New research has revealed that British businesses are potentially losing up to £656 million in missed revenue at the last mile. But what are the key reasons and what can be done to prevent cart abandonment at checkout?
The research from open banking platform, Yapily, polled 2,000 adults in the UK, and found that 52% of those surveyed have ditched at least one online purchase in the last 12 months due to a poor experience at the online checkout. This figure soared among younger generations to 70% of those aged 16 to 24 and 64% of 25 to 34-year-olds.
What are the top reasons for cart abandonment at checkout?
Yapily, has revealed that the need to manually input card details (25%), merchants not accepting their preferred payment method (19%), and payments being blocked due to suspected fraud (15%) were among the most popular reasons for consumers abandoning their online purchases.
Abandoned sales were mostly priced between £21 and £60 (69%) and £61 and £100 (25%), with the average value of a discarded shopping basket sitting at £30.
The need for a consumer-friendly experience
The research has also revealed that payment headaches don’t stop at the online checkout. Overall, 77% of Brits are frustrated when it comes to making and receiving digital payments. Over a third (36%) said refunds taking a long time to appear in their accounts frustrated them the most, whilst 20% said their main grievance was not knowing what dates payments will leave their account.
How to reduce cart abandonment at checkout
Ease of checkout experience and payment flexibility play a key role in preventing cart abandonment at checkout.
Here are 6 ways to reduce cart abandonment at checkout:
- Streamline the checkout process wherever possible
- Find solutions to shoppers having to manually input card details
- Make sure you are able to accept the most common payment methods
- Have great online payment security for peace of mind
- Make everything as simple as possible
- Keep shoppers engaged throughout the checkout process
In fact, the research from Yapily shows that 41% of Brits want to see businesses offer more convenient and easier payment methods at checkout, with over one-third (34%) stating they would use a Pay by Bank app, product or service. Powered by open banking, Pay by Bank enables consumers to instantly send and receive money directly from their bank account when making an online purchase. Businesses also benefit from using open banking payments, cutting out costly interchange fees, reducing fraud risk, and boosting conversion rates.
Founder and CEO of Yapily, Stefano Vaccino, said: “In times like these, payments are becoming a more critical and strategic focus for every business. New payment innovations like open banking are enabling businesses to realise this, transforming payments from a cost-reduction exercise into a way to increase performance and grow revenue. To stop poor payer experiences eating into their profits, businesses and payment service providers should listen to what consumers and merchants are asking for – a faster, cheaper, and more secure way to pay.”
Holly brings a wealth of experience in both print and digital publishing. As Modern Retail’s Content Editor, Holly is passionate about helping independent retailers to thrive in today’s ever-changing market.
