Make it snappy.
New research released by Splitit, a monthly payment installment platform, discovered that 87 percent of consumers would abandon an online shopping cart if the checkout process took too long, in their opinion. But the bad news doesn’t stop there — 55 percent of consumers said they would never return to a retailer’s e-commerce site if a purchasing experience were overwhelming, clunky or stalled.
“With cart abandonment rates so high, retailers still have work to do in streamlining the online shopping experience,” said Gil Don, chief executive officer and co-founder of Splitit. “While consumers appreciate having options, it is essential that the checkout process is seamless, at the risk of permanently losing customers. Online merchants must be sure to include clear and easy ways to enter customer details, choose delivery options and make payments, while ensuring that the process does not become cumbersome for the shopper.”
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To collect the insights, Splitit polled more than 1,000 U.S. consumers between the ages of 18 and 65 throughout last month.
Millennials might have competition in remaining the most challenging consumer set. According to the research, 90 percent of shoppers ages 55 and higher said, “They would not follow through with a lengthy checkout,” a Splitit spokesman said. For comparison, 83 percent of Millennials said they would follow suit.
“Twelve percent of Millennials also reported that they would exit a lengthy checkout but return to the site later, compared to only 7 percent of those over the age of 55,” the spokesman continued.
Inundating advertisements that complicate finalizing a purchase also contribute to consumer turn-off, the spokesman said. According to the research, 28 percent of survey participants aged 45 and higher said they would leave their online shopping cart should they feel there’s an influx of ads — 19 percent of Millennials shared the sentiment.
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