Cart-Abandoning Customers: 3 Critical Mistakes That End E-Commerce Sales

Cart abandonment rates are a critical problem in the e-commerce industry. Research shows that on an average e-commerce site, about 70% of customers reach the payment stage but still do not complete their purchase. So why do so many customers decide not to finalize their shopping at the last moment?

You invest in driving traffic to your site to grow your e-commerce business, organize great campaigns, and your customers show interest in your products. They add items to their cart… but when it’s time to pay, they suddenly disappear! This is the frustrating problem known in the e-commerce world as “cart abandonment”, and it’s something every business owner wants to solve.

So, why do customers give up right when they’re about to buy? Is it about price? User experience? Lack of trust? Considering that cart abandonment rates are incredibly high at around 70%, understanding the answers to these questions correctly is of critical importance.

In this article, we’ll take a detailed look at the 3 most critical mistakes that cause customers to abandon their carts on e-commerce sites and how you can fix them. If you want to increase your sales conversion rate, read this article carefully!

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1. A Confusing or Multi-Step Checkout Process

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Let’s say your customer, after a long research process, decides to buy a product from you. They add it to the cart, go to the payment page, and… now they see a long form, lots of unnecessary information fields, and multiple verification steps. At this point, your customer’s patience starts to wear thin.

Having a checkout process that is unnecessarily long and complicated is one of the most common reasons customers abandon their purchases before completion. Users want to finish their purchases quickly and easily. However, if they have to deal with too many steps, unnecessary form fields, and repeated information during payment, they often give up on the purchase.

If a customer has to fill in their information across five different pages or go through three different verification screens for their credit card, this process can be seriously tiring.

If your checkout process is complicated and requires too much information, it’s not surprising that the customer doesn’t complete the purchase. Nobody wants to spend minutes filling out a payment form!

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Why Is It Frustrating?

• The customer feels they are wasting time and gets bored.

• Unnecessary form fields increase the chance of making mistakes.

• Long processes can undermine customer confidence.

• If another site offers a faster checkout, the customer will go there.

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Real-Life Example

Amazon’s “1-Click Checkout” feature is a great example showing how important the checkout process is. Amazon saves payment information in advance and allows one-click shopping. This way, payment can be completed without filling out complicated forms or spending minutes on the process. By simplifying the checkout process so much, Amazon significantly reduced its cart abandonment rates.

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Solution Suggestions

1. Reduce the Number of Steps

Analyze how many steps there are in your checkout process. Eliminate unnecessary redirects and adopt a one-page checkout model. This way, users won’t waste time moving between pages.

2. Remove Mandatory Membership

Some customers may only shop once and might not want to become a member. Mandatory membership can cause many customers to abandon their purchase. Offer a guest checkout option to solve this issue.

3. Use Auto-Fill Features

Allow automatic completion of data like address, phone number, and credit card information. Take advantage of auto-fill support from Google and browsers to minimize manual data entry.

4. Provide a Variety of Payment Methods

Some customers prefer PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or cash on delivery instead of a credit card. Offering more payment options will help customers feel comfortable.

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2. Hidden Fees or Unclear Price Information

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You’ve probably experienced this as a customer: You add a product to your cart, proceed to the payment page, and suddenly encounter extra costs like shipping fees, taxes, or service charges. Isn’t it annoying to find out you have to pay more than you initially thought?

This is one of the most common problems causing customers to abandon their purchases. People generally set a budget when they decide to buy something and they want to know the total cost from the start.

However, on many e-commerce sites, extra tax, shipping, or service fees are added at the last stage. This makes the customer feel tricked and leads them to leave the site without completing their purchase, pushing them toward alternative sites.

Especially not clearly stating shipping costs in the cart is one of the most common mistakes. If the user doesn’t know how much shipping will cost until they reach the payment page, they may give up upon encountering an unexpected fee.

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Why Is It Frustrating?

• The customer feels a lack of trust because of fees they weren’t told about.

• An increase in the total cost directly affects the purchase decision.

• If competitor sites are more transparent about pricing, the customer will go there.

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Solution Suggestions

1. Clearly State Pricing from the Start

Openly show estimated shipping and tax costs alongside the items in the cart.

2. Offer Free Shipping Campaigns

Provide a free shipping option for purchases over a certain amount to increase customer satisfaction.

3. Adopt a “No Surprises at Checkout” Policy

Make it clear to users that they will face no hidden fees during the payment process.

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3. Lack of Trust and Poor Communication

Customers, especially when they reach the payment page, have to share personal and financial information. But if your site doesn’t have enough elements that inspire trust, it’s completely normal for them to instinctively avoid completing the purchase.

If SSL certificates, security badges (Visa, Mastercard, 3D Secure), user reviews, and customer support options are missing on the payment screen, the customer will start wondering, “Is my information safe?”

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Why Is It Frustrating?

• Users want to feel safe when entering their credit card information.

• A site that doesn’t inspire trust can give the impression of fraud.

• Lack of live support or customer service can prevent customers from finding answers to their questions.

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Real-Life Example

E-commerce giant eBay uses a security badge system to ensure customer safety. Users can see sellers’ past sales, customer reviews, and security badges, allowing them to make more informed decisions. This helps customers feel more comfortable completing their purchases.

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Solution Suggestions

1. Show SSL Certificates and Security Badges

Customers should be able to see trusted payment methods and certificates like Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and 3D Secure.

2. Add Live Support

Provide live support or a quick-response customer service channel during the payment process to boost customer confidence.

3. Display User Reviews

Real customer reviews are an important source of trust for new customers.

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Increase Your Conversions!

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Customers leaving their carts can be a big problem for e-commerce sites. But by fixing the 3 frustrating issues mentioned above, you can significantly reduce this rate.

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Easy improvements you can apply quickly:

1. Simplify your checkout process.

2. Make all pricing transparent.

3. Strengthen your trust indicators.

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You can run a test today to see how user-friendly your checkout process really is, and gather customer feedback to fix any problem areas. Small changes can lead to big conversions!