Why an Intuitive Shopping Cart Matters
Published on · Joaquín Dati
Someone finds a product, adds it to the cart and, one step before paying, closes the tab. This happens constantly in online stores, and it rarely has to do with the product: it has to do with the cart.
How many carts are lost
The Baymard Institute, which compiles UX research on ecommerce, calculated an average cart abandonment rate of around 70%, based on 50 different studies. It also estimates that a large site can raise its conversion rate by roughly 35% through better checkout design alone. These are averages: every store has its own numbers.
Why carts get abandoned
According to the Baymard data that is widely cited on the subject, these are the most common reasons:
- Extra costs: shipping, taxes or fees that show up late (the most frequent reason, close to half of cases).
- Forced account creation: having to register before buying.
- A long or complicated process: too many steps or too many fields.
- Hidden total: not being able to see the final cost until the very end.
How to fix it
The fixes are straightforward. Show the full cost from the cart, with no surprises. Allow guest checkout. Ask only for necessary data: Baymard observes that most checkouts could show 20% to 60% fewer form fields. And let the cart show, edit and remove products without leaving the flow.
What you gain
A clear cart does not add traffic: it makes better use of the traffic you already have. Everyone who reached the payment step had already decided to buy; the job is not to put obstacles in the way. It also cuts support questions like "what is my total?".
A starting point
A good review starts with a test purchase on your own site, from a phone, noting every moment where you would hesitate. That list is usually the best improvement plan.
Source of inspiration: Baymard Institute research on cart abandonment