High Shipping Costs Top the List; PayPal Introduces New Feature to
Help Merchants Show Total Cost of Purchases Early on in Checkout Process
A PayPal (NASDAQ:EBAY) survey released today revealed that nearly half
(45 percent) of online shoppers have abandoned their carts multiple
times in the past three weeks due to high shipping costs, security
concerns and lack of convenience. The average cost of abandoned goods in
U.S. shopping carts is $109.
High shipping costs was cited as the largest single reason for cart
abandonment. While nothing could have prevented one-third of shoppers
from abandoning purchases, the survey found that providing shipping
costs upfront might have caused 40 percent to complete the purchase. To
help merchants encourage shoppers to purchase, PayPal today announced a
new Express Checkout feature – the PayPal Instant Update API. By
integrating the new API, merchants can show order details earlier in the
process including shipping options, insurance choices and tax totals.
“To get shoppers to buy, it’s critical merchants make the checkout
experience easy and costs transparent,” said Eddie Davis, senior
director of SMB merchant services, PayPal. “Our new PayPal Instant
Update API will help merchants get customers the information they need
upfront to drive sales.”
The survey also uncovered signs that the economy still has shoppers wary
about clicking the “purchase” button. More than one-third of respondents
abandoned checkout because they didn’t plan for all of the expenses;
while more than 25 percent left the site to search for a coupon.
However, one-third of shoppers later returned to the same site to buy.
An additional 20 percent purchased the items at a brick and mortar store
or competitor’s Web site.
“Merchants who don’t welcome back abandoners with open arms are leaving
hundreds of dollars per shopper on the table,” added Davis. “Merchants
need to remember the items that customers abandon and make it easy for
them to buy when they return. Sweetening the deal with free shipping,
coupons and special discounts is also a great way to encourage online
shoppers to complete their purchases.”
Breakdown on Why Shoppers Abandon
At least a fifth of all U.S.
