IAR: Blame it on Surprises
Obstacles or added costs to a site's purchase process lead to abandoned shopping carts, according to new research by WebTrends. This contribution to the marketing sciences rivals past findings, such as speed bumps causing cars to slow down, slapping customers lowering satisfaction ratings, and creative directors tending to prefer martinis to come in pairs.
Looking more specifically, about a third of respondents said that they'd abandoned transactions because a site asked for too much information. About one in six said they sometimes couldn't find enough information to feel comfortable making a purchase. Roughly the same proportion of respondents said they'd decided to go to a bricks and mortar store instead.
