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Abandoned Carts

by ryshark
27 replies
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How many abandoned carts do you guys see in relation to the number of sales? What would you guess your ratio to be?
#abandoned #carts
  • Profile picture of the author javarog
    Abandoned carts bug the hell out of me and they seem to be substantial from time to time, in my instance I think its because of shipping prices... as far as a ratio at this time I dont know,, the one thing I do have is a auto responder that contacts the potential customer of the abandoned cart by the next business day.
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    • Profile picture of the author ryshark
      Originally Posted by javarog View Post

      Abandoned carts bug the hell out of me and they seem to be substantial from time to time, in my instance I think its because of shipping prices... as far as a ratio at this time I dont know,, the one thing I do have is a auto responder that contacts the potential customer of the abandoned cart by the next business day.
      They bug me too. How often do you get abandoned carts that actually have an email address or contact info? Majority of mine don't so I can't always respond. All I have is the IP address. I should setup auto responders for those that do have info. My store is new so traffic is minimal, so I've manually responded to those who do leave contact info.
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    • Profile picture of the author kampret262
      Originally Posted by javarog View Post

      Abandoned carts bug the hell out of me and they seem to be substantial from time to time, in my instance I think its because of shipping prices... as far as a ratio at this time I dont know,, the one thing I do have is a auto responder that contacts the potential customer of the abandoned cart by the next business day.
      yes..autoresponder is important for online marketing...
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  • Profile picture of the author javarog
    I used to require registration before they could get a shipping estimate and I would get 2 to 4 abandoned carts a day so I thought I would streamline that and knock down a step and not require it however I still get the same amount but now with no way to contact them..
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  • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
    Why are you charging shipping in the first place?

    What's the difference between 90 dollars and free shipping versus 80 dollars and 10 dollars shipping?

    Nothing.

    Know the market worth of your item, deduct the shipping, and your bounce rate will disappear.

    It's a very common mistake people make - and I've never understood why people charge shipping in the first place. It's just another cost of business that is COVERED by the price of the product.

    When I go to the grocery store, when I buy a product I don't purchase a loaf of bread with 'employee wages/electricity/logistics' tacked on the end of it. It's COVERED already in the cost of the item.
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    • Profile picture of the author ryshark
      So you think offering a low flat rate shipping is bad too? Let's say like $4-flat rate shipping... Is a buyer more attracted to
      $47+ $4-shipping
      Or
      $51 + Free Shipping???

      I wouldn't think it would make that much of a difference in regards to abandoned carts. Am I Wrong? Free shipping sounds nice, but so does $47 vs $51

      Originally Posted by Auctiondebteliminator View Post

      Why are you charging shipping in the first place?

      What's the difference between 90 dollars and free shipping versus 80 dollars and 10 dollars shipping?

      Nothing.

      Know the market worth of your item, deduct the shipping, and your bounce rate will disappear.

      It's a very common mistake people make - and I've never understood why people charge shipping in the first place. It's just another cost of business that is COVERED by the price of the product.

      When I go to the grocery store, when I buy a product I don't purchase a loaf of bread with 'employee wages/electricity/logistics' tacked on the end of it. It's COVERED already in the cost of the item.
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      • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
        This is a good point you're making here - but this goes back to the economics of the situation - a supply/demand curve and the market worth of your item.

        What you want to do is maximize your profits, and so you want to set your pricing at the market worth your item sells for- and the take the deductions from there.

        (On eBay, this is easy - you can see what price the item sells for BEFORE you list it)

        On the internet, you can also see the market worth of your items - and you can also test the markets for an optimal sell through/profit rate.

        When you find that, then you have your pricing --- free shipping or not.

        People have a perceived value of an item. If I had a toaster - I could sell it like crazy for .99 cents. But I could NEVER sell it for 10,000 dollars.

        But eventually, there is a price it sells for where I can maximize volume sales and profit.

        When you let the MARKET set your pricing, you can more easily maximize your profits rather than 'guessing' a price-- or even having a manufacturer telling you what price to sell it at. In fact, it could be that the MAP price is too low!

        Unless you're running DATA-based tests on your items according to market economics, you could be losing out on a LOT of money.


        ADE

        Originally Posted by ryshark View Post

        So you think offering a low flat rate shipping is bad too? Let's say like $4-flat rate shipping... Is a buyer more attracted to
        $47+ $4-shipping
        Or
        $51 + Free Shipping???

