Category: Blog

Average Order Value (AOV) is the average amount a customer spends in each transaction.

It’s calculated by dividing total revenue by the number of orders. For example, if your online store made $10,000 from 100 orders this month, your AOV would be $100.

As of late 2024, the global average AOV was around $144 (approx. £114), an 8.7% increase year-over-year. This metric varies widely by sector: luxury and jewelry orders average >$400, while beauty and personal care hover around $70.

Why should business leaders care about AOV?

Because increasing AOV boosts revenue and profitability without requiring new customers. A higher AOV means more items or higher-priced products per checkout, which improves profit margins and helps cover marketing and fulfillment costs.

Want to drive consistently higher AOV from your mobile shoppers? Try launching a mobile app. Use our eCommerce App Revenue Calculator to see just how much you can add to your business by launching your app.

Why Does AOV Matter for Growth and Profitability?

AOV isn’t just a vanity metric; it has real strategic importance for ecommerce businesses.

When you increase the average value of each order, you’re getting more revenue out of each customer visit, for no extra cost.

This dramatically improves profitability, because the costs to acquire or serve that customer (marketing, shipping, transaction costs) can be spread over a larger purchase size.

If it costs you $10 in ads to get a customer to your site, having them spend $100 versus $50 in that session makes a huge difference to your bottom line.

Higher AOV improves your return on ad spend (ROAS) and makes customer acquisition campaigns more sustainable. Moreover, AOV ties into customer lifetime value (CLV). If customers spend more per order, they’re almost certainly going to contribute higher lifetime value.

A high AOV can also signal strong product-market fit or effective merchandising. It might mean customers love your products enough to buy multiples or add complementary items.

Industry Benchmarks for AOV

When assessing your AOV, it’s useful to compare against benchmarks in your industry. What’s considered a strong AOV differs vastly between a luxury fashion retailer and a grocery delivery service.

By late 2024, the global average AOV across online retail was about $144.52 (approx. £114.25), an increase of 8.7% from the previous year.

AOV has been trending upward annually, partly due to inflation and partly due to successful upselling strategies by retailers.

By Industry:

• Luxury & Jewelry: The highest AOV, around $436 per order on average
• Home & Furniture: Approximately $253 per order
• Consumer Electronics/Equipment: In the $200+ range
• Fashion & Apparel: Around $196 per order
• Food & Beverage: Around $114 per order
• Pet Care: Roughly $83 per order
• Beauty & Personal Care: Only about $71 per order on average

These benchmarks highlight how AOV reflects product price points and purchasing patterns. Luxury is high because even one item is pricey. Beauty is low because items are cheap and often bought one at a time (unless bundled).

It’s also useful to note seasonality: AOV can jump during holidays (customers buy more items for gifts per order) and can dip in off-season periods. In one fashion industry analysis, order values peaked in spring around April to May and again during fall, aligning with seasonal refreshes and holiday prep.

What Strategies Increase AOV in Ecommerce?

Ecommerce brands use various tactics to encourage customers to add extra items or choose premium options (and thus spend more in each order).

The overarching principle is to provide additional value or convenience that makes a larger purchase natural and appealing.

Upselling and Cross-Selling

Upselling means suggesting a higher-end or higher-volume version of the product the customer is considering, while cross-selling means recommending complementary products.

A classic cross-sell is Amazon’s “Frequently Bought Together” and “Customers also bought” sections, a strategy so effective that a McKinsey report estimated 35% of Amazon’s sales come from recommendations like these.

Product Bundling

Product bundling means selling multiple related items as a package, often at a slight discount or with added convenience, to encourage a larger total purchase.

Bundles can take many forms: a bundle of complementary items (e.g., camera + lens + bag sold together), a “kit” or set of products that go well together (e.g., a skincare routine set with cleanser, toner, and moisturizer), or a bulk pack of the same product.

The idea is to increase the units per transaction, thereby increasing the order value. Bundles create a sense of value and savings, the customer feels they’re getting more for a good price. They also simplify decision-making.

Loyalty and Rewards Programs

A loyalty or rewards program can elevate AOV by incentivizing customers to spend more to earn rewards or reach the next tier of benefits.

