The Impact of Shipping on Cart Abandonment for WooCommerce Stores

The Evolution of Online Shopping

E-commerce has forever changed how and where we buy. Initially a strategy for augmenting sales in brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce has grown rapidly in recent decades, with sales expected to hit $8.1 trillion by the end of 2024. Today, online buying is easier than ever. However, with the increased ease of online shopping comes increased consumer expectations, many of which are centered around shipping.

The Importance of Shipping in E-commerce

One of the perks customers enjoy when shopping online is having the products delivered directly to their doorstep. That’s why implementing the right shipping strategy is vital for any e-commerce company. In today’s fiercely competitive market, consumers expect fast shipping at affordable prices. A company’s shipping policy can often be the sole factor between completing a sale and an abandoned shopping cart.

How Shipping Influences Cart Abandonment

Even if your product pricing is competitive, limited shipping options or additional shipping fees can lead customers to abandon their shopping carts. Offering various shipping options, including optional free shipping, makes customers more likely to see the sale through. 

While implementing abandoned cart recovery measures is helpful, it won’t solve the underlying problem. Giving your customers the choice to pay more for faster delivery or pay less and wait a few extra days, leaves the decision in their hands.

Understanding Cart Abandonment in WooCommerce

Several factors can contribute to high cart abandonment rates in WooCommerce:

• Limited shipping options: High shipping costs can deter customers. Imagine your customer purchasing an item for $8.99, only to be hit with a flat-rate shipping charge of $9.99. To address this, offer multiple shipping options at checkout and allow customers to choose the service level that matches their price and speed preferences.
• Account creation requirements: Not everyone wants to set up an account when they purchase an item. Guest checkout can entice those who would otherwise walk away from the sale.
• No discounts or incentives: Do your shipping options change if your customers purchase $10 or $100 worth of items? Or is the shipping price the same for new customers versus those who buy from you regularly? A lack of loyalty rewards, free shipping offers, or other personal incentives can push your customers to seek better deals elsewhere.
• Not enough payment options: If a preferred payment method, like Apple Pay, American Express, Venmo, PayPal or installment plans like Klarna, isn’t available, customers may abandon their cart. 

Though there’s a variety of factors that can lead to cart abandonment, high shipping costs is a fairly common one. While WooCommerce includes abandoned cart recovery options, the best way to reduce cart abandonment is to optimize your WooCommerce shipping settings.

Optimizing Your Shipping Settings in WooCommerce

Standard WooCommerce shipping options such as flat rate shipping, free shipping, or zone shipping (where shipping rates vary based on geographic zones or regions) can be configured within the application. With Shippo, you can manage international orders, generate return labels, schedule pickups from various carriers, and send tracking notifications to customers. Additionally, Shippo allows you to compare shipping rates, including pre-negotiated discounts. 

Get Started with the Right Shipping Solution

Whether you ship hundreds of packages a week or only a few, Shippo provides the tools to make the shipping process easy and affordable. Shippo offers easy integration with more than 40 carriers worldwide, giving you the best shipping options at affordable prices. Why struggle with cart abandonment issues when you can address the root cause with Shippo?