We are all used to the benefits of online shopping. From a small hair pin to an expensive 
golden ring, everything can be bought through an online shopping cart. Though people enjoy the hassle free option of online shopping, many buyers have gradually started abandoning the shopping carts for several reasons. Have you ever wondered why? Why have online buyers suddenly taken a back seat?
Let’s try to throw some light on the reasons for abandoning of online shopping carts.
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High (hidden) Prices
Online shopping initially gained success because of major cut off in pricing that it offered, as compared to the traditional market shopping. Buyers could also avail several discount offers on products. At the same time, what else could anybody ask for than a home delivery at no extra cost? Yes! Free shipping was a key aspect that led to increased number of online buyers. The scenario has slowly changed though. Many shopping carts have now put heavy shipping duty on the prices and that has become a major reason for abandonment of shopping cart.
Buyers are taken aback when they realize that high amount of shipping charge is levied on the product. For example, you choose a product on an eCommerce website because of its discounted price. The moment you click on the ‘Shop Now’ option, the shopping cart shows extra shipping charges. You feel as if you have been cheated and you quickly withdraw from the payment page.
When we compare the shopping cart scenario with normal physical shops, less than 10% buyers reject the shopping items due to high price. Yes, it won’t charge them for shipping though.
As per surveys, 57% customers abandon the shopping cart due to high hidden costs.
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Complicated check out process
You spend a lot of time in selection of products. You go through the product details, specifications, discounts and reviews and come up with a suitable product for yourself. The last thing you want after this is to spend time on the check out process. Forced registrations, discounted product attachments in shopping carts and several additional complicated processes force people to abandon the online shopping cart.
More the number of clicking required from product selection to payment gateway, more they are prone to abandon the shopping cart. User Interface Engineering survey states that removing a forced registration page from checkout increased the sale of some websites by 45%. The stats are quite evident of how even a single page can impact the whole shopping process.
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Complicated User Interface
The first impression of any webpage is through its user interface. Shopping carts cannot be exceptions to it. If any webstore has too many products on a single page flowing with information, the first thing that you will do is close the window.
The last thing an online buyer wants is all the information cramped at one place making the webpage look clumsy. A webpage should have all the important information about a product such as size, price, discount, delivery options, etc. at right places and it should not look complicated. If a webpage fails to please with its appeal, abandoning the shopping cart remains to be the only way out for a buyer.
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Marketing Gimmicks
Yes, marketing gimmicks are also behind shopping cart abandonment. Too many gimmicks confuse the buyers that eventually lead to abandoning of shopping cart.
Discount offers for limited period on limited products is also a gimmick that sometimes leads to abandoned online shopping cart.
Many times, you visit a certain shopping cart with a product in your mind. You start searching for it and find several discount offers in the results that are undesirable. Offers that tempt buyers are sometimes uncalled for. Excessive results of discounts and offers irritate genuine buyers leading to abandoning of online shopping cart.
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Mentality of Online Buyers
Online shopping stores create ease in shopping. It’s easy to find any product on a single click. But often you tend to select a product just because it carries some offer or discount and later withdraw when you realize that you don’t really need it as of now. The feeling of ‘not now, someday later’ proves to be another reason for the abandoning of a shopping cart.