Customers will usually add extra to their cart if they know it earns them something tangible in return. “Spend $100 to get 100 points and a $10 reward” can prompt a $90 cart to creep over the $100 mark.

Data supports this; one study found that customers who redeem points when purchasing spend 39% more on that purchase, on average.

A great example is Sephora’s Beauty Insider program. Sephora’s loyalty members tend to have higher average spend; they are often tempted to add one more item to get the next 100-point perk or to use a promotional code that requires a minimum spend.

Dynamic Free Shipping Thresholds

Offering free shipping above a certain cart value is one of the oldest and most effective tactics to increase average order value.

People hate paying for shipping. So when you present a threshold (e.g., “Free shipping on orders over $50”), many will add extra items to avoid the fee.

The key is to set the threshold strategically just above your current AOV or target AOV. For example, if your typical order is $45, you might set free shipping at $60. Customers with $45 in their cart see that they’re close to free shipping and often will find something to add to reach $60.

A study by Salesforce in 2024 noted that your free shipping threshold should be roughly 30% higher than your current AOV, high enough to push customers, but not so high that it feels unreachable.

Personalization and Product Recommendations

Personalization involves tailoring the shopping experience to each user’s preferences and behavior. It’s a powerful driver of larger basket sizes when done correctly.

Modern shoppers have come to expect some level of personalization. Surveys show that 80% of customers say the shopping experience should be better tailored given all the data companies collect, and 65% expect companies to adapt to their preferences.

According to Salesforce’s data, personalized product recommendations now account for 26% of total ecommerce revenue on average, despite being a small fraction of the content shown. That underscores how effective relevant suggestions can be.

How Can Mobile Apps Drive Higher AOV?

Mobile apps consistently outperform desktop and mobile websites when it comes to AOV. The majority of brands see anywhere from 10-50% higher AOV from transactions in their mobile app.

Here’s why.

App-Exclusive Offers and Features

Many brands now offer mobile apps not just for convenience, but as a channel for VIP customers with exclusive perks. App-exclusive offers can significantly boost AOV by giving customers reasons to shop in the app and load up their cart.

The psychology here is treating app users as an insider club. When customers feel they’re part of a privileged group, they often engage more deeply and spend more.

One concrete example: BÉIS, a travel accessories brand founded by Shay Mitchell, leveraged its mobile app to create a VIP experience. They share behind-the-scenes content and product drops exclusively on the app. The result? App users of BÉIS have a 19% higher AOV compared to those on the mobile website.

Mobile UX Improvements

Improving the mobile user experience (UX) of your store whether in-app or mobile web, can indirectly but meaningfully raise AOV.

A huge portion of ecommerce traffic is now on mobile devices (mobile commerce comprised about 35% of sales during Cyber Week 2024).

If the mobile experience is clunky, customers may limit their browsing or stick to one item and checkout quickly (or abandon). A smooth, engaging mobile UX encourages users to view more products and complete multi-item purchases.

Key areas of mobile UX that impact AOV include: navigation and discovery, site speed, and checkout ease. If your app or mobile site makes it easy to find related products (through intuitive menus, filters, or recommendation carousels), users are more likely to add those items.

What Real-World Results Have Brands Achieved?

Let’s look at some real-world examples of how direct-to-consumer (DTC) and ecommerce brands have implemented AOV-boosting strategies:

BÉIS (Travel Goods)

By funneling their most engaged customers to the app and offering app-exclusive content and early product access, they cultivated a community that shops more frequently and in higher amounts. The app saw a 19% higher AOV than the mobile website.

Kopari Beauty (Personal Care)

This brand implemented a “buy more, save more” upsell on product pages. For instance, on a product that normally sells as one unit, they offer a duo at a discounted rate. This kind of upsell led many customers to choose the 2-pack, effectively doubling the revenue from that order minus a small discount.

John’s Crazy Socks (Apparel/Gifts)

This brand’s gift wrap add-on is a simple cross-sell at checkout that adds $2 to the order. For a company that sells socks (low-priced items), getting an extra $2 is significant proportionally.

La Roche-Posay (Beauty)

La Roche-Posay implemented a free gift with purchase over $X promo, “Get a 4-piece sample kit on orders $70+”. This effectively increased their AOV as customers aimed for that $70 basket.

