SR
EN
DE
SLWeb
Cart abandonment: why it happens and how to reduce it
Most shoppers abandon the cart before paying. We explain the most common reasons and the concrete changes that bring orders back.
The shopper browsed products, added something to the cart — and then left without paying. This is the most expensive moment in a webshop's life, because the interest and purchase intent were already there, and the order was lost literally one step from the goal.
This phenomenon is so common and so costly that a whole industry of tools and strategies exists solely to reduce its rate — because even small improvements at this step translate directly into extra revenue without a single additional visitor.
The most common reasons for abandoning the cart
Hidden costs appearing only at the very end of the process — the shopper sees the product price, adds it to the cart, and only at the last step discovers a delivery cost that significantly changes the total, and feels cheated.
Mandatory account creation instead of a guest-checkout option — many shoppers don't want to create a password and account just to buy one product once, and would rather give up than go through that extra step.
A checkout process too long with too many fields — every additional field is a chance for the shopper to change their mind or make a mistake and get frustrated.
A lack of trust at the last moment — unclear purchase terms, an unknown or suspicious-looking payment method, missing contact or returns information.
A slow site or an error on mobile exactly at the payment moment — nothing destroys trust faster than a page error just as the shopper enters card details.
Concrete changes that bring orders back
Show all costs (including delivery) as early as possible in the process, ideally already on the product or cart page, not only at the very end of checkout.
Enable guest checkout as the default option, with the possibility (not obligation) of creating an account after the completed purchase for future orders.
Cut checkout down to the absolute minimum of required fields — name, address, contact, payment — without extra questions not necessary for that specific purchase.
Clearly display payment security badges, clear return terms and an accessible contact along the whole checkout journey, not only on a separate page nobody visits.
Test the whole purchase process yourself on a phone, not just on a desktop — most online purchases today start, and many finish, on a mobile device.
Consider an automatic (email) reminder to shoppers who left products in the cart but didn't pay — a share of them come back and complete the purchase when gently reminded.
Conclusion
Cart abandonment will never drop to zero — there will always be shoppers who were just researching prices or changed their minds for reasons unrelated to your site. But a large share of abandonment comes from avoidable problems — hidden costs, a complicated process, a lack of trust — which are solved with concrete, measurable changes in the checkout design.
Nikola Cerić
Founder & CEO, Manage IT
More than 10 years of software development experience — in his own company and in major IT companies across the Balkans.