Cart abandonment.
aka abandoned carts, basket abandonment, checkout drop-off
They filled the basket. Then they left. About seven in ten do.
What it actually means
Cart abandonment is when a shopper adds products to an online basket and leaves without buying. The rate is the share of created carts that never become orders. Baymard Institute's long-running average across dozens of studies is about 70%, so it is the normal state of online shopping, not a malfunction.
Many abandoned carts were never going to be orders. People use the basket as a wish list, a price check or a way to see the delivery cost. The part worth chasing is the shopper who wanted to buy and hit an obstacle.
Research on why people leave points to the same culprits year after year: extra costs that appear late, such as shipping and taxes; being forced to create an account; a checkout that is long or confusing; and not trusting the site with card details.
Where you'll hear it
We lose 40% of people at the shipping step. I think they are seeing the delivery fee for the first time.
Translation: the price on the product page was not the real price, and customers are leaving when they find out.
Also in every email-marketing sales pitch (abandoned-cart emails are the classic first automation), in checkout redesign projects, and in monthly reports under the heading nobody enjoys.
The pop-culture version
Imagine supermarkets where seven in ten shoppers fill a trolley, get near the tills, and walk out leaving it in the aisle. It would be chaos. Online, it is Tuesday.
Why would someone do that in a real shop? The queue is too long. The total at the till is higher than the shelf prices suggested. They are asked to fill in a membership form before paying.
Those are the same three reasons people abandon online carts. The difference is that online, walking out costs nothing and nobody sees you do it.
You cannot get abandonment to zero and should not try. You can remove the surprises and the paperwork between the basket and the payment button.
Say it like you mean it
“Checkout abandonment is 52%; showing delivery cost on the product page is our first test.”
Uses the sharper metric and names a specific fix.“70% of customers abandon, our site is broken.”
Seventy percent is the long-run average for everyone. Being average is not being broken.Separate cart abandonment from checkout abandonment. Someone who has typed their address and then leaves is telling you something specific.
How to read abandonment properly and which fixes pay back first.
Decoded next
Decoded by the Kurums editorial team. Kurums Decoded translates the language of business for people who are new to it. Definitions are kept short on purpose; the serious version above goes deep. Nothing here is financial, legal or career advice.
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