MeUndies (Apparel)

The underwear brand has a section called “Match Me” to encourage buying for couples, matching underwear sets for you and your partner. This is a clever cross-sell where they tap into a social/shared experience to increase AOV.

How Can Your Brand Achieve Higher AOV?

Many AOV-boosting tactics can be implemented incrementally and with modest resources, especially if you’re using modern ecommerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce.

Start with the Low-Hanging Fruit

Some changes require just a small tweak or addition. For example, setting a free shipping threshold is usually a basic setting in your store’s shipping options, decide on a threshold (use your current AOV + ~10-20% as a guideline to start), and update your shipping settings.

Similarly, creating a few product bundles can be as easy as adding new bundle products in your catalog (or using a bundling app). You don’t need a fancy algorithm to pick a couple of complementary products and sell them together at a discount.

Leverage Apps and Integrations

You don’t have to custom-build everything. There are one-click upsell apps, cross-sell recommendation apps, loyalty program apps, etc. For instance, on Shopify, apps like ReConvert or Candy Rack handle post-purchase and in-cart upsells; Smile.io or LoyaltyLion can launch a basic loyalty points program quickly.

Evaluate which tactic might yield the best ROI for you and try an app in that category. (Pro tip: implement one major app at a time and measure results, rather than 5 at once, to know what’s moving the needle.)

Use Your Existing Content and Channels

If building personalization algorithms is out of reach, you can still personalize in simpler ways. For example, manually create “Recommended” collections on your site and promote those in your marketing emails or homepage.

Use your email newsletter or SMS to encourage larger baskets: send an email saying “Our top picks to complete your skincare routine” highlighting items that go well together.

Focus on Customer Value (Not Just Your Revenue)

AOV tactics should ideally create a better experience for the customer. Brainstorm from the customer’s perspective: “What would I find useful or delightful that might also make me spend more?”

If you approach AOV increases through the lens of adding customer value, you’re more likely to succeed and not face backlash. Plus, satisfied customers tell friends and come back (long-term benefits beyond one order).

What Pitfalls Should You Avoid?

Watch out for these things as you strive to boost AOV in your online store:

Over-emphasis on AOV vs. Other Metrics

Chasing AOV in isolation can lead to decisions that hurt other parts of the business. For example, you might push an upsell that indeed raises AOV but annoys customers, causing a drop in customer satisfaction or conversion rate.

Is it better to have a higher AOV or a higher conversion rate? Ideally both, but sometimes there’s a trade-off. If upsell prompts are too aggressive, some customers might abandon carts. AOV of completed orders might rise, but overall sales could fall if conversion tanks.

Many experts stress balancing AOV with metrics like conversion rate, lifetime value (LTV), and customer retention. A holistic view is needed: it’s the long-term revenue and profit per customer that matter, not just squeezing out one big order.

Customer Experience Backlash

Some AOV tactics can feel like nickel-and-diming. For instance, if a site bombards users with add-on offers at every click, it can degrade the experience.

Similarly, setting a free shipping threshold too high above typical order value might frustrate customers who feel it’s unattainable, potentially driving them to competitors.

The strategic debate here is short-term AOV vs. long-term loyalty. As one source pointed out, fostering loyalty tends to have higher long-term ROI than single-mindedly boosting AOV at the expense of customer satisfaction.

Discount Dependency

Relying too heavily on discounts or promotions to drive up AOV can train customers to only buy when there’s a deal. This can erode margins and brand premium over time.

There’s also the pitfall of margin impact: If you raise AOV by giving large volume discounts, ensure you’re not sacrificing so much margin that the higher revenue doesn’t translate into higher profit.

How Vendrux Helps You Drive Higher AOV

Want a proven way to raise your AOV while delighting your best customers? Launch a mobile app, with Vendrux.

Vendrux transforms your existing website into a fully branded iOS and Android app, without needing to rebuild or manage anything separately.

Your app mirrors your current site and tech stack, but adds the mobile-native elements that boost engagement, conversions, and importantly, order value.

