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Why 75% of On-line Shopping Carts are Abandoned

QVC could learn a few things here, especially regarding S&H and coupons....but then, they think they know it all... {#emotions_dlg.mellow}

4 Reasons why you didn’t just buy that

Yup… we’ve all done it: piled up that online shopping cart full of virtual goodies and then chickened out on checking out. You’re not alone: an astonishing 75% of online shopping carts are abandoned. Read on to find out the top four reasons why you didn’t just make that online purchase.

1. Tax and Shipping:

It didn’t seem so bad when those shoes were listed at $49.99. Then Uncle Sam made his collection, the shipping charge was calculated and your sweet little flirtation with retail therapy is now giving your insula a major meltdown. The part of your brain that reacts to terrible smells, the insula is also the same area that lights up when people are shown the price tag of a product.

In fact, an increasing number of online merchants are combating this mental agitation by staggering the effects of sticker shock—conveniently calculating your sales tax before you’ve even decided to check out. Regardless, you end up retreating faster than this pup and just never make the purchase.

2. Buyer’s Remorse:

It’s that sense of regret you feel after throwing down the plastic. Buyer’s remorse stems from cognitive dissonance, a state of psychological discomfort that plagues a customer when the price, lack of purchasing power, and disappointment outweighs the actual enjoyment of using the product. Consider that shopping cart abandoned.

3. It was fun to pretend…

Kids like to dress up as superheroes, cats “hunt” colorful, jingley toys, and you really, really liked the feeling of putting that designer wear in your shopping cart. You weren’t actually going to go through with the purchase: you just had to see what it would like in the shopping cart.

Top-of-the-line.

Shiny.

Luxurious.

…Then you close the browser.

What’s going on here? This is a great example of the many feel-good effects consumers feel while shopping, and it has nothing to do with the actual acquisition of material goods. Shopping can be a harmless fantasy that “releases mood-lifting endorphins, boosts your immune system, keeps your brain nimble, and even fulfills basic social needs” says Women’s Health. You may turn up empty-handed, but the simple act of browsing has flooded your senses, stimulated your imagination, and fulfilled the very basic need to forage your favorite online merchant. No credit card necessary.

4. The Coupon Code leak

You’re ready to check out, when you notice that gleaming empty box: Enter Coupon Code Here. The quest commences: new tabs are opened, searches are run, and your mission puts NASA to shame. You shake your fist at the Internet Gods and sometimes get so sidetracked hunting down a coupon that you never come back to finish up the purchase.

Had the merchant offered you a coupon code, would you have followed through? Studies have shown that you are significantly more likely to make your purchase when merchants displayed working coupon codes.