Online retailers urged to cut cart abandonment with checkout improvements

Research by the Baymard Institute shows that about 70% of filled shopping carts never result in a purchase, with even higher rates on mobile devices. The primary cause is unexpected costs such as shipping, taxes or service fees that appear only at the final checkout step, followed by a lengthy or complex checkout process.

Experts advise retailers to display all costs early, clearly indicate free‑shipping thresholds, and offer guest checkout instead of mandatory account creation. Reducing the number of required fields, adding a progress bar, and displaying trust signals—security icons, familiar payment methods and consumer‑trust marks like the Consumentenbond’s Webshop Keurmerk—can further lower abandonment. Each percentage point reduction in cart abandonment translates directly into higher profit without additional marketing spend.