        I wouldn't think it would make that much of a difference in regards to abandoned carts. Am I Wrong? Free shipping sounds nice, but so does $47 vs $51
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        • Profile picture of the author javarog
          Originally Posted by Auctiondebteliminator View Post

          This is a good point you're making here - but this goes back to the economics of the situation - a supply/demand curve and the market worth of your item.

          What you want to do is maximize your profits, and so you want to set your pricing at the market worth your item sells for- and the take the deductions from there.

          (On eBay, this is easy - you can see what price the item sells for BEFORE you list it)

          On the internet, you can also see the market worth of your items - and you can also test the markets for an optimal sell through/profit rate.

          When you find that, then you have your pricing --- free shipping or not.

          People have a perceived value of an item. If I had a toaster - I could sell it like crazy for .99 cents. But I could NEVER sell it for 10,000 dollars.

          But eventually, there is a price it sells for where I can maximize volume sales and profit.

          When you let the MARKET set your pricing, you can more easily maximize your profits rather than 'guessing' a price-- or even having a manufacturer telling you what price to sell it at. In fact, it could be that the MAP price is too low!

          Unless you're running DATA-based tests on your items according to market economics, you could be losing out on a LOT of money.


          ADE
          I agree with everything you are saying but in this one instance it just doesn't work..
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        • Profile picture of the author ryshark
          So you're saying it is possible I could be losing A LOT money charging $47 with $4 flat rate shipping instead of $51 with free shipping? In regards to the market/competition everybody is in the same range.


          Originally Posted by Auctiondebteliminator View Post

          This is a good point you're making here - but this goes back to the economics of the situation - a supply/demand curve and the market worth of your item.

          What you want to do is maximize your profits, and so you want to set your pricing at the market worth your item sells for- and the take the deductions from there.

          (On eBay, this is easy - you can see what price the item sells for BEFORE you list it)

          On the internet, you can also see the market worth of your items - and you can also test the markets for an optimal sell through/profit rate.

          When you find that, then you have your pricing --- free shipping or not.

          People have a perceived value of an item. If I had a toaster - I could sell it like crazy for .99 cents. But I could NEVER sell it for 10,000 dollars.

          But eventually, there is a price it sells for where I can maximize volume sales and profit.

          When you let the MARKET set your pricing, you can more easily maximize your profits rather than 'guessing' a price-- or even having a manufacturer telling you what price to sell it at. In fact, it could be that the MAP price is too low!

          Unless you're running DATA-based tests on your items according to market economics, you could be losing out on a LOT of money.


          ADE
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          • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
            In 'opportunity cost' yes.



            Originally Posted by ryshark View Post

            So you're saying it is possible I could be losing A LOT money charging $47 with $4 flat rate shipping instead of $51 with free shipping? In regards to the market/competition everybody is in the same range.
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          • Profile picture of the author javarog
            Originally Posted by ryshark View Post

            So you're saying it is possible I could be losing A LOT money charging $47 with $4 flat rate shipping instead of $51 with free shipping? In regards to the market/competition everybody is in the same range.
            You could be in abandoned carts ,, yes,, you might try it and see how it goes,, there are a lot of ways to skin this cat,, if you have good profit margins in your product you could also eat a little shipping costs and say that anything ships for say $7.95 so they could add $300 worth of items in the cart and it ships for $7.95.. one item or a dozen,, doesn't matter $7.95 or you could simple increase your final price to have shipping included on all items.. which would be the best way to go
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            And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

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            • Profile picture of the author javarog
              ADE I got to thinking and didn't want to let all my little secrets out but it isn't really fair to people reading this thread that may be strapped with a similar situation,, what i do is combine the machinery as a package deal with other consumable products that the customer will need and offer free shipping on the package which falls outside of their scope of map just on the equipment.:p
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    • Profile picture of the author Audarah
      THANK YOU AUCTIONDEBTELIMINATOR!

      I have been hearing if you sell three products ( and they all come from three different suppliers), then you should charge three shipping prices. Wait, hold up.

      *I* am a customer myself from time to time. There is no way in heck (and I have seen it try to happen on sites) that I am going to pay you more than ONE shipping charge. I dont CARE if you get your stuff from three different suppliers- if you need to charge me shipping three different darn times, then YOU didnt do your data right when setting up your store or personally picking products that werent even worth it (or as I am learning, picked from a 2nd tier wholesaler who is then going to HAVE to order the stuff for you, thus an inflated shipping fee and not really worth it)

      You said:
      "What's the difference between 90 dollars and free shipping versus 80 dollars and 10 dollars shipping?"

