The average shopping cart abandonment rate is just over 65%. That’s right—65% of online shoppers abandon the shopping cart during the checkout process, and you already know that a good number of them don’t return.

For companies, this means lost sales and a hit to the bottom line. Obviously, it’s important to figure our why customers abandon shopping carts, so that you can take steps to reduce your shopping cart abandonment rate and make more sales.

So, exactly why do customers run away in the middle of checking out online? There are lots of different reasons, but let’s try to address some of the biggest ones.

High shipping costs—Shipping rates matter. While you might have a good price tag on your actual product, customers also consider shipping costs when making a purchase online. If your shipping rates are too high, you’re going to lose a lot of sales. That’s why many companies offer some sort of free shipping—whether it be on all purchases or only on orders that meet a minimum purchase amount.

Not quite ready to buy—Sometimes, a customer decides that he (or she) just isn’t ready to make a purchase. Maybe the customer was just doing the initial research on the product he’s considering, or maybe he decided that he wanted to do some comparison shopping before deciding to complete his purchase. Providing your visitors with ample product information coupled with a strong, urgent sales message can help you combat this issue.

The product is too expensive—We all hesitate when it comes to dropping a large sum of money. Products with high price tags typically have a longer buying cycle. Consumers tend to think more heavily about big purchases before completing them. One thing you can do to ease their concerns is to demonstrate why your product is still an excellent value even at its high price point. Do a clear job of explaining how your customer will benefit from the product.

Registration required to checkout—Requiring customers to register before they can make a purchase is like putting a huge DETOUR sign in the middle of the road to checkout. Most will just turn around and leave. Registration should be optional, not mandatory. Allow those who wish to checkout as guests to do so.

Asking for too much personal information—People are very protective of their personal information, and they don’t want to share any more of it online than they have to. Don’t ask your customers for any personal information you don’t need to complete the transaction.

Long, confusing checkout process—Is your checkout process making customers jump through one hoop after another? If it’s too long or too confusing, many shoppers will abandon the cart, never to return. The fewer steps needed to complete the transaction, the better. You can also add a status bar to the checkout screen, showing customers how far along they are in the checkout process.

Are you making any of these mistakes that cost you customers? What are some other reasons customers abandon shopping carts?

Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.