Now that the holiday season is here, there will be plenty of people searching online for the perfect presents to get their friends and family. To help your site perform the best it possibly can, it is best to try to reduce shopper cart abandonment. These are generally people who you were able to draw to your Web site with marketing, but were discouraged in some way.

According to the 8th Annual merchant Survey, conducted by PayPal and comScore, here are some of the reasons why shoppers abandoned their shopping cart.

High shipping costs
If the shipping on an item seems to double the final price tag, shoppers will be less likely to buy it. Offer free shipping on purchases over a certain amount and recommend some low-cost items to help push them over that minimum limit.

Comparison shopping
Many people might add things to a cart and then leave the site to see what their other options are. A study sponsored by McAfee said the average time between visiting a site and checking out was 34 hours. Allow customers some time to look around, but think about sending out a reminder e-mail after a few days.

Couldn’t find preferred payment option
You might have multiple payment options available, but you need to have these options visible for your customers. When the prosective customer is at the cart and wondering about their payment options, are you reassuring them at the point of action that you offer BillMeLater, PayPal, and other options? Test out different placements of those assurances to see which will yield the best results.

Item out of stock at checkout
Make sure your product pages state if an item is in or out of stock. If your item comes in different sizes and/or colors, make sure you also clearly show which specific items are available.

Want more information on how to increase your company’s reach? The experts at OneIMS will guide you through a variety of available options within your budget. For more information, contact OneIMS today at 1-888-ONE-IMS-1, or send an e-mail to info@oneims.com.