.9% in Q1 2008.

Reasons for shopping cart abandonment:
According to ComScore research with Paypal 2008, reasons for US online shoppers to abandon shopping carts are as follows.

1. High shipping charges: People seek low prices for the products. When they complete total purchase transactions they are surprised of high shipping charges. High shipping charges made 43% of online shoppers abandon shopping cart.
2. Comparison: Consumer adds items to their cart to determine the total cost of buying (e.g. tax, shopping and product costs). People make comparison shopping on other e – commerce websites prior to purchasing. 27% of online shoppers are comparing products at other web sites before making a purchase.
3. Check out process: People should make registration prior to purchasing. It requires more personal information and people are hesitant to give the information. After registration process, username and passwords will be allotted. For every visit, online shoppers should remember their username and password. 14% of online shoppers forgot their username and passwords.
4. Technical problems: Technical and navigational failures at the website make people to wait more time and they do not like to visit again.

High shipping fees is the main reason for abandonment of online shopping carts, as online shoppers concern about costs. More people are using shopping carts to compare the prices on other e – commerce sites. E-retailers should design new strategies to attract online shoppers and make them to complete the sales transaction successfully.