• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 30, 2017

According to the Cyber Monday Ecommerce Survival Guide fromTorque, shopping cart abandonment might be the biggest obstacle to overcome during Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend. For an ecommerce website, shopping cart abandonment is just a part of the game. Despite best laid plans, says the report, users visit your site, delve into the art of shopping, and soon close the tab to go do something else. 

During 2016, the average global abandonment rate was 68.8%. Nearly four out of five shoppers were ditching their carts without purchasing anything. 45% of consumers ditched their cart because of costs associated with shipping and handling. While it’s impossible to mitigate this problem entirely, says the report, there are some steps worth taking, and tips to follow, to help push your customers to hit that checkout button.

• Nearly 45% of consumers ditched their cart because of costs associated with shipping and handling. The best thing to do is to offer free shipping. This will help suppress the consumer’s wonder about whether or not there are better deals elsewhere 
• The accessibility of the cart is essential for the user experience. Make sure the cart is easy to find on your dashboard and can be edited by the consumer. It’s also not uncommon to abandon the cart with the intention of coming back to it at a later date. Enable a “wish list” or “save for later” functionality on your website that is easy to come back to, says the report
• The beauty of online shopping is that it is fast and easy, and creating an account is slow and tedious. Enable guest checkout to avoid customers getting frustrated with endless steps and leaving, or streamline the process by establishing a single-page, express checkout option
• Having a question about the product or shipping process before, during, or after purchase is not uncommon. Incorporate an easily accessible live chat functionality so that customers don’t become frustrated and abandon the cart, says the report
• Around 18% of shopping cart abandonment instances are due to a lack of confidence in security. Including security badges during checkout to help give your customers peace of mind and reduce abandonment
• Give your customers the push they need to buy now by motivating via scarcity. Display how much of the certain product is left so the customers understand that if they abandon their cart, the product might not be available
• Entering credit card information on the internet is always a sensitive issue, so offer multiple payment options. Be sure that your site offers payment options that fit everyone’s needs, says the report. Some options to definitely include are: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and PayPal. Some people prefer to use pre saved services so be sure to include options like Google Wallet and MasterPass
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