      Exactly! And that is what I plan to do- right as soon as I find suppliers who want to stop trying to charge ME retail price. That isnt going to work.

      When I find a reasonably priced supplier, I will then add shipping into my cost of the product IF I can still undercut competition- and I hope that I do. I'm not dreaming big, just being realistic.

      Buy guys, seriously- at one time or another, we have all been customers. I was shopping for BELLY BUTTON rings for goodness sakes. I was on this store site that was offering them at super low prices. I picked TONS of belly button rings, even some other stuff and when I got to the checkout, seen THREE different shipping fees- of which would have come to over 30 bucks. I left the site and abandoned my cart.

      It is a huge turn off as a customer to see that many shipping charges. IF FOR EXAMPLE, ( and this will happen, still looking for suppliers that think I am an idiot), so WHEN I find a product I can grab for 50.00 that ACTUALLY sells on the market minus deductions for a profit, I am going to include shipping IN my cost of the item.

      So please remember- I am a customer. We all are from time to time. We KNOW how to think like a customer. I am NOT paying you three darn times for shipping! I'm going somewhere else to get the same darn product ( at MAYBE) even a higher price, but overall- they didnt charge me three shipping fees and my cart turned out to be WAY less at store number 2 than it did at yours.

      Think like the customer. Im not paying you 29.99 on three different products, then looking below that and seeing that my shipping works out to 40.00! No thanks.
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      • Profile picture of the author Julia Russo
        Just a quick side note on multiple shipping---most carts can be configured to shipping quotes for multiple items purchased, such as $x for the first and $2 additional the second and none for any above 2 items (just an example)

        Recently we implemented flat rate shipping on a long established site. Since the prices did not change significantly, we averaged the shipping costs we had over the year and came up with a middle rate for the entire country. (Some folks in California should be tired of seeing high postage from Atlanta) It is too soon to tell if this makes a difference but we will follow up with emails to those who purchase to ask if the shipping made a difference in their decision to buy. If all else fails--ASK!
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  • Profile picture of the author javarog
    Not as simple as that,, been at this since 1992,, I am under MAP pricing and most of my manufacturers consider free shipping as a discount on their MAP and is not allowed under a advertized price, now if they give me a call its an entirely different story or if they use my make a offer feature on my cart. Now most of my items start at 37 pounds and go up to 1500 pounds which of course means freight.

    The major problem is logistics and carrier rates.

    If I were selling trinkets then I would include shipping and certainly anyone that ships anything that can fit in a flat rate box should include shipping..
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  • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
    MAP pricing or not, it's still the TOTAL price an item is selling for.

    Not only that, but your opportunity cost of abandoned carts is costing you more in unsold items then a 'what-you-see-is-what-you-pay' price.

    Test it.

    I've had a LOT more success with this, and my conversion rates are through the roof. The incentive of free shipping is a lot more alluring.

    Again. 90 dollars and free shipping is the SAME THING as 100 dollars and FREE Shipping -- and you still haven't violated a MAP price.
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  • Profile picture of the author javarog
    You don't seem to understand,, let me put this in another way,, if you include free shipping then the manufacturers wont sell to you regardless of how you generalize it. It is in their contract.

    Another thing that maybe will clarify is that we are not talking about shipping 1 to 5 lb items either so to generalize free shipping could cost you dearly which in that case it wouldn't matter what your conversion rates are.
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    • Profile picture of the author Auctiondebteliminator
      I've worked with a lot of manufacturers as well. In fact, I've been a manufacturer before. MAP is just a minimum price. Not a set price. And there is no way I'd not allow for competition among my retailers.

      MAP = Minimum Advertised Pricing Policy

      So any play with it is fine.... But if your contract stipulates otherwise, I'd get it checked out.. Their definitions are off.



      Originally Posted by javarog View Post

      You don't seem to understand,, let me put this in another way,, if you include free shipping then the manufacturers wont sell to you regardless of how you generalize it. It is in their contract.

      Another thing that maybe will clarify is that we are not talking about shipping 1 to 5 lb items either so to generalize free shipping could cost you dearly which in that case it wouldn't matter what your conversion rates are.
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  • Profile picture of the author javarog
    MAP is the price everyone is at with these products so there isn't a market variable. It is really a touchy situation and believe me if Icould do what you are saying and I have tried and got caught I certainly would.

