87% online shoppers abandon their basket

Research conducted by Amaze, in conjunction with the University of Glasgow revealed that almost nine out of ten shoppers abandon their shopping basket while 75% of customers claimed they would return at a later date to complete the purchase, effectively using the basket as a wish list.

The research looks into the psychology of online shoppers and provide insights into why customers continue to abandon their shopping basket despite improvements in ecommerce site usability and introduction of behavioural targeting technology. It was found that the pleasure of browsing without the pain of buying is a real phenomenon that online retailers have to take into consideration when developing the e-commerce side of websites.

The report identifies the personalities of three types of online shopper - vague, cost conscious and window shoppers.

42% of shoppers were labelled as 'vague' because they seek more information from other people before completing the purchase and stated that they 'wanted to think about it' or 'consult with someone first'. Cost conscious shoppers accounted for 42% of customers and often cited 'high postage' costs or 'found the item cheaper elsewhere' as reasons why they didn't complete the sale.

The research found 16% of people surveyed could be labelled as window shoppers with no intention to purchase and claims that these customers should be discounted from online retailers' abandonment rates.