More than three-quarters of online buyers failed to complete at
least one purchase during a 90-day period according to a survey by
BizRate.com, a US on-line retail mall.
On average, surveyed shoppers abandoned between two and three
carts over the course of last summer with each cart representing an
estimated $175 in lost sales to the merchant.
"Imagine if your local store had aisle after aisle of shopping
carts filled with unclaimed goods. It's a disturbing problem, but
represents the reality facing many online merchants today," said
Seth Geiger, vice president of professional services at
BizRate.com. "In order to reclaim these lost sales, e-tailers must
address the obstacles that prevent window shoppers from becoming
customers."
The panel survey, which drew more than 9,500 respondents,
revealed that 55% of those who abandoned their carts did so prior
to checkout. Another 32% left their purchases at the point of sale
when entering billing and shipping information or after the final
calculation of the sale. Apparel was the most common item abandoned
by shoppers, followed by computer goods and entertainment items
(including books, music CDs and videos).
The study confirms how easily consumers get frustrated with
on-line shopping. More than 40% of shoppers blamed their abandoned
carts on expensive shipping and handling charges while 31% stated
that they had changed their minds. Another 21% cited slow-loading
pages as their cause for terminating the sale.
"Customers have made no secret of their online shopping
frustrations," added Geiger. "The key will be how well merchants
listen to shoppers before the start of the holiday shopping
season."
More than half of abandoned shopping carts on consumer sites are
purchased at a later date, according to BizRate.com respondents,
but 44% of those carts are purchased from a merchant's
competitor either at another site or at an offline
store.
