PayPal found 45% online shoppers abandoned their carts

PayPal unveiled a new survey, conducted by comScore among 553 Americans between May 12-15, 2009, that found 45% of online shoppers have abandoned their carts multiple times in the past three weeks, due to high shipping costs, security concerns and lack of convenience. The average cost of abandoned goods in US shopping carts reached the amount of $109.

The main reason for cart abandonment, according to the research, appeared to be high shipping costs. The survey found that providing shipping costs upfront might have caused 40% complete the purchase.

PayPal presented its new Instant Update API, Express Checkout feature, in a move to encourage shelf impact. The new API is to let vendors can show order details earlier in the process including shipping options, insurance choices and tax totals. 

The survey also showed over 30% of respondents abandoned checkout because they didn’t plan for all of the expenses; while more than 25% left the site to search for a coupon. Nevertheless, around 30% of shoppers later returned to the same site. An additional 20% purchased the items at a brick and mortar store or competitor’s Web site. 

At least a fifth of all U.S. survey respondents cited the following as very important reasons for cart abandonment: 

• High shipping charges: 46% 

• Wanted to comparison shop: 37% 

• Lack of money: 36%

• Wanted to look for a coupon: 27%

• Wanted to shop offline: 26% 

• Couldn’t find preferred pay option: 24% 

• Item was unavailable at checkout: 23% 

• Couldn’t find customer support: 22% 

• Concerned about security of credit card data: 21%.