The document discusses four main reasons why customers abandon shopping carts and how to address them: 1. Unwarranted confusion - Clarity must be provided at each step to orient customers on where they are and what they can do. 2. Unexpressed value - Value must be continuously expressed at each step to maintain customer motivation through checkout. 3. Unaddressed anxiety - Anticipated concerns must be preemptively addressed near where they arise to reduce disproportionate impact. 4. Undirected choices - Options should be simplified and directed towards a single clear path, rather than multiple equal choices that overcomplicate checkout. Addressing these four reasons through testing and optimization can significantly reduce

1. Reducing Cart Abandonment:
4 Main reasons why customers leave your shopping cart and
how a few tweaks can stop the leak
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3. Who’s With Us

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TODAY’S PRESENTER
Dr. Flint McGlaughlin – Managing Director, MECLABS
Flint McGlaughlin is the Managing Director of MECLABS Group. The
organization has partnered with key market leaders including The
New York Times, Microsoft Corporation, and Reuters Group.
Dr. McGlaughlin also serves as the Director of Enterprise Research at
the Transforming Business Institute, University of Cambridge (UK), as
the Chairman of the Board of Governors for St. Stephen’s University,
and as a Trustee for Westminster Theological Centre. Dr. McGlaughlin
originally studied Philosophy and Theology at the University of
London’s Specialist Jesuit College.
Today, his primary research is focused on enterprise as transformative
agent. His work has won multiple awards and has been quoted in
more than 13,000 online and offline sources.

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An Experiment

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EXPERIMENT: BACKGROUND
Background: A company offering competitively priced, easily accessible
storage space for residential and commercial customers
Goal: To increase the number of visitors that complete a storage reservation
through the website.
Research Question: Which checkout page will result in the highest
reservation rate?
Test Design: A/B Variable Cluster Split Test
Experiment ID: TP1758
Record Location: MECLABS Research Library
Research Partner: [Protected]
Research Notes:

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EXPERIMENT: VERSION A

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EXPERIMENT: VERSION B

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EXPERIMENT: SIDE BY SIDE
Version A Version B

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EXPERIMENT: RESULTS
Design Conversion Rate
Version A 17.68%
Version B 19.50%
Relative Difference 9.1%
9% Increase in Conversions
The treatment page increased the rate of conversion by 9.1%
 What you need to understand: While it might seem like a small increase,
these simple changes at this specific step in the sales funnel resulted in a
projected $3,000,000+ increase in revenue per year.

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CART OPTIMIZATION
Q. Which of the following pages/processes did your organization work to optimize?
The shopping cart can
be one of the most
strategic aspects of a
conversion process to
optimize…
However, it is ranked
the lowest by
marketers on what
they spend their time
optimizing.

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Key Principles
1. Shopping carts are not just a utility. They are the strategic means by
which you (the marketer) maintain the cognitive momentum generated
in the conversion process.
REDUCING CART ABANDONMENT

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WHAT DO YOU OPTIMIZE FOR IN A SHOPPING CART?
Design?
51,345 PPC
Impressions
137
Completion
11,633
Category Page
3, 476
Product Page
398
Cart Page #1
223
Cart Page #2
Metrics?
-$1,756 -$4,785 -$7,393 -$19,342 -$24,678
Revenue?

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COGNITIVE MOMENTUM
Product Page Cart Page #1 Thank-you PageChannel Category Page Cart Page #2
High
Low
CognitiveMomentum
• The overall objective of a shopping cart is to maintain as much forward
momentum as possible from the “product page” to the “thank you” page.
• Cart abandonment occurs when cognitive momentum is obstructed.
Goal: To obtain a
conversion
commitment
Goal: To engage visitor and lead
them to the most relevant value
Goal: To maintain the cognitive momentum
generated by the product page

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Today, we are going to walk through the 4
main reasons why customers lose momentum
in the checkout process and abandon
TODAY’S FOCUS

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Reason #1
Unwarranted Confusion

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Key Principles
1. Confusion is the chief impediment to conversion. In the shopping cart,
confusion stems from disorientation.
2. For every transition in the conversion process, the visitor experiences a
moment of orientation. In this moment, they are seeking to make sense on
two key levels:
• Where am I?
• What can I do here?
3. The marketer has approximately 7 seconds to answer these questions at
each junction of the shopping cart process.
UNWARRANTED CONFUSION

