Why do customers leave at checkout?
Human nature
Naturally, many customers might ask themselves whether they actually need that product or service and "put off" the purchase to a later date when they will hopefully feel more confident. They might also make mistakes in filling out data which also causes them to abandon what they're doing. All of this is simply human nature. However, a significant proportion of abandoned purchases are for other reasons that are down to a whole host of factors such as trust and privacy.
Trust and privacy concerns
In a recent ECOMMPAY survey that looked into this topic, when Lithuanian shoppers were asked how they feel about sharing payment card data with online shops or service providers, 33% said they feel uncomfortable. In comparison, 18% are "very reluctant" to share any card data. More than half of those surveyed (53%) stated that expensive delivery or service charges lead to them abandoning a purchase. At the same time, "concerns about the security or legality of the payment platform" put 55 per cent of Lithuanians off completing a purchase.
There are often very serious perceived trust and personal privacy issues at play for many. Indeed, the same survey discovered: 56% want to leave the merchant as little information about themselves as possible.
Checkout imperfections
Other explanations for why potential customers don't complete a purchase include:
- a lack of functional simplicity during the buying process (22% are overwhelmed by an excessive number of actions);
- the aesthetics (23% are disturbed by the appearance of the payment page);
- a desire to not create a customer profile (a not insignificant 18% are reluctant to do this);
- a lack of convenient payment methods (17% of Lithuanian survey respondents), an individual might, for example, rely on using PayPal but that payment option is not offered.
With more of us using mobile payments, our expectations grow regarding how easy and reliable this process should be. Consequently, the end-user is now more demanding than ever before. Furthermore, the competition amongst payment providers is also heating up. Therefore, if there are difficulties with the payment page, any doubts or failures, the potential buyers will interrupt the purchase procedure and leave searching for a more convenient and safer option. Most of you reading this will sympathise with this position because chances are almost everyone also has at one time or another abandoned a payment for similar reasons.
According to a recent survey carried out in the Baltic States, mobile app cart abandonment rates due to concerns about the security or legitimacy of a particular payment page average 52%. It's a huge number. It's a massive amount of lost business.
Regional differences
Is the situation any worse in the Baltics than elsewhere in the world in this regard?
Truthfully, many companies in the Baltics offer poor technical and customer support as well as a lack of individual approach that you'd expect in countries like the United Kingdom. Chargebacks are also commonplace in the Baltics.
How has ECOMMPAY overcome these problems and issues for our customers and the end-user?
The ELKOR case: a 22% conversion improvement
ELKOR is one of the leading retail companies in Latvia offering a wide range of products, from consumer electronics and sporting goods to luxury fashion and gourmet food. With over 600 000 square meters of retail shops, the company recently began expanding to the e-commerce space with ECOMMPAY as an acquiring partner.
If we look at the Elkor case study, our partnership with them has resulted in a massive 22% card conversion rate improvement. How have we achieved this?
One obvious huge factor is functionality. Elkor's team can customise and integrate ECOMMPAY's payment page into their webshop, adding new payment methods without any additional development resources. This flexibility is an enormous plus for any online business.
We also added alternative payment methods such as Apple Pay and Google Pay so that Elkor customers are free to choose the payment option they want.
And then there's the convenient customer interface: Elkor has a dedicated private profile that can manage payments, analyse transactions, prepare and send out invoices, or create payment links. You won't be surprised to learn that this has helped dramatically improve the customer experience and increased overall customer confidence.
Another excellent tool for increasing retailer conversion rates is the use of payment links. If something goes wrong while the payment link is still active, the operator has the opportunity to convince the customer not to abandon their purchase. They may also use this opportunity to upsell.
ECOMMPAY has also implemented a number of measures to further cut down on potential fraud, including anti-fraud filters and active measures on suspicious transactions.
How to decrease cart abandonment with ECOMMPAY
ECOMMPAY's customer relationships are built through mutual understanding and trust. We recognise that our team must always be ready to answer and help with any queries or issues the client might have. Through this close professional relationship and by the successful implementation of all of the measures and technological developments mentioned above, ECOMMPAY has increased the conversion rate for online card payments by 22% and offers its clients a second to none working relationship!
Read the full case study for a deep dive into our success with Elkor, learn more about our payment products and do not hesitate to contact our expert team if you have any questions!
