What Is the Meaning of a Dispute in the Banking Industry?

Buy Now, Pay Later For Ecommerce: What To Consider

Ecommerce SEO Checklist for New Stores

How To Stop Abandoned Carts On Your BigCommerce Store

This report has exclusive data on the top reasons customers don't complete online purchases, plus ways your store can stop abandoned carts.

Download eBook

<p>As the ecommerce industry <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/news/retail/e-commerce-stocks-slump-amid-deepening-malaise-over-earnings/">reels</a> from slowing of sales triggered by inflation woes, conversion is more critical than ever for businesses of all sizes. That’s why even losing one sale due to <a href="https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate">seven out of ten shoppers</a> abandoning their carts can add up huge losses for your BigCommerce store. Despite this, more than <a href="https://www.barilliance.com/10-reasons-shopping-cart-abandonment/">60% of merchants</a> admit that they still don’t know why consumers are abandoning their carts. They say they don't have access to the analytics they need to pinpoint the problem, let alone solve it.</p><p>The good news is that there are practical ways to improve your ecommerce checkout experience. But first, let’s dig into what shopping cart abandonment is and what causes it.</p><p>If you are a BigCommerce merchant and want to install Bolt, sign up <a href="https://www.bolt.com/boost-sales-on-your-bigcommerce-site/">here</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>What is shopping cart abandonment?</h2><p><a href="https://www.bolt.com/thinkshop/shopping-cart-abandonment">Shopping cart abandonment</a> kicks into gear when customers leave their checkout after adding an item to their shopping cart. A high shopping cart abandonment rate often means issues with your checkout process or experience are present. There are many reasons a potential customer may abandon their shopping cart. Let’s take a closer look.</p><h2>Top reasons for shopping cart abandonment</h2><p>The best way to address cart abandonment in your BigCommerce store is to understand why customers are leaving in the first place. So let’s cover the top reasons for shopping cart abandonment and solutions to address them.<br>&nbsp;</p><ul><li>Unexpected additional costs&nbsp;</li><li>Requiring account creation or registration&nbsp;</li><li>Complicated, time-consuming checkout Not knowing the total costs upfront&nbsp;</li><li>Lack of trust with platform security</li><li>Inadequate delivery time and options&nbsp;</li><li>Technical performance issues&nbsp;</li><li>Insufficient return policy&nbsp;</li><li>Lack of payment options&nbsp;</li><li>Credit card declined.</li></ul><h2>How do I calculate my shopping cart abandonment rate?</h2><p>To calculate the cart abandonment rate, divide the total number of completed purchases by the number of created carts. Subtract from one, then multiply by 100. For example, if you have 300 carts created, and 100 completed purchases, then your cart abandonment rate is 67%.</p><p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508261/Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_1_48_17_PM_77673ac456.png" alt="Screen-Shot-2022-06-22-at-1.48.17-PM.png" srcset="https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508261/thumbnail_Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_1_48_17_PM_77673ac456.png 245w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508261/small_Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_1_48_17_PM_77673ac456.png 500w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508261/medium_Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_1_48_17_PM_77673ac456.png 750w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508261/large_Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_1_48_17_PM_77673ac456.png 1000w," sizes="100vw"></p><h2>How to stop abandoned carts</h2><p>Now that you’ve spent some time understanding the nuts and bolts of shopping cart abandonment, apply these practical tips to your BigCommerce store to prevent abandonment from happening again and convert customers for life.</p><h2>Prevent lost sales with cart abandonment recovery emails</h2><p>Abandoned cart emails are an effective way to get shoppers to return and complete a purchase. According to <a href="https://www.barilliance.com/cart-abandonment-rate-statistics/#tab-con-12">Barilliance</a>, open rates for cart abandonment emails are 43.3%, with a click-through rate of 8.49%.&nbsp;</p><p>Given the high cart abandonment rate in ecommerce sales, sending an email to your shopper to get them to complete the purchase is a no-brainer. To make sending emails easier for merchants, BigCommerce offers an <a href="https://www.bigcommerce.com/essentials/features/convert/abandoned-cart/">Abandoned Cart Saver Tool</a> that allows you automatically to send customizable emails with coupons to shoppers who have added an item to their cart but left before completing checkout.&nbsp;</p><p>The tool also gives you the power to track analytics showing you how much cart abandonment is costing your business—and how much revenue our abandoned cart saver is winning back.