Online Retailers: If An Abandoned Cart Could Talk, This Is What It Would Say

Written by Swalé, Founder, Iuncta

Throughout my history of ideation, design and innovation, there’s been a singular truth that is apparent at every junction in those individual processes that connects them during explication: The shortest distance between a problem and the solution is empathy. The truth in this adage has been validated time and time again. Empathy enables you to be so effective at creating the ideal solution that the individual for whom you are solving a problem feels as if they are co-producers of the solution.

Empathizing allows you to get a personal grasp of your user’s need; it’s a deeper level connection to see, feel and experience the issues from their point of view. It also helps if you yourself have familiarity with the problem from your own experiences. I think that is why I have such an intimate knowledge of the buyer’s journey and what about it leads to abandoned carts. I, too, am a retail brand owner — inventor of the patented beltbar, the fashionable fix for belt flap. I’ve seen the cause and effect of cart abandonment from the perspective of a consumer as well as that of a brand.

Like many other online brand retailers, my initial response to abandon carts was to make use of the cart abandonment software available today, but that did not return the results I had hoped for given the effort and spend. Most, if not all, were glorified email re-targeting/marketing solutions. I didn’t make the correlation to their ineffectiveness until I received an email from a potential customer, and finally an abandoned cart had a voice.

The exact message was “Hi, just making sure the site is legit and safe to buy from. What is your turn around time for orders? I’m interested in purchasing two, but don't want to have to dispute a credit card charge later or wait like three months to receive the product.” The theme of the overall message was that of uncertainty. Uncertainty around trust, uncertainty around privacy, uncertainty around data protection, uncertainty around order fulfillment and, finally, uncertainty around product delivery — none of which a retargeting email from a cart abandonment solution would solve. That uncertainty grew the longer it took the shopper to checkout and that’s what was causing them to abandon their cart. So the problem solver in me reverted back to the adage I knew to be true: I became more empathetic to my shoppers, and I engaged them through questions and feedback.

I spent some time listening to online shoppers; these were their top three concerns.

1- New Account Creation

They were tired of having to create a new account each time they shopped with a new brand retailer. The process is inconvenient, and it requires unnecessary and lengthy data collection just to complete a transaction. It is doing nothing but adding additional activation steps and increasing the time to value.

2- No Data Privacy

There is a lack of transparency and trust around tracking, privacy and security during targeting and shopping. E-commerce today is a data privacy nightmare with the software solutions being surveillance tools. Consumers are becoming more and more privacy conscious and are rejecting the constant monitoring.

3- Hidden/Added Cost

Consumers don’t feel like they’re getting the best value when shopping, and they often come to that realization right at checkout, when they notice the high cost of shipping or estimated delivery time — when they realize there is no value-add or incentives at the point of payment to reduce cost and encourage purchase.

Having now established a deeper connection to the problem, I was better able to effectively solve. Iuncta introduces a proactive approach to cart abandonment that actually increases conversions. It is the junction between consumer desires and the brands that can fulfill them, leveraging the value in identity to eliminate the uncertainty in online shopping that leads to abandon carts.

Iuncta establishes a relationship model built on trust and loyalty that promotes a mutually beneficial brand and consumer partnership instead of a broken model defined by brand advertising and consumer targeting. There’s no longer a need for excessive visitor tracking or email retargeting by brand retailers; the partnership enables brands to demonstrate buy-in earlier in the buyer’s journey and provides additional value, like discounts or free shipping, at checkout. Iuncta is convenient, user-controlled checkout on-demand, making consumers comfortable enough to buy and enhancing brands’ effectiveness to sell.

Iuncta is a product of empathy that facilitated a human-centered design approach. This process and solutioning has delivered a better e-commerce experience for both brands and consumers that is powered by identity. For the brands looking to be a part of our early adaptor program, you can sign up here. Your future shoppers will thank you.