Shopping cart abandonment continues to rise despite retailers’ best efforts to curb the problem, according to new research, which claims 34% of online shoppers now abandon their cart frequently.
Retailers’ delivery offerings continue to cause the most discontent among shoppers. The scale of shopping cart abandonment continues to grow with UK online retailers losing an estimated £4bn last year – up from £2.7bn in 2009.
The annual Delivery Matters study from Royal Mail shows a lack of clarity around delivery charges, delivery lead times or lack of delivery options are the most common reasons for abandonment.
The study shows that the moment delivery charges are revealed is the most dangerous point in the checkout process, leading to nearly half of all cart abandonments (48%). At the very least, retailers should spell out delivery charges as early as possible to prevent them losing sales.
The study also revealed that shoppers increasingly want to be able to track the progress of items they have ordered through to delivery.
“Online shoppers continue to demand a range of delivery options and vote with their fingers by shopping elsewhere if there are any nasty surprises. If customers don’t anticipate the cost that appears when they proceed to checkout, many will simply abandon their cart and look elsewhere,” said Roger Morris, Royal Mail’s head of communications and product development for courier, express and parcels. “Retailers have made good progress in expanding their delivery options but it’s clear that greater transparency and flexibility are still needed to curb the abandonment issue and prevent sales being lost.”
