Customers abandoning their carts in BigCommerce Store is a major hurdle for online retailers. With so many distractions and decision-making barriers, it’s no wonder shoppers often leave carts unpurchased. This behavior impacts sales, customer relationships, and long-term growth potential—but the good news is, there are proven strategies to counteract it.
This guide explores the psychology behind cart abandonment, examines its drawbacks, and offers actionable steps to turn abandoned carts into completed sales.
Why Do Customers Abandon Their Carts in BigCommerce Store?
Understanding why customers leave without checking out is the first step toward solving the issue. Here are the most common reasons:
1. Sticker Shock
Shoppers are often surprised by unforeseen costs during checkout—such as shipping, taxes, or additional fees. When these extra charges feel too high, customers abandon their carts in frustration.
2. Lengthy or Complicated Checkout Process
A tedious checkout process is a surefire way to lose a sale. Whether it’s forcing account creation, requiring lengthy forms, or too many steps, this inefficiency pushes buyers away.
3. Lack of Trust and Transparency
Customers worry about their data security and the legitimacy of your store, especially if security badges, clear policies, or trustworthy payment options aren’t visibly displayed.
4. Mobile Experience Frustrations
With mobile shopping accounting for more e-commerce traffic than ever, a website not optimized for mobile users runs the risk of high abandonment rates.
5. Indecisiveness
Cart abandonment isn’t always about dissatisfaction; indecision also plays a role. Sometimes, customers simply aren’t ready to commit, treating their cart as a “wish list.”
6. Price Comparison
Many shoppers abandon carts to compare prices or look for better deals elsewhere. Modern consumers are extremely price-sensitive and rely on comparison-shopping as a standard part of their buying process.
Knowing these pain points can help you target your problem areas effectively.
The Drawbacks of Customers Abandoning Their Carts in BigCommerce Store
When potential buyers leave before completing a purchase, the repercussions go beyond just losing the sale. Here are some major drawbacks:
1. Revenue Loss
An abandoned cart equals lost revenue. Consider this multiplied across multiple shoppers—over time, the revenue gaps can be staggering.
2. Higher Marketing Costs
Businesses invest heavily in bringing traffic to their online store—think paid ads, SEO strategies, or email campaigns. When no sales result from that investment, it lowers the return on your marketing efforts.
3. Customer Lifetime Value Decline
Cart abandonment suggests that customers may leave without engaging with your brand again. Without loyalty or retention, the lifetime value of each customer drops significantly.
4. Operational Challenges
Constantly fluctuating interest in products—without actual purchases—makes inventory and demand forecasting complex. It can lead to over-ordering or stocking products customers don’t purchase.
5. Decreased Brand Credibility
High cart abandonment rates may signal dissatisfaction or mistrust in your store, which could damage customer perception over time.
Tackling abandonment issues is essential to sustaining long-term business success.
How to Win Back Customers Abandoning Their Carts in BigCommerce Store
Here’s how to address abandonment challenges and recover sales effectively:
1. Simplify the Checkout Process
Make buying effortless for your customers:
- Enable guest checkout to remove the barrier of mandatory account creation.
- Consolidate the steps to minimize time spent at checkout.
- Offer features like autofill and progress indicators to make the process intuitive.
2. Build Trust at Every Stage
Customers need reassurance that their data and purchases are safe. Highlight security trust badges, secure payment icons, and clearly outline your return policies. Positive customer testimonials or reviews can also instill confidence.
3. Leverage Abandonment Recovery Emails
Cart reminder emails are still one of the most effective tools to win back sales. Include:
- A gentle nudge reminding customers of their cart contents.
- Time-sensitive discounts or promotions to create urgency.
- Clear product visuals and personalized messaging for impact.
4. Offer Transparent Pricing
Be upfront with all costs to eliminate unpleasant surprises for the customer at checkout. Additionally, free shipping incentives—like free shipping on orders over a certain amount—can motivate buyers to proceed.
5. Optimize for Mobile
If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you’ll lose out. Ensure your BigCommerce store is responsive, quick to load, and easy to navigate on smaller devices.
6. Provide Discounts and Incentives
Create promotions that lure hesitant shoppers. Special deals, discount codes, or free-gift offers can convince them to finish their purchase.
7. Utilize Exit Popups
Exit-intent technology allows you to catch customers just as they’re about to leave. Use popups to offer discounts or remind them of the value of their chosen products.
8. Highlight Social Proof
Include testimonials, product reviews, or user-generated content on your pages. Seeing others’ positive experiences often persuades hesitant shoppers.
9. Use Multiple Payment Options
Make checkout easy by including a variety of payment methods, such as digital wallets (e.g., PayPal, Google Pay), credit cards, and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services.
Adopting these strategies ensures better conversion rates and reduces abandonment levels significantly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why do customers abandon their carts in BigCommerce Store?
The most common reasons are hidden fees, trust issues, complicated checkout processes, and poor mobile experiences. Many also leave to compare prices or due to indecision.
What tools can help prevent cart abandonment?
Popular tools include automated cart recovery emails, exit-intent popups, and secure payment platforms. Improving the user experience and site trustworthiness with these tools is key.
Do cart recovery emails work?
Yes, recovery emails can help recover 10-15% of abandoned carts on average. Personalized, well-timed emails resonate most with shoppers.
What is an acceptable cart abandonment rate?
Cart abandonment benchmarks differ across industries, but a rate under 55% is generally considered strong. E-commerce stores typically hover between 60-80%.
Can abandoned carts provide actionable customer data?
Absolutely. Tracking cart-abandonment trends (e.g., at which stage customers leave) provides valuable insights to fine-tune your offerings, checkout process, and marketing strategy.
Final Thoughts
Winning back customers abandoning their carts in BigCommerce Store is an achievable goal with the right strategies in place. By simplifying checkout, building trust, and re-engaging with personalized recovery campaigns, your store can retain more sales and nurture long-term relationships with shoppers.
Now it’s your turn. Which strategies will you implement first to reduce cart abandonment in your BigCommerce store? Take action today to minimize losses, gain insights, and convert more browsers into loyal customers!
