7 in 10 Online Shoppers Leave Without Buying. Here Is How to Keep Yours

Someone found your product, liked it, and added it to the cart. Then they left. It's one of the most frustrating things in online selling, and it happens far more than most owners realize.

Some of that is unavoidable. Lots of people use a cart like a wish list, and Baymard Institute found that 42% of US online shoppers had abandoned a cart simply because they were just browsing.

But the rest of the reasons are a different story. They're problems with the checkout itself, and most of them are fixable.

Why shoppers leave at checkout

Read that list as a to-do list. Almost every item on it is a decision you control.

Fix 1: No surprise costs

The biggest reason, by far, is extra costs that show up late: shipping, tax and fees. Nobody likes being surprised at the register.

• Say your shipping price early. Put it in your announcement bar or on every product page: "Flat $6 shipping. Free over $50."
• Use a free shipping threshold. It turns a reason to leave into a reason to add one more item.
• Offer local pickup if you have a shop or studio. For nearby customers, it removes the shipping cost completely.
• Show the full total in the cart, before they type a single detail.

Fix 2: Don't make them create an account

Asking a first-time buyer to make a username and password is like asking someone to fill out a membership form before they can buy a candle. Let people check out with just their name, email and address.

Fix 3: Make checkout short

Every extra field is another chance to give up. A small shop needs very little: name, email, phone, address if it's shipping, and how they'd like to pay. That's it. Cut everything else.

Fix 4: Look trustworthy

About one in five shoppers who left said they didn't trust the site with their card. A small shop can't buy a famous name, but it can look real and careful:

• Your own domain name, rather than a long, odd web address
• Real photos of your products and, ideally, of you
• An About section with your story and where you're based
• A clear returns policy and a way to contact you
• Well-known payment options, like card and PayPal

Fix 5: Let them pay the way they want

Not enough payment methods sent nearly one in ten shoppers away. For a small or local shop, this is easy to fix. Alongside cards and PayPal, many customers are happy to use Venmo, Cash App or Zelle, or simply pay when they pick up.

Fix 6: Be clear about returns and delivery

Slow delivery and unclear returns both made the list. You don't have to promise next-day shipping. You just have to be honest and specific: "Orders ship within two business days" and "Returns accepted within 30 days." Uncertainty is what drives people away.

Your job for this week

1. Add your shipping price, or your free shipping amount, to the top of your store.
2. Check out on your own store from your phone, and remove any step you don't truly need.
3. Turn on at least one extra way to pay.
4. Write a one-line returns policy and a one-line shipping time, and put both where people can see them.