Cart abandonment has been an issue since the advent of online shopping. Consumers get cold feet for a number of reasons, but for many, it's just a part of the way they shop.
Abandonment rates worldwide have held steady, hovering around 75% since 2015, according to SaleCycle.
A recent SAP study shows roughly one-third (34%) of US digital shoppers regularly abandon carts. Only 22% claim to always follow through with their purchases.
Among online shoppers who decide to pull the trigger, 73% make their purchase within a day, and more than half (53%) buy within the hour. For those who let items sit in a cart for a day or more (27%), 7% wait a week and 10% wait a week or more to convert.
Not all product categories are equally vulnerable to abandonment, though. Groceries and consumer goods (78%), plus experiential purchases like concert tickets (85%) and airfare or hotels (78%) are items with high follow-through. Most buy those within a day, while fashion (25%), financial products (21%) and furniture (20%) get left behind half or all the time.
Many ecommerce sites selling event tickets have a countdown clock that only allows browsers a small window of time to buy, and travel sites create urgency by listing the number of seats left or serving pop-ups displaying the number of searchers looking at a hotel for the same dates. By contrast, shopping for an insurance policy or loan is serious business that could require more research, and buying a sofa online might rack up unanticipated shipping and handling fees.
The No. 1 one reason for abandoning a cart, according to SAP, is higher-than-expected shipping costs (58%). Multiple studies have found that high shipping costs are typically the biggest deal-breaker. Money issues caused close to three-fourths of US internet users to jump ship, per ContentSquare.