APAC consumers have the highest tendency to abandon virtual shopping carts, according to the SAP Consumer Propensity Study, with more than half (52%) discarding their carts sometimes or all the time, ahead of North America (46%) and Europe (43%).
Worldwide, the chief reason for cart abandonment is consumers balking at high shipping costs (54%). In APAC, shoppers are more price-savvy, treating a cart as a visual display board to compare prices (46%), or abandoning carts because there are no discounts or promotion codes (29%); higher than the global average of 39% and 28%, respectively.
More than 20,000 online consumers were surveyed globally, including the APAC markets of Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Thailand, to understand online shopping preferences and motivation to complete a purchase.
Reviewing cart abandonment data provides a starting point for retailers to identify friction points in the consumer journey and make improvements to the overall purchasing experience.
Consumer behavior at the checkout stage - including items selected and discarded, navigation steps, time spent to complete specific actions, the precise point of abandonment, amongst other factors - provides valuable insight into ways the retailer can boost customer engagement and increase conversion.
The results revealed that while prices are the main driver, with 56% of APAC consumers indicating that discounts and promotions succeed in nudging them to complete the purchase, they also want a personalized shopping experience.
More than a quarter (27%) are encouraged to buy when the brand demonstrates a full understanding of their shopping history, and 26% are motivated when the retailer provides quick responses to their queries on the item.
Price is not the only deciding factor; another driver of cart abandonment that emerged is stock availability. More than a third give up on their carts due to out-of-stock items, and 29% do so due to longer-than-expected delivery times.
Retailers need to be conscious that their supply chain and logistics decisions can directly impact sales. Integrating their back-office systems into their e-commerce systems and tools can give customers real-time visibility of stock availability online and in stores, different stock options, and delivery options and timelines, which will encourage customers to complete transactions.
The research also reveals other ways APAC consumers wish for brands to enhance the shopping experience:
Consumers desire a more engaging buying experience tailored to their individual needs and lifestyles, which extends to ongoing service and support.
To achieve this, brands need a robust omnichannel approach based on a 360-degree view of the customer across all touchpoints, and advanced analytics to anticipate customer behaviors and understand their real-time intent.