Signed, sealed, and undelivered: 90% of shoppers admit to abandoning an online purchase

Ecommerce sales have never been higher in the UK, as COVID-19 accelerated the trend of people turning online in the face of lockdown restrictions.

However, according to a survey carried out by payments provider Mollie, online retailers could be losing money thanks to customers not completing the checkout process.

In a survey of 1,000 people, Mollie found that 93% of people report cancelling up to ten shopping baskets because their preferred payment method was not accepted. By their calculations, this averages out to a total of £20.6bn in lost revenue, per year.

As the current cost of living crisis puts pressure on small business bank accounts, these sales represent a wasted opportunity for SMEs and an imperative to address the issue.

Don’t put all your eggs in one customer’s basket

Mollie also calculated the average worth of abandoned baskets across the UK. Over a year, the average UK shopper will abandon six baskets, each containing £68 worth of products.

Statistically, that means just one of your customers could be costing you £408 in cash that never makes it through the checkout process.

Other common reasons for cart abandonment cited by consumers were:

• Shipping costs and options – i.e. expensive or long delivery times (55%)
• The customer changed their mind (32%)
• The customer wanted to compare prices elsewhere first (29%)
• Technical issues with the site (17%)

How can you prevent customers from abandoning their shopping carts?

Of the 1,000 UK consumers surveyed by Mollie, 38% would abandon a cart if PayPal was not a payment option. One in ten said they would do it if Apple Pay was not available.

As part of our guide to the top ecommerce website builders for small businesses, we’ve picked out the options with the widest range of payment integrations.

According to our expert research team, Shopify and Square were the two highest-scoring software builders for available payment options.

What’s next?

Choosing the right brand to build your online store is an easy way to get started on the right foot and ensure a positive customer experience during checkout.

If you’re considering setting up an online store, we recommend researching what features and benefits the top brands on the market offer before making your decision.

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