Xin Ou
Research expert covering Greater China
E-commerce checkout behavior - statistics & facts
Whether shoppers choose to buy on major e-commerce platforms or visit retailers’ websites directly, many obstacles can stand in the way of a completed purchase or transaction. Frustrating website layouts, long delivery delays, or a lack of a preferred payment options are some problems that online shoppers can face when deciding to buy a product online. These and many more issues during the checkout process can profoundly influence e-commerce conversion rates and cause online stores to lose a significant share of the growing e-commerce market.
To prevent losing sales at the last minute, online stores need to make the checkout process as convenient as possible for online shoppers. Particularly, the delivery options that e-commerce sites give to their customers have the power to make or break the online sale.
Abandonment vs. conversion
In the age of online shopping, retaining consumers' attention and interest is one of the main challenges e-retailers face. And while many visitors are just browsing with no particular intention to buy anything, a large share of conversion loss is attributable to online shopping cart abandonment. Globally, almost eight in ten digital shopping carts were abandoned before the transaction can come to a close. The abandonment rate is also typically steeper for industries like luxury or home and furniture compared to others such as food and beverages. Likewise, online conversion rates are generally higher in segments related to fast-moving consumer goods, as opposed to big-ticket purchases involving large items like furniture.Delivery, the last big obstacle
A good delivery option could be the difference for many online shoppers between completing a purchase or abandon the shopping cart. When talking about what a good delivery service requires, there are two main aspects that stand out over the rest: price and speed. An expensive delivery fee ranked as the main reason for car abandonment when shopping online in 2024. In addition, 20 percent of online shoppers also considered slow delivery a reason not to complete the purchase. Expectations on delivery times also vary from category to category. For goods such as groceries or health and pharmaceutical products, more than 40 percent of online shoppers expected to receive them in less than two hours. On the other hand, only less than a quarter of shoppers expected to receive luxury goods within that time.To prevent losing sales at the last minute, online stores need to make the checkout process as convenient as possible for online shoppers. Particularly, the delivery options that e-commerce sites give to their customers have the power to make or break the online sale.
