Article

Graham Charlton
Graham Charlton 23 August 2017
Categories Ecommerce, Mobile, Technology

Which industries have the highest cart abandonment rates?

The average cart abandonment rate for Q2 2017 is almost 77% but this varies a lot between different sectors. So why is there such a difference between industries?

What is cart abandonment? 

First of all, let's briefly explain cart (or basket) abandonment. Cart abandonment refers to the number of visitors to a retailer's site that add items to their cart but don't go on to complete a purchase. 

There are many possible reasons for abandoning carts - some shoppers are just browsing and not ready to purchase, while others may abandon because of problems they experienced during checkout, confusing forms for example. 

Our latest Remarketing Report shows the overall abandonment rate (76.9%) while breaking it down between various sectors. 

Fashion and gaming sites have below-average abandonment rates, while finance and travel sites have the highest rates. 

Abandonment_Rates_by_Industry_Q2-(1).png

Why the disparity between fashion and finance abandonment rates? 

First of all, it's important to note that there are differences between 'good' and 'bad' sites. Some financial sites enjoy abandonment rates which are closer to the retail average for example, while not all fashion retailers have low rates. 

Site design and user experience can make a lot of difference. If a website is well-optimised for mobile users and its easy for people to checkout, then this will reduce abandonment rates. 

Generally speaking, fashion retailers have improve a lot since the early days of online retail, and are more digitally mature, while the finance sector has been slower to adopt to digital.

Of course, there are exceptions. Challenger banks like Monzo have been very innovative, building UX into their organisations and giving established rivals something to worry about. 

However, the biggest factor of all is the research and purchase process between the sectors. It just takes longer to research and make a purchase on a finance site. 

Much of this is down to forms. Having chosen a pair of jeans from a fashion site, entering address and payment details to complete the purchase is relatively quick and straight-forward.

By contrast, an application for home insurance can take ten minutes and requires users to fill in many different sections. It's harder work, and therefore users are more likely to abandon. 

A recent study by signicat looked at the reasons customers abandoned applications, and forms taking too long to complete or asking for too much information were the most common reasons for abandonment. 

This means a lot comes down to good form design. Forms can be as much about perception as anything. Two forms asking for the same information can be made to seem more time-consuming depending on the design choices made in presenting them. 

For example, shortcuts can be added where possible, and form fields clearly labelled so that customers are less likely to be confused. 

It's in areas like this where sites with higher abandonment rates can improve. 

Please login or register to add a comment.

Contribute Now!

Loving our articles? Do you have an insightful post that you want to shout about? Well, you've come to the right place! We are always looking for fresh Doughnuts to be a part of our community.

Popular Articles

See all
The Challenges of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

The Challenges of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

We all agree Customer Lifetime Value is important, but there’s not much agreement after that. This blog is about the challenges of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). CLV is a fantastic concept but defining that value and...

Peter Rivett-Jones
Peter Rivett-Jones 24 May 2023
Read more
Artificial Intelligence in Content Creation

Artificial Intelligence in Content Creation

In this article, we will talk about AI in the field of content generation. We will look at what artificial intelligence is in terms of content, what AIs are on the market, and how we can interact with them.

Polina Kedis
Polina Kedis 12 May 2023
Read more
How These PIM Features can Create the Next Growth Opportunity

How These PIM Features can Create the Next Growth Opportunity

The increasing need for effective product information management solutions has become critical for businesses that sell products online. With the growing number of sales channels and the rising complexity of product...

Sudhanshu Singh
Sudhanshu Singh 31 May 2023
Read more
Exploring the Rapid Growth of Mobile App Development

Exploring the Rapid Growth of Mobile App Development

Smartphones have included mobile applications for more than ten years. The fastest-growing area of the mobile industry is the mobile app market. Only a few app developers were aware of the potential market opportunity...

Prashant Pujara
Prashant Pujara 24 May 2023
Read more
The Ins & Outs of Product Marketing

The Ins & Outs of Product Marketing

Product marketing is what drives products onto the market and keeps them there. Developing effective product marketing is the secret to your organization's development, expansion, and long-term success. It is a...

Pawanpreet Gill
Pawanpreet Gill 26 May 2023
Read more