Sunday, May 01, 2005

Abandoned Products Pages

Why do people abandon ecommerce sites?

That's one of the questions posed in a thread a Cre8asite Forums in the "Measuring Your Success" forum, where I'm an administrator.

The thread, Scary Exit Rates! starts to address those issues. Here's part of a post I made over there:

When someone walks into a grocery store, chances are good that most of the times they will walk out after having purchased something. The same is true with a convenience store.

Conversion rates for online stores tend to be lower, because of a number of factors:


  • It's much easier to go somewhere else.

  • You can bookmark the page, and look elsewhere to make comparisons.

  • You can gather information about a product and buy offline.

  • You need more information before you purchase.

  • The site doesn't show a privacy policy, shipping policy, or feel secure.

  • The design of the site puts you off.

  • You have a hard time comparing similar products on the site.

  • The ordering process is confusing.

  • The site just isn't persuasive or engaging.

  • The pictures displayed aren't showing the product off well, or from enough angles.

  • The right information isn't on the right part of the page.

  • It's difficult to find the products you want because the site search doesn't work well.

  • It's difficult to find what you want because the site navigation doesn't instill confidence in you that you will find exactly what you want.

  • You may prefer to call and place an order.

  • You could be making comparisons between different options for your money, considering different possible ways to spend it, and are just window shopping.

  • Many other reasons.


Why would you leave an online store before finishing a purchase? For more of the discussion, or to participate, visit the forums.

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