Shopping Cart Abandonment Rises [5/29/2008]

One of the early measuring metrics for online marketers was shopping cart abandonment rates. Through assiduous study, Internet retailers learned how to reduce these rates.

In the early days of online shopping, worry over delivery of merchandise and information security were primary reasons for abandoning shopping carts.

Today, however, these metrics might mean something else.

In the first quarter of this year, shopping cart abandonment rates crept up. MarketLive recently reported data showing that almost 19 percent (18.9%) of online shoppers viewed only one page before clicking off. Online marketing experts though attribute it more to bargain hunting than earlier worries.

While it may be a sign of our economic times, almost two thirds of consumers use search engines to shop online. And, if they don’t find what they want quick, fast and in a hurry, they quickly click to another site.

Other reasons consumers abandoned shopping carts according to the above-mentioned report: shipping and handling fees, total purchase cost was higher than expected, and the desire to do more comparison shop before purchasing.

There were a few bright spot for online marketers in the report. Namely, conversions were up almost four percent in the first quarter of this year compared to last year.

Furthermore, online retailers appear to do better than brick and mortar stores, especially in an economic downturn. Given some credence to this fact is a survey by Vertis Communications, which reported that 13 percent of adults surveyed said they planned to shop more online due to the current economic climate.

For more insight visit Ecommerce development Services

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