Here’s how a Vendrux-powered app helps lift AOV:

• Larger carts, consistently: Brands using Vendrux typically report 30% higher AOV from app users. Mobile apps create a smoother, distraction-free experience that keeps customers browsing and buying more.
• Built-in loyalty and retention: The app becomes a hub for loyalty programs, app-only offers, and personalized perks, giving customers more reason to hit higher cart values.
• Push notifications that convert: Tap into the most effective channel for re-engagement. Vendrux helps you run high-performing push campaigns that drive users back in with personalized, time-sensitive offers that increase basket size.
• One-tap upsells and frictionless UX: Your app offers an Amazon-like UX with one-click add-to-cart and checkout. It’s designed to maximize conversions and order volume on mobile – where the majority of ecommerce traffic happens.

Most importantly, this isn’t another tool you need to figure out yourself. Vendrux is a done-for-you, service-driven solution.

Our team handles everything, from setup, QA, and App Store submission to strategic support post-launch, to make sure your app actually drives meaningful ROI.

Ready to see what your brand’s app could look like? Get a free preview and see how easy it is to turn your mobile traffic into higher revenue and repeat purchases.

Final Thoughts: AOV as Your Growth Engine

Unlike chasing new customers, boosting AOV means earning more from people already in the door. That’s higher profit, less spend. In a world where acquisition costs keep climbing, this is a strategy you can’t ignore.

The best part? It’s not about tricks. It’s about enhancing the customer experience. Think:

• Smart upsells and cross-sells
• Loyalty perks
• Personalized recommendations
• Bundling or volume discounts

Done right, it’s a win-win. Customers get more value, you get bigger checkouts.

Want to lift AOV? Start here:

• Personalize the path to purchase (think: “You might also like…”)
• Make checkout frictionless (1-click, digital wallets)
• Use incentives strategically (free shipping thresholds, bundle deals)
• Highlight social proof to build trust on higher-ticket items

The future of AOV optimization is all about personalization, tech that feels invisible, and authentic customer engagement. Brands that do this well will enjoy better margins and customer loyalty.

Remember: AOV isn’t just a number. It’s a reflection of how well you’re delivering value – and how much trust your customers place in you to deliver more.

Cart abandonment is bleeding revenue from your business – more than 70% of online shoppers bail before checkout. 

In most cases, it’s not about price or interest or their internet cutting out. It’s about trust. 

Shoppers hesitate because they’re unsure about security, product quality, customer service, or whether their order will even show up.

The good news? Trust isn’t just a vague concept. It’s a conversion lever. The right trust signals, placed strategically, will turn hesitation into confidence and recover lost revenue.

In this article, we’ll break down:

• Why trust makes or breaks conversions (and what’s really driving cart abandonment).
• The most effective trust signals top brands use to increase checkout rates.
• Real-world examples of trust-building tactics that work.
• How to measure, test, and optimize trust signals to drive long-term sales.

Let’s get into it.

Want more insights from what 8 and 9 figure brands are doing to boost retention, LTV, and build sustainable revenue streams? Check out our free weekly newsletter, The Retention Edge.

Why Trust is the Difference Between a Conversion and an Abandoned Cart

Trust isn’t just a vague concept – it’s a hardwired psychological trigger that decides whether a shopper checks out or walks away.

The Psychology of Consumer Trust

Online shopping strips away the physical touchpoints that help customers evaluate products in-store. 

Without the ability to see, feel, or test an item, shoppers rely on digital trust markers to decide if a brand is legit, high-quality, and worth their money.

And the data backs this up. Baymard Institute’s research confirms that trust perception directly impacts checkout completion rates. 

Their large-scale user testing shows that any element that creates doubt – unpolished design, missing reviews, vague product descriptions, or absent security badges – dramatically increases cart abandonment.

This problem escalates with:

• First-time buyers (no prior brand relationship).
• Lesser-known brands (fewer external trust signals).
• High-ticket items (greater perceived risk).

Think about it: Buying a $20 t-shirt from Gap requires little trust. But dropping $2,000 on a sofa from a brand you just found on Google? That’s a whole different level of risk.

The bigger the purchase, the higher the trust bar.

How Lack of Trust Kills Conversions

Fear of Fraud

Customers won’t hand over sensitive payment details if they sense even a hint of risk. 

