Shop Talk: How to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment Rates
Q: “I’m looking for some best practices around how B-to-B and B-to-C websites can either eliminate or reduce shopping cart abandonment rates. Any advice? Thanks!”
— Lorna Henri, senior director, e-commerce/online marketing, U.S. Communities Purchasing Cooperative
A: The first thing to recognize is that for many consumers, shopping cart abandonment is a natural part of the buying process. Buyers often need more time to do research and compare products and prices before committing to a purchase. This holds true for both B-to-C and B-to-B sites. Eliminating shopping cart abandonment just isn’t viable; increasing your conversion rate and revenues is. There are three main complementary
strategies you can follow in this situation:
1. Make your offer more attractive. The single biggest reason why consumers abandon their shopping carts is because of shipping and handling charges. While you may not be able to offer permanent sitewide free shipping, it is well worth digging into your shipping costs. Simply put: reduce them and you’ll sell more.
- Companies:
- People:
- Charles Nicholls
- Lorna Henri
Charles Nicholls is a social commerce expert and board advisor to several e-commerce startups. He founded SeeWhy, a real-time personalization and machine learning platform, which was sold to SAP. Serving as SVP of product, he built SAP Upscale Commerce, an e-commerce platform for direct-to-consumer brands and the mid-market. Today, Charles serves as chief strategy officer for SimplicityDX, the edge experience company. He has worked on strategy and projects for leading ecommerce companies worldwide, including Amazon, eBay, Google and many others. For more information, visit www.SimplicityDX.com or connect on LinkedIn.
