Half of Online Shoppers Abandon Their Purchases, Study Shows

A new study ordered by PayPal and conducted by comScore found that almost half of the Internet users surveyed had abandoned an online shopping cart in the previous three weeks. The most common cause was high shipping costs, using the site for comparison and financial reasons. The value of the shopping carts was of $109, on average.

Of those who had abandoned a shopping cart, one third would have done so regardless of other conditions, however the study found that providing the customers with upfront shipping costs might have convinced 40 percent of them to complete the transaction. Furthermore, one third of those who abandoned a shopping cart returned later to the site and completed the transaction. Another 20 percent bought the same items from other online or real-life shops.

“Merchants who don’t welcome back abandoners with open arms are leaving hundreds of dollars per shopper on the table,” Eddie Davis, senior director of SMB merchant services, PayPal, said. “Merchants need to remember the items that customers abandon and make it easy for them to buy when they return. Sweetening the deal with free shipping, coupons and special discounts is also a great way to encourage online shoppers to complete their purchases.”

The most important reasons for abandoning their carts were the high shipping costs for 46 percent of those surveyed, comparisons with other sites for 37 percent of them, financial reasons for 36 percent, and looking for a coupon for 27 percent of the individuals.

Along with the survey, PayPal announced the new Instant Update API, as part of the Express Checkout feature. The new API provides online shops with a method of displaying for customers the additional costs, like shipping or taxes, upfront.

“To get shoppers to buy, it’s critical merchants make the checkout experience easy and costs transparent,” Davis added. “Our new PayPal Instant Update API will help merchants get customers the information they need upfront to drive sales.”