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EXPERIMENT: BACKGROUND
Experiment ID: (Protected)
Location: MarketingExperiments Research Library
Test Protocol Number: TP1621
Background: The research partner is a one-stop vacation planning solution that
allows users to book vacation rentals, car rentals, and activities.
Goal: To increase final vacation bookings
Primary Research Question: Which page will yield the highest conversion rate
from billing information to confirmation?
Approach: A/B variable cluster split test
Research Notes:

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EXPERIMENT: CONTROL
Control Cart
• The original cart was
broken into two
(unclear) steps
• The horizontal flow
as well as the blue
shading made it
difficult for visitors
to get a sense for the
sequence of the cart.

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EXPERIMENT: TREATMENT
• A simple “step indicator” was
added to clearly indicate
where a visitor is located in
the process
• The treatment also sequenced
the two steps vertically.
Treatment Cart

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EXPERIMENT: SIDE BY SIDE
Control Cart Treatment Cart

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EXPERIMENT: RESULTS
Design Conversion Rate
Control 27.4%
Treatment 37.2%
Relative Difference 36.1%
36% Increase in Total Cart Conversions
The treatment cart generated 36.1% more conversions than the control
 What you need to understand: By clarifying the sequence in the checkout
process, the treatment generated 36.1% more total conversions than the
control.

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NOT THIS, BUT THIS
Not This
9%IN CONVERSIONS
But This

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NOT THIS, BUT THIS
Not This
19%IN CONVERSIONS
But This

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Impediment #2
Unexpressed Value

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EXPERIMENT: BACKGROUND
Background: A newspaper selling subscriptions for home delivery.
Goal: To increase home delivery subscription rate.
Research Question: Which treatment will generate the highest home
delivery subscription rate?
Test Design: A/B variable cluster test
Experiment ID: TP1789
Record Location: MECLABS Research Library
Research Partner: (Protected)
Research Notes:

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• The control was the
original home delivery
checkout page. It was
already doing many
things right.
• However, after
reflection, we
hypothesized that
perhaps some slight
tweaks in the design
could emphasize the
value proposition.
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EXPERIMENT: CONTROL
Control Cart

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EXPERIMENT: TREATMENT
• Adjusted copy and
imagery to emphasize
the value proposition of
the offer.
• Added copy after each
option to emphasize the
savings.
• Call to action is clearer
and implies value.
• Credibility indicators
and satisfaction
guarantees are added.
Treatment Cart

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EXPERIMENT: SIDE-BY-SIDE
Treatment CartControl Cart

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EXPERIMENT: RESULTS
Design Conversion Rate
Control 6.4%
Treatment 12.9%
Relative Difference 101.4%
101% Increase in Total Cart Conversions
The treatment generated 101% more subscriptions than the control
 What you need to understand: By making small tweaks to further
emphasize the offer to the visitor, the treatment generated a 101%
increase in conversion.

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Key Principles
1. Visitor motivations typically peak just prior to the checkout process. At the
same time, the cost (material and mental) experienced by the visitor is usually
the greatest in the shopping cart.
2. One of the main reasons for cart abandonment is that we assume the
motivation generated by the offer page will overcome the resistance in the
checkout process.
3. However, marketers must ensure that value is being expressed continuously
for every step/action you require of the visitor.
UNEXPRESSED VALUE

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NOT THIS, BUT THIS
Not This But This
87%IN CONVERSIONS

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NOT THIS, BUT THIS
Not This But This
10%IN CONVERSIONS

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Impediment #3
Unaddressed Anxiety

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EXPERIMENT: BACKGROUND
Background: A national computer hardware and multimedia retailer with a
significant online and offline presence
Goal: To increase total cart conversions and revenue per cart.
Research Question: Which treatment will generate the highest conversion
rate and revenue per cart?
Test Design: A/B variable cluster test
Experiment ID: TP1070
Record Location: MECLABS Research Library
Research Partner: [Protected]
Research Notes:

