Shopping cart abandonment is an issue that plagues online retailers, but adapting marketing and sales strategies can help reduce the rate of shoppers abandoning their purchases at the point of sale. The Baymard Institute compiled cart abandonment rates from 27 separate studies and found the average rate between 2006 and 2014 to be 67.91 percent. With more than half of consumers deciding against buying items from online retailers after browsing, there is great potential for merchants to make improvements to POS software and marketing techniques to convert abandoned sales to fulfilled orders.

A recent eMarketer study examining this issue revealed that while shopping cart abandonment may be troubling for retailers, it can actually help them tailor their marketing strategies. When online shoppers add items to their virtual shopping carts, retailers are able to see what they were planning to buy even if they don't go through with the purchase.

This information can be used to appeal to these customers in cart abandonment emails. Sending an email to a consumer who abandoned a cart can help complete a sale. SeeWhy reported that 41 percent of abandonment was due to customers not being ready to make purchases, so sending reminder emails can help bring them back to complete the transaction. This can help drive sales up, as returning customers are nine times more likely to buy something than those visiting a site for the first time.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, March 25th, 2014 at 9:41 am .