Abandoned Shopping Carts

[dogmom327]

I just started a website a few days ago and luckily it's actually getting quite a bit of traffic but I wanted to bounce something off some more experienced mama's.

I have LiteCommerce software so it sends me a notification when someone "registers" which is just entering their information. The last few days, everyone who "registered" then checked out so I got a checkout e-mail. Today though I've had four people who "registered" but didn't check out. The only thing I can come up with is that people are getting as far as they need to to see the shipping costs. I've tested the cart myself and everything is working. I'm also getting actual orders in between people abandoning their carts so I'm pretty sure it's working okay.

FWIW, I do have a shipping info page where I specify what shipping will be so it isn't a mystery or anything. Also, shipping is literally within $.15 of what it costs me to ship (Priority Mail) so I don't think I'm being unreasonable.

Is this normal? Is is just that I'm getting quite a bit of traffic and some people just change their minds? I guess I need some reassurance.

[TypingMarie]

Yes, abandoned shopping carts are normal, as you grow you'll see a lot of them. Many of the customers who abandon their carts come back; they're just shopping around when you first see them.

If you notice a sudden increase in the percentage of abandoned carts, you'll want to examine the items that are getting abandoned, see if you notice any abandonment trends, and do what you can to fix them. No matter what you do, though, you'll always have some abandoned carts.

[MomToKandE]

I abandon carts all the time. Sometimes I come back to them later, sometimes I don't. Usually I'm not ready to buy, I'm just "shopping" and use the cart as a way to bookmark things that interest me.

[CawMama]

Another thought....what payment processor do you use? I was getting 6-10 abandoned carts per month when I was using standard Paypal. Once I switched to Paypal Pro (which is easier for customers to navigate if paying by credit card), I noticed that my abandoned carts have stopped.

Also, I know that sometimes, people are trying to hack into my system by entering phony info....but it is pretty obvious when that happens.

[eepster]

I abandon carts all the time (sometimes in my very own cafepress store .) I do it for various reasons. Sometimes I'm just making up a wants list to show DH. Sometimes I can't find out the shipping anyother way. Sometimes I just get sticker shock at the last minute when I see what it all costs. Other times I just can't find enough items from a single store to justify the shipping cost, so I end up ordering from somewhere else.

BTW: I hate it when my cookies expire too quickly. I will sometimes put a few things in with plans to come back later to add more. If I comeback and find my cart suddenly empty you have lost my business. This happens on the Joannes website. However, Amazons cart stays full for ages and I just add things here and there till I add enough to qualify for free shipping, then I place the order.

[Kristine233]

I often put things in my cart so I can check shipping and come back to buy it later or when I'm just "price shopping". Having shipping costs posted before the checkout/cart process may help with that.

[dogmom327]

Thank you everyone for your responses! I think what scared me is that I had one on one day and four the next day. I've considered sending out an e-mail to these people (since they registered but didn't place orders) with a coupon code for 10% off asking for feedback on the website. Good news though...one of the people did come back last night and place an order.

Thank you everyone for your help!