Forum Moderators: buckworks
So (poor woman) got grilled over why she uses teh web etc, and a surprising answer arose.
She often surfs at work out of boredom, as aresult she just bungs cloth etc that she likes into the cart - only to drop the lot as she has no intention to buy.
Came as a revelation to me, as I couldnt imagine doing that.
ETA: Awhile back, I had an experience that made me think of the previous thread on this topic, but the thread was inactive by then so I didn't post it. Just after I submitted the above paragraph, I remembered it again--
--I don't use credit cards, so use my check/debit card to buy things online. I also use it in ATMs, grocery stores, drug stores - all places where I'm the only one who sees the card because I run it through the scanners myself. I was buying something on a site I hadn't purchased from before, entered all my information, then got a screen that asked for the security code from the back of the card (which none of the sites I buy from regularly ask for). I never look at the back of the card, and didn't realize how worn it was! Not only was the security code unreadable, but the signature line was completely worn off so that the "this card is invalid" notation showed! So, cart abandoned at the last moment. Had to wait about ten days to get a replacement card from the bank so I could order.
So, you really do never know... :-)
[edited by: Beagle at 9:00 pm (utc) on July 26, 2006]
That doesn't seem that far fetched to me. Sort of like window shopping from the sidewalk only it's much easier (and there are no salesman to pressure you) to tempt yourself by adding items into a shopping cart.
Hm... I think you may be onto something here
come again? ;)
I mentioned your initial post to a few women friends who all said that cart loading is just like going into B&M shops and trying on various outfits just for the fun of it with no intention to buy. My 20-something daughter confirmed these (both on-line and off) as 'fun' ways to spend time with friends or while away some time alone.
Being an aging male geek I feel, and my children confirm, increasingly out of touch with everything. And to paraphrase the Sage from Essex: "there is begger all I can do about it".
If buying several items I often find that something is out of stock and then decide to dump the whole cart.
Graphing dropout behavior can provide design insight but I agree it would be nice if 'everyone' would drop the silly notion that cart loading equates sale and therefor cart abandonment equates a lost sale. Neither has ever been true.
Absolutely.
We now have sophisticated software to track abandonment. We can see what products are frequently abandoned and at what point. Figured the most abandoned products were too expensive, so I lowered their price a bit. Guess what? The abandonment rate didn't change tho we make less money on those items now.
Our software sure generates some intriguing stats... which generally teach me nothing useful. LOL
Yanks, I dont know......
LOL
Even if many others do the same, I doubt that comparison shopping would account for a significant % of cart abandonment. BTW, About 65% of our carts are abandoned. 35% completed, which I suspect is better than average.
I KNOW some of our customers pick out stuff online, print out the cart and then phone the order in.
By the way, this subject has come up many times before here.
results are from one january 2004 study.
"Sticker shock rather than a poor site design or checkout process may be the major cause of shopping cart abandonment, a key component of web analytics programs, according to a new report from Forrester Research.
A majority of cart abandoners (57%) said they left products in shopping carts because they didn’t want to pay for shipping charges, Forrester said. 48% said they didn’t complete the purchase online because the total cost—product costs, shipping, handling or taxes—was more than expected."