&nbsp;</p><p>For more abandoned cart email tips, check out:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.bolt.com/thinkshop/top-3-ready-to-use-abandoned-cart-email-templates-for-mailchimp/">Top 3 Ready-to-Use Abandoned Cart Email Templates for Mailchimp</a>&nbsp;</li><li><a href="https://www.bolt.com/thinkshop/12-creative-abandoned-cart-recovery-email-strategies-to-net-more-sales/">12 Creative Abandoned Cart Recovery Email Strategies To Net More Sales</a></li></ul><p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508315/How_to_stop_abandoned_carts_on_your_Big_Commerce_Store_217c125e59.png" alt="How-to-stop-abandoned-carts-on-your-BigCommerce-Store-.png" srcset="https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508315/thumbnail_How_to_stop_abandoned_carts_on_your_Big_Commerce_Store_217c125e59.png 240w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508316/small_How_to_stop_abandoned_carts_on_your_Big_Commerce_Store_217c125e59.png 500w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508316/medium_How_to_stop_abandoned_carts_on_your_Big_Commerce_Store_217c125e59.png 750w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508316/large_How_to_stop_abandoned_carts_on_your_Big_Commerce_Store_217c125e59.png 1000w," sizes="100vw"></p><h2>Include thumbnails of products throughout the checkout process</h2><p>Most consumers expect to get a discount when shopping online. A 2020 Valassis study found that <a href="https://intelligence.valassis.com/rs/275-QRU-089/images/valassis-consumer-intel-report.pdf">72% of consumers</a> want to use coupons and discounts to save money, and 54% credit a promotion with helping spur an impulse buy. Offering the right promotion at the right moment can help build brand loyalty and bring shoppers back. BigCommerce offers over 70+ coupons and promotions that you can schedule, target, and customize right out-of-the-box.</p><p>By including thumbnails of products the customers have added to their cart, you are reassuring the customer with transparency. When a shopper buys products in person, they can see what is in their cart at all times. Providing thumbnail images with each item addition as the customer shops and eventually checks out, reassures a customer the amount and specific item that they are purchasing.&nbsp;</p><p>A great example is luxury fashion retailer <a href="https://www.badgleymischka.com">Badgley Mischka</a>, which provides a thumbnail of the shoes a shopper has added to their cart so they can see clearly what they are buying.&nbsp;</p><p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508357/Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_1_50_16_PM_87426de9d9.png" alt="Screen-Shot-2022-06-22-at-1.50.16-PM.png" srcset="https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508357/thumbnail_Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_1_50_16_PM_87426de9d9.png 226w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508357/small_Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_1_50_16_PM_87426de9d9.png 500w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508357/medium_Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_1_50_16_PM_87426de9d9.png 750w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508357/large_Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_1_50_16_PM_87426de9d9.png 1000w," sizes="100vw"></p><h2>Track abandonment rates and metrics</h2><p>By the numbers, checkout abandonment is the largest problem ecommerce businesses face. Tracking your customer’s shopping journey will not only shed light on where your customer’s are dropping off, but also empower you to improve your BigCommerce store to increase conversions.&nbsp;</p><p>Run A/B tests regularly to see which designs, layouts, and forms of content work best. This will help you continuously improve. When running A/B tests, alter only one variable at a time, so you can identify what impacts the performance of the new campaign.</p><p>BigCommerce offers a complete <a href="https://support.bigcommerce.com/s/article/Ecommerce-Analytics?language=en_US">suite of built-in analytics</a> that consists of 11 reports tailored for the various aspects of your store, ranging from merchandising to shopper behavior. Their tools help you analyze all your store data and make suggestions for improving your business.</p><h2>Provide alternative payment methods</h2><p>Consumers love Alternative Payment Methods (APMs). According to <a href="https://www.bolt.com/thinkshop/cyber-week-data-shows-alternative-payment-methods-gaining-in-popularity">research by Bolt</a>, the total number of Bolt merchant transactions that used an APM increased by 28% on Black Friday when compared with numbers from 2020. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) APMs like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay give shoppers the option of paying for their purchase installment with zero interest.&nbsp;</p><p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508395/Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_3_02_32_PM_bf34bb8c27.png" alt="Screen-Shot-2022-06-22-at-3.02.32-PM.png" srcset="https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508395/thumbnail_Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_3_02_32_PM_bf34bb8c27.png 245w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508395/small_Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_3_02_32_PM_bf34bb8c27.png 500w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508395/medium_Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_3_02_32_PM_bf34bb8c27.png 750w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1671508395/large_Screen_Shot_2022_06_22_at_3_02_32_PM_bf34bb8c27.png 1000w," sizes="100vw"></p><p>By offering flexibility to customers in how they pay, merchants can increase conversion and appeal to a younger demographic of shoppers.</p><h2>Offer a flexible refund and return policy</h2><p>Offer a flexible refund and return policy to ensure that your shoppers have a peace of mind when they checkout. Return policies are important for ecommerce shoppers since they’re not able to try on or see products in person. Giving shoppers transparency into your refund and return policies will entice them to buy and return often.&nbsp;</p><h2>Create a seamless checkout experience</h2><p>You should always be working to improve your checkout flow. Optimize using best practices for fast checkout design to streamline and speed up your BigCommerce checkout. You can sign up now for <a href="https://www.bolt.com/bigcommerce">Bolt One-Click for BigCommerce</a> to attract more shoppers, reduce the steps customers must take to complete purchases and decrease abandoned carts. In addition to optimizing your conversion rates, Bolt’s checkout has a built-in fraud management system that detects, prevents, and protects against fraud—keeping your shoppers safe when buying on your online shop.</p>