Concerns about credit card scams, phishing, and identity theft make secure checkout experiences and trusted payment methods non-negotiable.

Doubts About Product Quality

Shoppers can’t hold, feel, or test your product, so your product page has to do the selling. 

Missing reviews, low-quality images, weak descriptions, or inconsistent product details make customers question if what they’re seeing is what they’ll actually get.

Concerns About Customer Service

People hate bad customer service. If your site hides shipping timelines, has a vague return policy, or lacks clear contact options, customers assume the worst. 

And if they’ve been burned before by slow shipping or difficult returns, they’ll bounce fast.

The bottom line? A lack of trust doesn’t just slow sales – it actively repels customers. If you’re not addressing trust issues, you’re leaving money on the table.

The Most Effective Trust Signals for Reducing Cart Abandonment

So how do you proactively build trust and turn hesitation into high-converting confidence?

By embedding the right trust signals and reducing perceived risk at every step of the customer experience.

Here’s where you’ll get the biggest impact:

Security & Payment Trust Signals

Even small amounts of friction or uncertainty around payment security can derail potential purchases. 

Implement visual cues like:

• SSL certificate and “https://” in front of your URL to show you have a secure, encrypted checkout process. Make sure your SSL is from a trusted provider.
• Trusted payment options: Prominently display logos of major credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, and other payment methods shoppers know and trust.
• PCI DSS compliance badge (if applicable): Shows that customer data is handled according to rigorous security standards.
• Fraud protection messaging: Add microcopy like “100% secure checkout”, “Your payment information is protected by industry-leading encryption”, etc.

A study of 130 online sellers in Europe and Latin America found that adopting third-party assurance seals led to increased online sales for 66% of those companies.

If you’re struggling with low conversions or high abandonment rates, this is definitely something to test.

Social Proof & Reviews

The power of social proof for building trust and driving sales cannot be overstated.

• Star ratings on product pages: Include the number of reviews to increase perceived credibility.
• Detailed customer reviews: Allow customers to leave in-depth feedback, include photos/videos, and respond to questions.
• Customer photos and videos: Featuring real customer-generated content demonstrates authenticity.
• Social proof pop-ups: Display recent purchases or product reviews as unobtrusive notifications, sparking interest and FOMO.
• Third-party review widgets: Aggregate reviews from sites like Trustpilot, Google, Facebook, and the BBB to provide external validation.

Virtually all online shoppers rely on reviews. A 2021 consumer survey found 99.9% of consumers read reviews and 98% consider them an essential step in their purchase decision process​. 

86% of shoppers won’t buy a product at all without reading reviews first​. And a product with just 5 reviews has a purchase likelihood 270% higher than a product with no reviews at all​, according to analysis of purchase behavior from Northwestern University’s Spiegel Research Center.

Showcase positive customer sentiment and opinions from real people wherever possible.

Return & Refund Policies

Worry about the potential hassle and cost of returns keeps many shoppers from completing their orders.

Boost confidence with:

• Generous, easy-to-find return policies: Offer at least 30 days and make the terms clear – “Free 30-day returns, no questions asked.”
• Money-back guarantees: Put shoppers’ minds at ease with “100% satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.”
• Prepaid return labels: Cover the return shipping yourself to remove friction.

According to a UPS consumer survey, 88% of online shoppers review a retailer’s return policy at some point during their shopping journey, and 66% specifically check the returns policy before committing to a purchase. 

15% of shoppers abandon their shopping cart altogether due to an unclear or unsatisfactory return policy. Returns are an extra cost, but making it easier for the customer is also a proven way to increase conversions.

Shipping & Fulfillment Transparency

Unexpected shipping costs are the #1 reason for cart abandonment. And with retail giants like Amazon normalizing free and fast delivery, shoppers won’t settle for less.

Display things like:

• Estimated delivery dates: Display a dynamic estimated arrival date at checkout based on the shopper’s location and chosen shipping speed.
• Free shipping thresholds: Incentivize larger orders by offering free shipping on purchases over a certain amount. Clearly display the free shipping cutoff in the cart.
• Order tracking: Send proactive updates and let customers check their order status online. Transparency reinforces trust post-purchase.

