You’ve got visitors on your website, browsing products, adding them to carts, progressing to checkout, but dropping off just before payment.
This is checkout abandonment, where customers initiate the checkout process but fail to complete it, resulting in an abandoned cart.
eCommerce brands lose a significant share of revenue due to cart/ checkout abandonment. The worst part? Most brands don’t know why.
This article breaks down the top reasons for checkout abandonment and offers solutions for each issue. You also get three bonus strategies to make your checkout process hassle-free.
Content Index
- 5 Reasons for Checkout Abandonment
- [Bonus] 3 Strategies for A More Effective Checkout Process
- Conclusion
5 Reasons for Checkout Abandonment
Here are the top reasons for checkout abandonment and how to address them.
Unexpected shipping costs and extra charges
One of the top reasons for checkout abandonment is additional fees and taxes charged at checkout. Around 48% of shoppers abandon their carts due to excessive shipping charges and taxes.
For instance, the fee displayed at checkout for a popular Indian eCommerce platform causes several buyers to abandon their carts. This is because the extra cost is unexpected and non-refundable.
✅ Solution
- Offer transparent pricing: Display shipping estimates on product pages or in the cart before checkout, clearly disclose any additional charges, and provide a comprehensive breakdown of all costs, including the product price, shipping, taxes, and fees.
- Offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount. You can also offer discount coupons to offset the extra charges, such as platform fees or taxes.
- Embed shipping calculators: If you have additional delivery charges, provide a shipping calculator on the product pages so customers can enter their PIN code to view the exact shipping charges.
Forced account creation
26% of shoppers abandon their carts due to the requirement for mandatory account creation. Forcing customers to create an account to make a purchase creates unnecessary friction in the checkout process, especially for first-time buyers and buyers making one-off purchases.
Suppose a customer searching for a gift lands on a new website. They add the product to their cart, and then they are presented with a 6-field long account creation form to complete the purchase. Result? The buyer may not want to create an account for a one-time purchase and, hence, switch to competitor websites.
✅Solution
- Offer guest checkout: Instead of mandatory account creation, offer guest checkout with an option to create an account. For instance, Minimalist offers guest checkout and offers MCash for account creation. That means that if the buyer creates an account, they can use MCash to receive extra discounts.
- Provide one-click registration through social logins: You can also offer an option to log in using social accounts, like Facebook, Google, or Apple accounts. This will speed up the process and reduce checkout abandonment.
Lack of payment options
If your payment options are limited to debit and credit cards, you lose out on a significant share of revenue.
Customers expect flexibility in their payment mode. If they don’t find their preferred payment method during checkout, it can result in immediate cart abandonment.
For instance, mobile users who prefer digital wallets or international customers requiring region-specific payment methods may drop off if they don’t find the payment experience convenient.
✅Solution
- Offer multiple payment methods: Include net banking, UPI, BNPL, digital wallets, alongside credit and debit cards, to provide a diverse range of digital payment options.
- Provide regional payment options: If you’re a global brand, offer regional payment methods and currencies to ensure a seamless payment experience for international customers.
Long checkout forms
Including a long 7-field form makes the checkout process time-consuming and complicated. Additionally, 22% of users report that a complex checkout process causes them to abandon their carts.
For example, while Nike offers guest checkout, it requires several steps to complete the checkout process—from entering an email and address to providing ID proofs. On the other hand, Adidas offers a guest checkout option with a concise 4-field form to streamline the checkout process.
Source [Nike checkout]
Source [Adidas checkout]
✅Solution
- Minimise form fields: Make a 20-60% reduction in the number of form fields. Request the necessary details, just like Adidas—email, address, and delivery options.
- Use auto-fills: Implement address auto-completion for repeat customers, so they don’t have to retype all their details each time they make a purchase.
- Mark fields as optional: Mention fields as optional so that customers can skip if they want to.
Slow checkout process
According to a report, 70% of Indian shoppers prefer making purchases via smartphones. Now, if your checkout page is slow to load on mobile phones with non-responsive forms and difficult-to-tap buttons, it may result in higher cart abandonment rates.
✅Solution
- Optimise mobile checkout experience: Check page speed, responsiveness of forms on mobile devices, and reduce checkout steps.
- Offer a “save information” option: Provide repeat customers with a “remember me” option, allowing them to save their billing details for a faster checkout experience.
- Display progress bars: If you have a multi-step checkout page design, display progress bars to help customers visualize the number of steps required to complete the purchase.
[Bonus] 3 Strategies for A More Effective Checkout Process
While we have shared fixes for every reason of checkout abandonment, here are some additional strategies you can implement to ensure a seamless checkout experience.
Send abandoned cart emails
Abandoned cart emails are one of the most effective ways to recover lost sales. To avoid annoying customers, send an email to remind them about the products in their carts. Offer additional discount coupons or limited-time deals to nudge them to hurry up.
Here’s an example cart abandonment email from Purplle.com that offers 3-4 discount coupons to encourage the customer to complete their purchase.
Similarly, you can also send quick cart abandonment reminders with exclusive promo codes over WhatsApp to increase the chances of sales.
💡Pro tip: Combine discount offers with direct payment links for maximum conversion. When customers receive an abandoned cart email with both an exclusive promo code and a payment link, they can instantly complete their purchase without any friction, significantly boosting recovery rates.
Similarly, you can also send quick cart abandonment reminders with exclusive promo codes over WhatsApp, made even more effective with embedded payment links for instant checkout.
Highlight easy returns
Mention your return policy on product pages to push hesitant buyers to make a purchase. Suppose a customer has second thoughts about a product. Now, if you highlight your easy return policy, they won’t hesitate to make a purchase. Rest assured, they can return it if it doesn’t match their preferences.
For instance, Amazon uses specific labels, such as “10-day return” on their product pages with clickable links that help buyers check the return policy before placing an order.
Prevent payment failures
Payment issues, such as declined credit card transactions, affect 9% of users, leading to checkout abandonment and a negative impact on brand image. Therefore, implementing a comprehensive prevention strategy that includes card validation, diverse payment methods, and a reliable payment gateway infrastructure is crucial.
For example, Flipkart uses card validation to prevent payment failures. It flags errors in card numbers and CVVs, allowing customers to recheck their payment details before completing the transaction.
Nimbbl’s multi-payment gateway automatically switches to a different payment processor if one fails. So if your primary gateway goes down, payments still go through seamlessly via backup gateways. This ensures transactions run smoothly and prevents payment failures that cause customers to abandon their purchases.
Conclusion
Checkout abandonment is more concerning than cart abandonment. That’s because it hints at customers dropping out just one step before completing the purchase. And this can happen for various reasons—from complicated checkout to inconvenient payment experiences. The result? Lost sales, brand trust, and damaged reputation.
Hence, the best idea is to shorten the checkout process. Keep it straightforward. And ensure payment security. Integrate payment gateways that offer customers the flexibility and convenience of making payments.
Nimbbl’s multi-payment gateway streamlines this entire process by offering multiple payment options and automatic failover protection, which prevents payment failures. With tokenization for secure card storage and support for UPI, wallets, and international payments, customers get the flexible, hassle-free checkout experience they expect.
