Why online shoppers drop off at checkout – and how businesses can prevent it
- E-commerce sales are on the rise, yet cart abandonment is a major problem for online retailers
- PayPal’s Optimise Your Conversion Rate at Checkout e-book explains how online retailers can get buyers to commit
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The past few years have witnessed a sharp rise in online retail. Buoyed by various factors – including Covid-19 lockdowns, continued technological advancements and a flourishing digital economy – global e-commerce sales soared to US$4.9 trillion in 2021, up from roughly US$3.3 trillion in 2019, and the trend shows no sign of slowing down, with this figure projected to top US$7.3 trillion by 2025¹.
The boom has been particularly noticeable in Asia-Pacific, with online sales in the fast-growing region anticipated to nearly double by 2025 to reach a record US$2 trillion – the highest level of growth in the world after Latin America².
In Hong Kong, savvy digital customers are propelling an uptick in e-commerce activity of their own. A study by Visa³ revealed that more than half (52 per cent) of all shopping during the pandemic was conducted digitally, compared with 40 per cent prior to the outbreak. And 75 per cent of purchasers of non-grocery goods used e-commerce platforms as frequently or more frequently than before the pandemic, with 97 per cent likely to continue this behaviour, according to a KPMG survey4.
If SMEs are to contend with major players and secure a share of the e-commerce market in an increasingly competitive climate, they will have to wrestle with numerous challenges – including the pressing issue of cart abandonment.
Cart abandonment a major problem