Brand Credibility Indicators

The best trust signal is a well-known brand.

Notice how Apple doesn’t have reviews on their product pages? They don’t need them. The Apple brand conveys far more trust than any customer review.

The more trust and familiarity you build in your brand, the less you’ll rely on trust signals like reviews and badges.

Do this through:

• Press mentions or industry awards: “Featured in Vogue, GQ, and Men’s Health.”
• Founder’s story and brand mission: Putting a human face to the brand through an authentic About Us page builds emotional investment.
• Value-add trust badges: “Cruelty-free”, “Sustainably made”, “Veteran-owned”, etc.
• Mobile apps: A brand with a mobile app feels more legitimate. “Get It On Google Play”, “Download On The App Store” – leverages the trust that comes with these brand names.

Don’t have an app yet? If you have a mobile-friendly website, you’ve done 90% of the work already. Click here to see how you can launch your own app with zero effort and the cost of less than a day’s sales.

Measuring & Optimizing for Trust-Driven Conversions

Adding trust signals is an ongoing process, not a one-and-done initiative.

Crucially, while the lessons in this article represent research-backed best practices, they won’t apply to every brand and every audience.

You may find that certain trust signals work less effectively, or even have a negative impact on conversions.

For example, a Streetwear brand putting a Norton/McAfee Secure trust seal next to their checkout button would likely hurt conversions – but the same badge on Best Buy might have a positive impact.

You should test everything, compile the most important metrics, and see what moves the needle for your brand.

Key Metrics to Track

These metrics will tell you whether your trust signals are having the desired effect:

• Cart abandonment rate: Monitor how new trust signals affect the percentage of carts that convert into sales.
• Exit rate at each checkout step: Identify where trust barriers are causing shoppers to drop off mid-purchase. Focus on the pages with the highest exit rates first.
• A/B test variations: Use split tests to see which trust signal placements, anchor text, badge designs, and review widgets perform best.
• Post-purchase surveys: Ask “What almost stopped you from completing your purchase today?” to surface lingering trust issues.

Iterative Improvements for Long-Term Trust

Try the following initiatives, alongside adding the trust signals mentioned above, to improve conversion rate and reduce cart abandons.

• Heatmaps and session recordings to see where shoppers are getting stuck, rage clicking, or u-turning.
• Exit-intent pop-ups and surveys to capture last-minute objections and uncertainties.
• Live chat and chatbots to proactively intervene when shoppers are wavering.

By continuously monitoring, testing, and optimizing your site’s trust experience, you’ll be able to plug leaks in your conversion funnel and create a smoother path to purchase.

Learn more: How to Optimize Your Checkout to Reduce Abandoned Carts

Final Takeaways: More Trust, More Revenue

Trust isn’t a nice-to-have – it’s a revenue multiplier. The brands that actively eliminate doubt at every step of the journey turn abandoned carts into conversions and one-time buyers into repeat customers.

But here’s the key: trust isn’t just about the checkout page. It’s built (or lost) long before a shopper reaches the cart and continues well after they’ve made a purchase. 

Every touchpoint – your homepage, product pages, customer reviews, checkout flow, and post-purchase experience – either reinforces confidence or creates friction.

The brands that win don’t just optimize for conversions. They optimize for trust at every stage. Do that, and you’re not just closing more sales… you’re building a brand customers believe in, come back to, and tell their friends about.

You can burn yourself out trying to understand why your shoppers leave without completing their purchase, leaving their cart abandoned. You ask yourself, is there something wrong with my product? Do visitors feel like they can’t trust my brand? Or does my website have a problem?

You’re not alone in this battle. Data shows that for all ecommerce businesses, the shopping cart abandonment rate is around 70.19%. This means that only 3 out of 10 visitors will convert!

To help you with that, in this article, I’ll go over the most common reasons for cart abandonment on ecommerce stores, giving you the knowledge you need to optimize your checkout and increase conversions and revenue.

The 11 Most Common Top Cart Abandonment Reasons

Lowering the cart abandonment rate on your site is one of the quickest and easiest ways to boost revenue. These people are already on your site, they’re showing a clear interest in your products, yet something is holding them back from becoming paying customers.

