Three key abandoned cart stats (and what to do about them)

As you probably know by now, the vast majority of people who make it to your website don’t end up buying anything. And that’s even true for people who go through the paces and put items in their shopping cart. 

Now, there are plenty of reasons why people abandon their shopping carts. But that doesn’t mean it’s something that you should be ok with over the long term. 

After all, every potential customer who abandons their cart translates into lost revenue — not just on that sale but on possible future purchases too.

We wanted to highlight just how important getting your cart abandonment rates in check is in this post. Below, we’re sharing some eye-opening abandoned cart statistics you need to know.

Get your customers back

According to Baymard, just under 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned by consumers. And all of those abandoned carts cost businesses of upwards of four trillion dollars a year in lost sales globally.

Ouch.

Your best solution?

Re-engagement. That means sending abandoned cart emails quickly after your potential customer has left the site. 

You can, and should, also work on launching longer-term campaigns that attract your customer’s attention and get them to return to your site. Those emails can feature perks, including coupons, discounts, and free shipping offers.

Check out the stats above to see how many customers you can grab back from sending a cart abandonment email.

But, that doesn’t mean just any old email. Something is better than nothing. What you want is to have a personalized email that features eye-catching images, has crisp copy, and uses upsell and cross-sell tactics too. 

If you know you can grab around 10% of your customers back, you need to put in the effort to make it happen.

Desktop vs. mobile

Some interesting data you’ll find from a lot of cart abandonment studies is that the rates of abandonment are different depending on which device consumers are using for shopping.

While the rate are still high for both, it turns out consumers abandon carts significantly more when shopping via a mobile device over desktop. Various studies show the average for mobile cart abandonment at just over 80%. Numbers for desktops are in the low 70s. 

Now when you realize just how much eCommerce traffic is driven by mobile devices, over 60%, according to Salesforce, that might make you nervous. 

So what can you do?

Design your site with mobile in mind. And barring that, remember as you create and design your emails, make it easy to complete purchases with just a click or two. 

If you’re tracking the behavior of your potential customers, you can even segment your list to send your mobile-focused users to mobile-friendly checkout pages.

Don’t forget to view and test your emails in mobile and desktop formats as well. They can look very different depending on what device they are opened, so make sure whatever you design works well for both.

Surprise costs and form friction

When asked why they abandon their shopping carts, consumers cite the following issues:

The top four complaints cite some combination of hidden fees or the process being annoying and taking too long. 

Thankfully, that’s something you can probably fix. If it’s a shipping and fee issue, be upfront with the costs from early in the cart process. And work on removing complexity. Longer forms cause more friction and increase rates of cart abandonment.

When it comes time to send your abandonment emails, follow a few best practices. Try to remove some of that friction. Have easy clicks that bring your customers right back to their cart to finish the process. 

And when it comes to hidden costs, you can make up for some of those by offering deals and discounts. Your brand might consider a 10% off coupon to entice a shopper back to a cart or even free shipping on a large purchase.

Make abandoned cart emails work for you

So the next time you’re wavering on whether or not you should start creating that abandoned cart email campaign, remember these stats and think again.

There are plenty of features, designs, and options you can use to personalize your abandoned cart emails, attract the attention of your customers, and get them to come back for more. 

Don’t be afraid to dig into the potential.