    Now I have other small items that are not MAP and include shipping in the price and they do very well it is just the machinery that is subject and of course when you net $150.00 to $3k an item you really have to sell alot of smaller items to make the difference.

    Again on the machinery its logistics..
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  • Profile picture of the author javarog
    I hear what you are saying , however these are multi billion dollar companies that I deal with and most of their requirements are the same from manufacture to manufacturer and believe me I have had my attorney read the contracts before I sign them and they are pretty tight,,this certainly isn't my first rodeo and I am guessing it won't be my last.

    I have to say though I appreciate your input and I hope others can learn from this thread.
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  • Profile picture of the author rajeevsh
    They used to be — and even today are — substantially high for me. That's one thing I've always been working on: I've been running A/B tests for what seems like eternity, reduced the number of steps it took from getting to a product to paying for it (it's just one page now) and while the number has come down for me, it's still pretty high — around 60%.

    The sources of traffic obviously have an impact on your abandonment rates, too, yet even with very warm traffic, I get to see around 55-75% abandonment rates fairly regularly.
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    • Profile picture of the author ryshark
      Originally Posted by rajeevsh View Post

      They used to be -- and even today are -- substantially high for me. That's one thing I've always been working on: I've been running A/B tests for what seems like eternity, reduced the number of steps it took from getting to a product to paying for it (it's just one page now) and while the number has come down for me, it's still pretty high -- around 60%.

      The sources of traffic obviously have an impact on your abandonment rates, too, yet even with very warm traffic, I get to see around 55-75% abandonment rates fairly regularly.
      Mine have been pretty high lately as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author pavv
    Yep abandoned carts do happen its just a reality of ecommerce - heck I find myself doing it unintentionally online too. Consumers are funny.

    Anyway here is a thread I started a few weeks back about increasing conversion rates on abandoned carts - you might find it useful.
    http://www.warriorforum.com/building...ing-carts.html

    Also regarding the free shipping/paid shipping discussion going on here....I have another angle on this. You can try offering different levels of shipping like this:
    Free shipping (default): 10-15 days
    Standard shipping $x.xx : 5-10 days -- (perhaps your normal shipping method?)
    Expedited shipping $x.xx : 2-5 days

    In many cases people want their product faster and will pay for the faster shipping. Keep in mind you could probably use the same shipping service for the free and standard shipping aslong as it meets the standard timeframe - who knows it might increase conversion rates.

    You can also experiment with price by making one option more valuable compared to others like what supermarkets do. Ever been at the supermarket and purchased a bigger bottle of soft drink (soda) because the value was better? Even though you probably didn't need the extra drink they still got more money out of you.

    Example 1 - You want people to buy express:
    Free shipping
    Standard $13
    Express $15

    Example 2 - You want people to buy standard
    Free shipping
    Standard $13
    Express $29

    Corbett Barr has a great article about price anchoring too
    Are You Making the Most Common Pricing Mistake?
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  • Profile picture of the author ryshark
    Pavv- I read the article and your thread. Both great info, thank you.
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  • Profile picture of the author alanmoore78
    Sites that track pricing also cause abandoned carts. I can tell you one of my freelancing/data entry jobs at the moment basically requires me to add a bunch of appliances and electronics to cart at some certain stores just to verify the final price is current for a little bookmarklet app that tracks the pricing and emails the customer when it drops in price. I am one of twenty people who check the items daily (we all check different stuff each day, but it's all the same stuff give or take)

    Trust me, a couple abandoned carts here and there are part of business. Sometimes it's not a person doing it, but someone like me or a piece of software who is merely acquiring data.
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  • Profile picture of the author James Curtis
    I am in the begining of my first online shop and due to that I don't have any abandoned carts and also any "unabandoned" I am going to enter this discussion at the point of price setting for the products that I will sell soon.

    So... I was thinking about this a little, to include the shipping cost in the final price for the product at default, to give the buyer few choices of shipping at different prices or to set a flat shipping cost for all products. (in my store I will not have any products that will weight more than half a kilo and a flat price will work well).

    In my thoughts about this I came to the conclusion that it is the best for me and for the success of my future store to give my clients a choice. When you give a person a choice, it is up to you to make them choose what you want them to choose. @pavv - your example is exactly what I'm talking about

    Ofcourse in every other occasion different than mine the things may work other way...
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