To fix this, we need to understand why these shoppers are leaving without checking out. Luckily there’s a wealth of data and experience we can take and learn from.

Here are ten common cart abandonment reasons, and some insights on what you can do to avoid them.

1. Unexpected Additional Costs

Unexpected costs, like taxes, shipping, and other fees, are some of the top reasons for cart abandonment because they make the customer rethink their purchase. No one likes getting to the end of a checkout flow only to find a higher total amount than expected.

In ecommerce, price is an important factor for buyers. Especially when you consider that comparing prices among competitors is very easy. You can simply screenshot a product image and search for it using a Google Image search.

There, you will see all the stores and retailers that offer the same product, each with its own pricing range.

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Nowadays, customers like to compare options and costs, until they come to a final decision. So any additional costs they didn’t consider beforehand will disappoint or irritate them. The biggest downside to that isn’t only losing sales, but leaving visitors with a negative opinion of your business.

2. Limited Shipping Options

Delivery is a crucial part of the ecommerce experience. Customers expect convenient shipping options that suit their needs and offer on-time delivery. Letting them personalize delivery details and choose between shipping providers can reduce shopping cart abandonment and improve your website’s user experience.

Important purchases for dates like anniversaries and birthdays are often time-constrained, and if your store is unable to deliver the goods on time, customers will be forced to cancel their order.

And to make it worse, customers are often willing to spend more for quicker deliveries. So make sure to give customers a variety of shipping options—even if you need to charge more for it.

3. Website Performance Issues

It’s not news that a poor user experience will lead to high abandonment rates. Technical issues frustrate visitors, and in the worst-case scenario, these issues can erode their trust in your business and put them off ever trying again.

Issues like slow load speeds, missing content, photos that don’t load correctly, and bugs will drive away customers. And if you don’t identify the UX issue that is causing cart abandonment, you could be losing sales for days, weeks, or even months.

Oftentimes, changes on a website can have the craziest consequences for other parts of the store. So test and analyze the performance of your checkout regularly to make sure there aren’t any weak points.

4. Your Website is Poorly Optimized for Mobile

Taking into consideration that more than 38% of ecommerce sales are mobile in the US, a poor mobile design is definitely one of the top reasons for cart abandonment. And it’s more common than you may think.

Many stores fail to consider that the shopping and checkout experience can look very different on mobile than on desktop. It’s important to see the user experience from their point of view and understand how user behavior changes by device to reduce cart abandonment.

There are many tools today that can help you with that, like heat maps and session recordings. With them, you can identify the places on the customers’ journey where users tend to struggle and optimize them to create a user-friendly interface across platforms. 

5. Overcomplicated, Time-Consuming Checkout Flow

A long, complex checkout process can easily result in abandoned carts. Ecommerce is built for convenience, and if there are too many hoops to jump through in order to complete a purchase, many customers will simply give up.

Try to minimize form elements and data entry to make your payment process streamlined and straightforward. It’s tempting to gather contact info to add to your database for remarketing purposes, but it’s not worth losing sales.

Instead, you should ask only for the necessary information, and always try to justify yourself to your customers. For example, you can say you need the email to send out the payment data later or ask for their birth date for security reasons.

Any extra data you’d like to collect you can ask for after the purchase is complete—you just need to make sure to offer an interesting deal for customers to be willing to share it with you.

6. Forcing Customers to Create an Account

Following the previous line of thought, forcing users to create an account or register to add items to their virtual cart is generally going to reduce conversions. It adds extra friction, and the more friction involved in your checkout flow, the more likely it is that customers will drop off.

To increase conversions, you can offer guest checkout, speeding up the process, and auto-save options so they can have their personal information completed automatically even without an account.

7. Lack of Trust

Buying from an unfamiliar ecommerce brand is scary, especially when it comes time to type in your credit card details.

Customers will only provide their credit card details after you’ve earned their trust. And it goes beyond financial data: today, personal information protection is a growing concern among users.

There are many signals your visitors will look for to decipher if you’re trustworthy: a well-known brand, SSL certificates, clear return policies, user reviews, and other signs that you’re a brand that they can trust.

Want to know one of the most underrated trust and authority signals for ecommerce stores? A mobile app.

