What is the single most common question asked by online shoppers before they actually make a purchase? The answer is, ‘What are my shipping costs?’
So why do some retailers find necessary to bury delivery costs until the last cart screen? Unacceptable shipping cost is the #1 factor in shopping cart abandonment, to the extent that it has become known as shipping cost sticker-shock.
Earlier this year eDigitailResearch conducted a study on why shoppers abandon at the checkout with the following findings:
77% have abandoned their basket in the past year
53% cited delivery costs being too high as the main reason
26% placed an item in their basket just ‘to check delivery costs’
The results underline the fact that delivery charges are an extremely important part of the overall customer experience, and publishers should ensure that as quickly as possible in the shopping cart process, customers have all of the key facts, especially delivery costs and options.
Chris Lake from eConsultancy says, “Delivery options and costs shouldn’t be an unhappy surprise.” He also points out that many retailers do not understand that by not displaying all costs up front they are lowering their conversion rates, and that any attempt at website redesign will be a waste of time and money if it doesn’t address the real problem Read his entire article here