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EXPERIMENT: CONTROL
Control Cart
• A closer look at the
control cart page
reveals that all
supporting content is
focused on making an
upsell

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EXPERIMENT: TREATMENT
Treatment Cart
• The treatment, however,
changes focus to reduce
potential anxiety
• Testimonial,
customer support
and live chat in the
supporting column
• Another testimonial
and credibility
indicators below the
call to action area

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EXPERIMENT: SIDE-BY-SIDE
Control Cart Treatment Cart

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EXPERIMENT: RESULTS
Design Revenue/Cart
Control $49.14
Treatment $54.84
Relative Difference 11.6%
11.6% Increase in Revenue Per Conversion
The treatment generated 3.69% more conversions and 11.6% more revenue per cart
 What you need to understand: By addressing anticipated anxiety at critical
point of decision point, the treatment generated 3.69% more sales in
addition to 11.6% more revenue per cart, resulting in a projected
$53,000,000+ annual increase in revenue.

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Key Principles
1. If we think about mitigating anxiety in rational terms, we will likely to fail in
our efforts. Though anxiety often is stimulated by a legitimate concern, its
degree/impact is often disproportionate to the measure of risk.
2. Anxiety is also localized in the checkout process. It is closely associated
with the geography of the page.
3. To properly address anxiety, the marketer must anticipate specific concerns
related to the product, and preemptively address them with geographical
proximity to the core source of concern.
UNADDRESSED ANXIETY

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NOT THIS, BUT THIS
But ThisNot This
12%IN CONVERSIONS

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NOT THIS, BUT THIS
Not This But This
12%IN TOTAL REVENUE

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Impediment #4
Undirected Choices

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EXPERIMENT: BACKGROUND
Background: B2C company offering package vacations to global consumer
audience.
Goal: To increase cart completions
Research Question: Which cart page will generate the highest completion
rate?
Test Design: A/B split test (variable cluster)
Experiment ID: TP1294
Record Location: MECLABS Research Library
Research Partner: [Protected]
Research Notes:

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• The original cart
was simple, but it
included three
equally weighted
options from which
the visitor had to
select.
• This made the
checkout process
more cumbersome
than was necessary
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EXPERIMENT: CONTROL
Control Cart

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EXPERIMENT: TREATMENT
• The marketers
deemphasized and
integrated the
additional options
into the product
details.
• And they visually
focused the visitor
on one main call
too action here.
Treatment Cart

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EXPERIMENT: RESULTS
Design Conversion Rate
Control 12.94%
Treatment 17.66%
Relative Difference 36.5%
37% Increase in Total Cart Conversions
The treatment path generated 36.5% more cart completions
 What you need to understand: By simplifying and sequencing the options
to choose from, the treatment shopping cart generated 36.5% more cart
completions.

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Key Principles
1. Giving the customer more choices does not always produce more conversions.
In fact, one of the greatest impediments to conversion is multiple options that
are equally weighted.
2. When possible, the shopping cart should NOT lead a prospect to a set of
potential options, but rather to “the one” option. Beware of unsupervised
thinking.
UNDIRECTED CHOICES

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NOT THIS, BUT THIS
But This64%IN CONVERSIONS
Not This

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NOT THIS, BUT THIS
Not This
But This
78%IN CONVERSIONS

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SUMMARY
Key Principles
• Cart abandonment occurs when cognitive momentum is
obstructed.
• The primary 4 reasons customers lose momentum in the checkout
process are:
1. Unwarranted Confusion
2. Unexpressed Value
3. Unaddressed Anxiety
4. Undirected Choices

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PRACTICAL CHECKLIST
Use this checklist to mitigate abandonment in your shopping cart
process:
Is orientation provided at each junction of the shopping cart process?
Is value being expressed continuously for every step/action you require?
Are there any unaddressed concerns about the product(s), or aspects of the
checkout process?
Are concerns addressed in close geographical proximity to the core source?
Does every step present a single, clear path towards completion?

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Steps to current page:
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Consumers looking for
data on vehicles
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Target audience:
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Steps to current page:
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Consumers that need
wireless fencing for pets
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Target audience:
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Live Optimization
Steps to current page:
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2. Products page
3. Select Plan
4. Cart
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