Those “Available on the App Store” badges instantly add credibility to your website and can increase conversions all on their own.

‍Click here to learn how you can turn your store into a mobile app and enter the app stores for a minimal investment, in as little as two weeks.

8. Lack of Social Proof

Poor social proof is another of the top reasons for cart abandonment. Especially when it comes to unique goods or ones that have a higher price range.

In these cases, customers need a last push to be convinced that your product is worth it. Reviews, star ratings, and a clear description of the product’s unique value can make visitors go beyond the ‘adding to cart’.

Another popular resource today is adding User Generated Content. Besides being proof that others have bought your product and benefited from it, UGC allows visitors to see it in action and understand how it differentiates from the competition.

9. Lack of Payment Options

Most people have a preferred way to pay when shopping online, beyond the standard Visa/Mastercard.

This includes payment methods like PayPal, mobile shopping wallets (e.g. Google Pay, Apple Pay), and Buy Now Pay Later services.

The more options you offer, the less likely it is that you’ll lose a sale because you don’t offer someone’s preferred method of payment.

Make sure you consider your ideal customer profile, and think about how that kind of person is likely to pay for things online.

For example, NewEgg, a leading ecommerce store for computer parts, lets its customers pay with cryptocurrency.

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10. Visitors Are Just Browsing

Keep in mind that many of your site visitors don’t actually have the intention of making a purchase.

It’s free to look around. These people may even add products to their cart and peek at the checkout to see what the final price will be, what shipping options are available, etc.

You can see this as an opportunity to turn some of these visitors into repeat customers.

For instance, you can set up a wish list or ‘save for later’ option to prevent people from adding items to their cart when they’re just browsing. This will also give you interesting insights into your audience, which you can build up and use as part of your remarketing efforts.

11. Waiting for a Discount Email

Abandoned cart emails are common practice today, and there will be crafty shoppers who know that if they leave without checking out, the store is likely to contact them with a sweetener to help them complete their purchase.

Are these people trying to game the system? Perhaps, but it also shows how effective abandoned cart follow-ups are.

Consider this as part of your customer acquisition cost – if you can fit it into your margins, a follow-up with an additional discount will convert a lot of would-be abandoned carts into purchases.

How to Help Abandoned Carts Find Their Way Home

So we have a better understanding of why people leave their carts abandoned. But what can you do about it?

Start by ensuring you provide a smooth, user-friendly shopping experience, optimized for mobile, with as little unnecessary friction as possible in the checkout process.

Make sure your site looks trustworthy, with social proof and UGC to back it up.

But most abandoned carts aren’t because of usability or trust issues. They’re simply people who forgot to check out, got distracted, or got cold feet.

You can re-engage a lot of these shoppers and get them to follow through with a simple follow-up message.

Abandoned cart emails are one easy and effective way to follow up. But abandoned cart push notifications are even better.

Push notifications are cheap, personal and direct. If you follow up with every abandoned cart with a push notification reminding them that their cart is still there, ready to be paid for, you’ll almost certainly recapture some of those lost sales.

For push notifications to work, you need a mobile app. An app lets you send native mobile push notifications on all operating systems, and gives you extensive options for customization and building personalized push workflows.

Vendrux makes it easy for you to create an app for your site. You can go live in as little as two weeks, for a minimal cost, with no coding or technical knowledge required.

We do everything for you, simply converting your existing website into high-quality mobile apps. It’s as risk-free as it gets.

If you want to hear more about how some of our clients deal with the top reasons for cart abandonment, take a look at some of our case studies –  a small collection of the 2,000+ businesses who used Vendrux to convert their website to mobile apps.

Launch Your Own App and Reduce Abandoned Carts Today

Following up with abandoned carts via push notifications and emails will easily help you recapture lost revenue.

An app gives you the best way to do this, as well as providing a more optimized mobile shopping experience, free from the distractions of other browser tabs, which will help boost conversion rate too.

You can boost average order value, increase abandoned cart recovery, and boost revenue in a number of ways. With the low cost and overhead that comes when you build an app with Vendrux, it’s hard to see a scenario where you don’t get a positive ROI.

Get a free preview of your app and learn how you can elevate your store to new heights.