How to Reduce Cart Abandonment with Personalized Product Recommendations

Shopping cart abandonment occurs when customers add an item to cart but fail to checkout, resulting in missed sales opportunities that impact your bottom line. The average cart abandonment rate is just over 70%. If your Shopify abandoned cart rate is higher, you need to take action.

Let’s discuss the common causes and how to reduce cart abandonment so your store can increase sales.

The Common Causes of Cart Abandonment

Here are the most common reasons for high Shopify cart abandonment rates.

Unexpected Extra Costs

Adding surprise fees (like high shipping costs, taxes, or other hidden charges) at checkout can deter purchases and erode customer trust as shoppers feel misled.

Forced Account Creation

Shoppers in a hurry may abandon their cart if forced to create an account. 

Complicated Checkout Process

User experience during the Shopify checkout process is paramount. Excess steps or a difficult-to-navigate checkout will increase the average cart abandonment rate.

Limited Payment Options

Shoppers have a preferred method of payment. Offering limited payment options can deter customers from completing the purchase.

Lack of Trust

Concerns about website security, brand credibility, or return policies make Shopify customers less likely to click “Buy Now”.

Product Isn’t In Stock

If a user reaches checkout but their chosen product is out of stock, they’ll be frustrated and leave. This poor experience makes them less likely to shop with your brand again.

No Clear Shipping Information

Shoppers expect speedy delivery times. Uncertainty around shipping options or delivery times can deter purchases.

Lack of Discounts or Promo Codes

Even at checkout, shoppers compare your offering to your competitors. If they provide discounts and promo codes — and you don’t — users could go to a competitor instead.

How to Reduce Cart Abandonment

Here’s how to reduce shopping cart abandonment for your Shopify store. These easy fixes give shoppers the reassurance they need to complete a sale.

Be Transparent About Shipping Costs and Taxes

Don’t surprise shoppers with last-minute extras. Share shipping costs and taxes on your Shopify product pages so shoppers know the final costs.

Enable Guest Checkout

Guest checkout offers shoppers a faster checkout experience, increasing the likelihood of a purchase.

Simplify the Checkout Process

The checkout process should be simple and easy to navigate. Some Shopify brands feature a one-page checkout to reduce the number of clicks users have to make, others use progress bars to reassure users that they’re nearly done. The best checkout pages also feature a minimalist design.

Provide Multiple Payment Options

Give shoppers a variety of payment options. See the Shopify list of payment gateways to discover which ones are available in each country and which currencies they support.

Display Trust Signals

Trust signals include security logos and privacy policies. A professional-looking checkout and clear returns information help build trust. Give users everything they need to feel confident about their purchase.

Hide Out-Of-Stock Products

Ensure shoppers can only add in-stock products to their cart using the Shopify smart collections feature.

Provide Clear Shipping Information

Clearly display shipping costs and delivery times. If using a third-party logistics provider integrated with Shopify, automate estimated delivery dates at checkout.

Offer Discounts

Provide promo codes for a discount or free shipping. Then, display total savings at checkout to encourage completion and reduce abandonment.

Add a Product Quiz

A product recommendation quiz helps shoppers find the right items while seamlessly guiding them through checkout. Let users select and purchase products directly from the results page to boost engagement and reduce cart abandonment.

How to Reduce Cart Abandonment with a Product Quiz

A product quiz reduces shopping cart abandonment by guiding informed decisions, building trust, offering promo codes, and streamlining checkout.

Help Customers Find the Right Products

A product quiz uses customer answers to provide personalized product recommendations. This tailored experience means customers are more likely to convert.

Example: The Function of Beauty product quiz asks users about their hair texture, color, styling habits, and hair goals before recommending a personalized hair care routine. By checkout, customers have the utmost confidence in their chosen products.

Explain Product Features and Benefits Clearly

A product quiz results page provides in-depth details about recommended products, helping inform and empower customers as they make their choices. This increases the likelihood that they’ll go to checkout.

Example: The Divi product recommendation quiz displays short product descriptions. Users can also see product ingredients.

Add a Cart Drawer on the Quiz Result Page

Adding a cart drawer allows cart editing and checkout from the quiz results page to streamline the process.

Example: The Mario Badescu quiz features a cart drawer that allows customers to edit their cart without leaving the quiz results page.

Offer Incentives to Encourage Customers to Make a Purchase Now

Offering a discount code before customers see their quiz results encourages shoppers to complete their purchase while the code is still valid.

Example: The Thigh Society product quiz offers and automatically applies a discount code at checkout.

Only Display In-Stock Products

To avoid user frustration, hide out-of-stock products from your product quiz results page, ensuring customers only see products available to buy right now.

Example: The Nudea product quiz only shows customers products that are in stock in their size.

Retargeting Customers After Shopping Cart Abandonment

Product quizzes don’t just offer an excellent shopping and checkout experience. They can reduce cart abandonment and promote abandoned cart recovery in other ways too.

Retargeting emails

Use product quiz data to send retargeting SMS and emails, helping to convert lost customers.

A quiz builder like Visual Quiz Builder integrates with email platforms like Klaviyo, enabling automated reminders and personalized campaigns based on quiz responses. This boosts engagement and conversions — an approach successfully used by skincare brand Cellcosmet.

Retargeting ads

Integrate your quiz with Meta and Facebook Pixel to set up lookalike audiences and retarget customer segments with paid ads.

Skincare brand SKOON uses this functionality to tailor ads to different skin concerns, achieving a 68x ROI on their product quiz.

Reduce Cart Abandonment with Visual Quiz Builder 

Visual Quiz Builder provides everything needed to create and launch a product quiz. With powerful integrations, retarget quiz takers with personalized campaigns to boost conversions and reduce cart abandonment on your Shopify checkout.

Find out what a product quiz can do for your Shopify store. Start your free Visual Quiz Builder trial today.