We are all guilty of putting something in our shopping cart only to abandon the purchase later on.  We are not the only ones, according to the Baymard Insitute recent survey over 69.23% abandon our shopping carts every year.  That is more than their survey in 2014 when it was 67.89%.  Why then, when there are more options for cart recovery out there, are we finding we are losing more sales than ever before?

Let’s look at the top 10 statistics…

* Sources:  Baymard,

Is re-targeting dead?

In short no, in fact, according to kissmetrics 72% of millennials are in favour of retargeting.  What this does tell us is that even though we are getting better at retargeting to our audiences we are still not correcting the most common mistakes within our websites.  By correcting these small errors we should see an increase in conversion rates.

“By correcting small errors we will see an increase in conversion rates.”

Top two lessons 

Shipping costs kill conversion rates

Being presented with unexpected costs at check out is the top reason why shoppers leave without buying.  Being upfront from the start about your shipping costs can improve your relationship with your buyer from the outset.

You know the score, you have added something to your basket only to get to the checkout to find a high shipping cost or VAT added. Now put off by that purchase and start to look around for something else or abandon the idea altogether.  This breakdown in the relationship means that it is difficult to retarget advertise to these customers and you have lost them altogether.

Not offering guest checkout option also kills your conversion rates

Long drawn out processes to buying are putting off buyers.  We are moving in a more connected world, with Amazons one-click purchase as well as touch-card payments now commonplace shoppers have got used to the ease of buying.  This means that their expectations have become higher.  Retailers need to meet their expectations by providing guest checkouts, multiple payment options as well as security logos.