Online shopping dominates American spending; from groceries and household essentials to clothing, accessories, and even cars, you can find (and purchase) everything online. With this ease, however, comes the opportunity to abandon an online shopping cart, either through disinterest or distraction.
As eCommerce competition gets tighter every year, we wanted to dive deep into abandoned carts: why do Americans leave their carts, and what can bring them back? Are they treating their carts like a wishlist, or something more urgent?
- Navigate This Article:
Over Half of Consumers Enjoy Fantasy “Window” Shopping Online
When is a cart not a cart? For 57% of consumers surveyed, it’s when it’s used as a wishlist. That’s right, nearly 3 in 5 use their online shopping carts as wishlists, rather than compiling actual wishlists.
Another regular use of shopping carts is wish fulfillment. More than half (51%) fantasy shop online or fill a shopping cart with items they never intend on actually purchasing.
The digital age’s answer to window shopping in person, fantasy shopping, is most popular because it creates a wishlist (69%), feels good for the consumer (63%), helps pass time (54%), functions as retail therapy without the cost (44%), and sparks creativity (40%).
Fantasy shopping is so popular that over half of fantasy shoppers do so at least 3 times per month. Not only that, but 77% of respondents said they prefer fantasy shopping to conventional window shopping or browsing stores in person.
Over half of fantasy shoppers do so on luxury websites beyond their means. This escapism follows through in that 47% of those polled shop the same even though the cost of living has increased. Some have also made fantasy a reality, with 19% having accidentally purchased an item they meant to only fantasy shop.
Do Abandoned Cart Emails Work?
Nearly 2 in 3 Americans surveyed said they abandon their carts at least twice per month, but why is this happening?
According to those surveyed, carts are abandoned primarily because their final price is too high for consumers.
Other top reasons include:
- Shipping costs
- Intending to purchase later
- A sale or promo code not applying at checkout
- The user becoming distracted
- Treating a cart like a wishlist
One in 10 feel guilty when they abandon carts.
One way some retailers try to combat abandoned carts is by emailing users who leave their carts behind. With the goal of completing checkout, about 65% of consumers said they receive abandoned cart emails.
Only 42% of those who receive cart emails open them, and while over 1 in 10 feel guilty, 45% also find them to be invasive. Only about 28% of those surveyed think that abandoned cart emails are effective.
Over Half of Americans Enjoy Online Retail Therapy
So if Americans love to abandon their carts (91% said they’ve done so) and use them as anything other than a place to aggregate purchases, what does it take to make a sale?
Roughly 1 in 4 surveyed said they feel they shop online too much, and a similar amount have incurred debt due to online shopping. Another two-thirds said that some sites make it too easy to make purchases online. In fact, more than 1 in 6 make online purchases over 10 times monthly.
What do users prioritize in their online shopping experience? Most (67%) want a user-friendly website, followed by easy cart navigation (66%), user-friendly checkout (65%), payment availability (51%), and quality customer service (48%). Sales help, too, with half of consumers reporting they wait until a sale to actually check out their shopping carts.
Is retail therapy still popular in 2024? 52% said that online shopping has a therapeutic effect, and 39% said they feel good when they fill their carts — even if they don’t actually check out! This might explain why 69% take multiple sessions to compile their carts.
As the holiday season ramps up, online shopping will take over, too. No matter how you fill your cart or whether you’re fantasy shopping, we wish you a speedy purchase process and a distinct lack of porch pirates as your items arrive.
“Moving shopping to the digital world has made it easier than ever to compare products and save them for later. I personally use my cart to compare similar products before making a final decision,” said HostingAdvice consumer technology expert Christian de Looper.
“Because many customers purposefully abandon their carts or use their carts as a kind of comparison or fantasy shopping tool, it makes sense that abandoned cart emails aren’t really all that useful.”
Methodology
In September 2024, we surveyed 901 Americans on their online shopping habits. Ages ranged from 18 to 75, with an average age of 40. 50% were men, 49% were women, and 1% were non-binary or chose not to disclose.
For media inquiries, please reach out to media@hostingadvice.com.
