Study says 78% of on-line buyers abandon shopping carts

More than three-quarters of online buyers failed to complete at least one purchase during a 90-day period according to a survey by BizRate.com, a US on-line retail mall.

On average, surveyed shoppers abandoned between two and three carts over the course of last summer with each cart representing an estimated $175 in lost sales to the merchant.

"Imagine if your local store had aisle after aisle of shopping carts filled with unclaimed goods. It's a disturbing problem, but represents the reality facing many online merchants today," said Seth Geiger, vice president of professional services at BizRate.com. "In order to reclaim these lost sales, e-tailers must address the obstacles that prevent window shoppers from becoming customers."

The panel survey, which drew more than 9,500 respondents, revealed that 55% of those who abandoned their carts did so prior to checkout. Another 32% left their purchases at the point of sale when entering billing and shipping information or after the final calculation of the sale. Apparel was the most common item abandoned by shoppers, followed by computer goods and entertainment items (including books, music CDs and videos).

The study confirms how easily consumers get frustrated with on-line shopping. More than 40% of shoppers blamed their abandoned carts on expensive shipping and handling charges while 31% stated that they had changed their minds. Another 21% cited slow-loading pages as their cause for terminating the sale.

"Customers have made no secret of their online shopping frustrations," added Geiger. "The key will be how well merchants listen to shoppers before the start of the holiday shopping season."

More than half of abandoned shopping carts on consumer sites are purchased at a later date, according to BizRate.com respondents, but 44% of those carts are purchased from a merchant's competitor either at another site or at an offline store.