People are abandoning shopping carts more than ever in the past. This is becoming a modern tragedy of epic proportions. Something needs to be done as soon as possible before things get out of hand and the United Nations intervenes.

Well, the problem is not that serious. I exaggerate a little for effect. There is a small problem here which needs attention by some website owners. But those webmasters who ignore this problem entirely could suffer needless losses. Put aside the handkerchiefs and crying towels and focus on this new issue.

The ’shopping carts’ in this post title refer to shopping carts on websites which sell various items. Shopping carts are convenient add-ons which most retail shopping webmasters use. When a customer sees something which appeals to them as a potential purchase they often click on the item to place it in the shopping cart. The last thing the potential customer does before leaving the website is return to the shopping cart and pay for the items wanted.

According to this article in a recent issue of Website magazine, recently people on the net are treating shopping carts differently than they have in the past. The behavior trackers on whose data this article is based claim that more and more shoppers go through the process of choosing products, placing the products in shopping carts, but abandoning the products and the carts before the final buying steps. There were always some people who abandoned filled shopping carts. But according to the article the percentage of abandoners is increasing alarmingly. This boosted rate of abandonment threatens to ruin the holiday season for many internet retailers.

The cause of this increased abandonment is assumed to be comparison price shopping. People put items in shopping carts first, then go back and try to find better deals elsewhere. If they find the better deal, kiss that filled shopping cart goodby.

One of the major factors in price comparison is shipping costs. If the total cost, including shipping at website A is lower than the total cost at websites B, C and D, A will get the business. That seems to be the lesson. There always were and are some buyers who are not price sensitive, so will buy what they want when they want it, even if they could save some money by buying elsewhere. But the percentage of shoppers who fit this category is probably dropping because of the economic problems our nation is mired in. Thus more shopping cart abandonment.

The lesson for internet marketers is grim. Customers are becoming increasingly price sensitive. They flit from here to there looking for the extra dollar off. The internet retailer who cannot compete on price with the rivals is in for a hard holiday season. I can attest from personal experience that this lesson has merit. Earlier on the evening in which I wrote this post we shopped for a household item on the net. We went to great lengths to find the rock bottom price. In our case, we did not fill a shopping cart and abandon it. But that kind of situation is possible. We did not do it this time, but might next time.

If you are an internet retailer and can compete on price against your competition, you have a chance. I would suggest that you say or hint broadly that your price beats the competition’s price. Do not be shy. It appears that whether you acknowledge it or not, your customers know what the competition charges and is willing to do whatever it takes to find out.

If you cannot compete on price I would suggest you either try harder to compete on price or come up with very, very, very good reasons to give your potential buyers why they should pay you more. And I do mean very, very, very good reasons. With the ease of a few clicks your customers will find out alternatives to your offers. Give them a good reasons not to abandon you or your shopping cart. If you do not the tragedy will be at your expense.

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Tags: retail shopping webmasters, ruin the holiday season, shopping cart, shopping cart abandonment