Understanding the "why" of shopping cart abandonment

[mandy]

Have you ever walked into a big box store and seen scores of half-full shopping carts scattered throughout the aisles? It would seem unlikely, but for e-commerce retailers, abandoned carts are more common than you think.

Shopping cart abandonment has existed since the dawn of the e-cart, but how can retailers determine why customers leave? What can they do to reduce shopping cart abandonment and ultimately increase online sales?

Customers leave for various reasons, the most common being high shipping costs, requests for registration and personal information prior to checkout, and complex and cumbersome ordering processes. To address the issue of cart abandonment, an increasing number of retailers are getting creative by using online surveys as a way to reconnect with would-be customers who abandon e-carts...

full article: http://ecommercetimes.com/story/MPfGHMw3...Cart.xhtml

[mandy]

A related article:

As an ecommerce owner, you always want to make the checkout process as quick and smooth as possible for your own ecommerce customers. Here’s a quick checklist of simple website changes that could help you lower shopping cart abandonment...

Short Checkout Process & Progress Indicators

Don’t let your users get lost in your checkout process maze. First, let them know how far away they are from completing a purchase. Progress indicators are always great. Second, cut down on your checkout process steps. Don’t bombard them with page after page they have to fill out. If possible, set up shortcuts: Pre-populate billing address based on shipping information, automatically select shipping method, etc...

full article: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articl...andonment/