How to Calculate Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate in BigCommerce

7 minute read

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If you run an ecommerce store on BigCommerce, understanding your shopping cart abandonment rate is essential to optimizing your online sales strategy. In this article, we'll explain what shopping cart abandonment rate is, why it's important, and how to calculate it using Google Analytics. We'll also explore strategies you can use to reduce cart abandonment and improve your online sales.

Understanding Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate

What is Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate?

Shopping cart abandonment rate is the percentage of shoppers who add items to their online shopping carts but do not complete the checkout process. Essentially, they abandon their carts before completing the purchase.

This phenomenon is not uncommon in the ecommerce industry. In fact, according to Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate is a staggering 69.57%. This means that for every 100 shoppers who add items to their cart, only 30 will actually complete the purchase.

There are many reasons why shoppers abandon their carts. Some common reasons include unexpected shipping costs, a complicated checkout process, security concerns, or simply getting distracted and forgetting about the items in their cart.

Why is it Important for Your BigCommerce Store?

Shopping cart abandonment is a common problem for ecommerce stores, and it can have a significant impact on your bottom line. By knowing your abandonment rate, you can identify areas where your checkout process can be improved and take action to reduce cart abandonment, ultimately increasing your sales and revenue.

One way to reduce cart abandonment is to simplify the checkout process. By minimizing the number of steps required to complete a purchase, you can make it easier for shoppers to complete their transactions. Additionally, offering free shipping or clearly displaying shipping costs upfront can help reduce unexpected surprises at checkout.

Another way to reduce cart abandonment is to build trust with your customers. Displaying trust badges, such as SSL certificates or security logos, can help reassure shoppers that their personal and financial information is safe and secure. Additionally, offering a clear and easy-to-understand return policy can help build trust and confidence with your customers.

Ultimately, understanding and reducing your shopping cart abandonment rate is crucial for the success of your BigCommerce store. By taking steps to improve your checkout process and build trust with your customers, you can increase your sales and revenue while providing a better shopping experience for your customers.

Setting Up Google Analytics for BigCommerce

Google Analytics is an essential tool for any online store owner who wants to track their website's performance and make informed decisions about their business. By setting up Google Analytics for your BigCommerce store, you can gain valuable insights into how your customers interact with your website, including their shopping cart abandonment rate. Here's how to get started:

Creating a Google Analytics Account

If you don't already have a Google Analytics account, the first step is to create one. Simply visit the Google Analytics website and follow the instructions to sign up. Once you have your account set up, you'll need to link your website to your Google Analytics account. This will allow you to start tracking your website's performance.

When setting up your Google Analytics account, it's important to choose the right settings for your business. You'll want to select the appropriate industry category and website type, as well as set up any goals or filters that are relevant to your business. This will ensure that you're tracking the right metrics and getting the most out of your analytics data.

Integrating Google Analytics with BigCommerce

Once you have your Google Analytics account set up, it's time to integrate it with your BigCommerce store. This will allow you to track important metrics, such as your shopping cart abandonment rate. To do this, simply navigate to the "Google Analytics" section in your BigCommerce admin panel and follow the on-screen instructions.

When integrating Google Analytics with BigCommerce, it's important to make sure that you're using the correct tracking code and that it's installed correctly on your website. You'll also want to set up any custom dimensions or metrics that are relevant to your business, such as tracking customer behavior across different devices or tracking sales by product category.

Configuring Ecommerce Tracking in Google Analytics

Finally, to enable ecommerce tracking in Google Analytics, you'll need to go to the "Admin" section of your Google Analytics account and navigate to "Ecommerce Settings." From there, you can enable ecommerce tracking and follow the prompts to set it up for your BigCommerce store.

Ecommerce tracking is essential for any online store owner who wants to track their sales and revenue. With ecommerce tracking enabled, you can track important metrics such as your conversion rate, average order value, and shopping cart abandonment rate. This data can help you make informed decisions about your business, such as which products to promote or which marketing channels to focus on.

Overall, setting up Google Analytics for your BigCommerce store is a crucial step in improving your website's performance and growing your business. By tracking important metrics such as your shopping cart abandonment rate, you can identify areas for improvement and make data-driven decisions that will help you succeed.

Calculating Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate

Identifying Key Metrics

To calculate your shopping cart abandonment rate, you need to identify two key metrics: the number of shoppers who add items to their cart and the number of shoppers who complete the checkout process. You can find this data in your Google Analytics account.

Using Google Analytics to Calculate Abandonment Rate

Once you have the necessary data, calculating your shopping cart abandonment rate is straightforward. Simply divide the number of shoppers who abandon their carts by the total number of shoppers who added items to their carts. For example, if 100 shoppers added items to their carts and 25 abandoned them, your abandonment rate would be 25%.

Interpreting the Results

Once you have calculated your shopping cart abandonment rate, you can begin to analyze the results and identify areas for improvement. For example, if your abandonment rate is high, you may want to focus on streamlining your checkout process, improving your payment options, or offering clearer shipping and return policies.

Strategies to Reduce Shopping Cart Abandonment

Streamlining the Checkout Process

One of the most effective ways to reduce shopping cart abandonment is to streamline the checkout process. Make sure your checkout page is easy to navigate, reduce the number of form fields shoppers need to fill out, and offer a guest checkout option.

Offering Multiple Payment Options

Offering multiple payment options can also reduce shopping cart abandonment. Make sure you provide a variety of payment options, including credit cards, PayPal, and Apple Pay, to cater to different shopper preferences.

Providing Clear Shipping and Return Policies

Clear shipping and return policies can also reduce shopping cart abandonment. Make sure your policies are easy to find and understand, and consider offering free shipping or returns to incentivize shoppers to complete their purchase.

Implementing Exit-Intent Popups and Retargeting Campaigns

Finally, exit-intent popups and retargeting campaigns can be effective in reducing shopping cart abandonment. Exit-intent popups can encourage shoppers to complete their purchase before leaving your site, while retargeting campaigns can remind shoppers about items in their cart and encourage them to return to your site and complete their purchase.

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding and reducing shopping cart abandonment rate is critical to the success of your BigCommerce store. By setting up Google Analytics, calculating your abandonment rate, and implementing strategies to reduce cart abandonment, you can improve your sales and revenue and grow your online business.

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