Online shopping cart abandonment - when shoppers put items in their online shopping carts, but then leave a website or app before completing the purchase - is the bane of the e-commerce retail industry. But it's also a huge opportunity: Approximately $4 trillion worth of merchandise will be abandoned in online shopping carts this year, according to BI Intelligence estimates.
BI Intelligence compiled a June 2014 study released by UPS and comScore in the chart below highlighting why so many U.S. shoppers abandon their carts.
BI Intelligence
Higher-than-expected shipping costs were a top reason people abandoned their shopping cart. For retailers that can afford to lower shipping costs, this is an obvious way to convert more shoppers.
Shipping costs aside, the two top reasons why online shoppers abandon their carts is because they are price-comparing and want to understand what their total costs will be, or because they simply aren't ready to purchase yet. This is actually a big opportunity for retailers, because it means those shoppers are still contemplating a purchase.