Lack of payment options cause 9 in 10 shoppers to abandon online purchases
Nine in ten shoppers admit they have abandoned an online purchase in the last six months due to a lack of payment options, data reveals.
In a survey of 1,000 Brits by payments provider Mollie – which asked participants about their shopping habits and experiences – it was revealed that the most popular payment methods are debit/credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay and Klarna.
Of those that chose PayPal as one of their preferred payment methods, 38% said they would abandon their cart should this option not be available at the checkout. The same could be said for one in ten Apple Pay shoppers.
In the last six months alone, 93% of people have neglected up to ten shopping baskets because their preferred payment method was not accepted.
Josh Guthrie, UK country manager at Mollie, commented: “It is essential, in the age of accelerated online growth, that businesses meet their customers where they are, by providing them with a fully omnichannel experience and a variety of payment methods to suit them.
“Not everyone wants to pay via debit or credit card, or even PayPal, and when your business is international it’s even more important to take into account the preferred payment methods of each region.
“This study highlights just how much companies may be losing out on by offering limited options; the more personalised and adaptable businesses can be, the more likely they are to build brand loyalty among customers”.
Other common reasons for cart abandonment include:
Shipping costs and options – i.e. expensive or long delivery times (55%)
The customer changed their mind (32%)
The customer wanted to compare prices elsewhere first (29%)
Technical issues with the site (17%)
Over a period of a year, the figures reveal that the average UK shopper will abandon six baskets, containing £68 worth of products per basket – giving a grand total of £20.6bn of goods that never make it through the checkout process.
The survey data also highlights how discovering a product on social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest) is most likely to result in a neglected shopping basket, as opposed to baskets that have been put together as a result of direct search, or Google search.
