Checkout abandonment reaches record low
A new study has found that checkout abandonment rates for UK online retail sites fell to a record low of 26% in the first quarter of 2015.
According to the latest results from the IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking study, there has been a consistent improvement during the last two years. In 2013 the average checkout abandonment rate was 35%, but this fell to 30% in 2014.
Tina Spooner, chief information officer at IMRG, said: “Reducing abandonment at the checkout is a clear focus for online retailers and, despite the fact it has come down significantly, just over a quarter of online shoppers still do not complete their purchase after reaching the checkout page. There are any number of reasons why shoppers might abandon at that point – particularly in relation to trust, convenience or delivery options – and the investment made in improving these areas appears to be paying off.”
The results also reveal that sales through mobile devices accounted for 42% of total UK online retail sales in the quarter, up from 40% in the previous quarter and 34% in the first quarter of last year.
Some 58% of traffic to online retail sites was found to come via a smartphone or tablet device, up from 53% in the previous quarter and 48% in the same period in 2014.
Alex Smith-Bingham, head of digital, consumer products and retai at, Capgemini, said: “The growth of mobile sales is no doubt a key factor in the drop in the abandonment rate at the point of checkout. Retailers have invested a huge amount in optimising their sites for mobile and developing applications that will make it easier than ever for customers to make purchases on the go, at the click of a button.”
